“Women’s Sports Leadership Conference 2017” Event report
“Women’s Sports Leadership Conference 2017” was held on Sunday, April 9, 2017, to discuss global standards and what Japan should aim for from the perspective of women and sport.
At the opening of the event, Mr. Tetsuya Kimura, Director-General of Japan Sports Agency, introduced the measures that are conducted by the Japan Sports Agency relating to subjects such as sports implementation rate, the appointment of board members and coaches in sports organizations, and global expansion. It was also reported that Japan Sports Agency decided to sign the “Brighton Plus Helsinki Declaration” on April 10, which is the next day of the conference, to show its commitment to the promotion of women’s sports in both Japan and abroad. To conclude his speech, he stated that Japan Sports Agency would work together with relevant organizations to make efforts to realize the necessary measures and policies. Committee members of the International Working Group (IWG) on Women and Sport, which is the only international working group aiming to promote and deepen discussions on women’s participation in sports, were visiting Japan to attend the IWG annual meeting. 10 IWG committee members were able to participate in this conference, making it an amazing international event with wonderful attendees from the world.。
Address
Opening Address
Ms. Etsuko Ogasawara, The Executive Director of the Japanese Center
for Research on Women in Sport
Ms. Etsuko Ogasawara, The Executive Director of the Japanese Center
for Research on Women in Sport
Guest Speech
Mr. Tetsuya Kimura, Director-General, Japan Sports Agency
Mr. Tetsuya Kimura, Director-General, Japan Sports Agency
Keynote Speech I
First, Dr. Kari Fasting, who is an IWG committee member and former president of Women Sport International, gave a keynote speech on “Expectations toward Japan in Women and Sports seen from the world”. She introduced the global movement and history of women and sport. She also gave an enthusiastic message saying that as the world moves toward “Tokyo 2020”, gender equality will be pushed forward, and demonstrating women’s leadership that brings about real change is the most important from the perspective of protecting the human rights of women according to the United Nations Convention. Also, as the five recommendations for the development of women’s sports, “Action plan for gender equality in sports”, “Violence/Harassment”, “Decision-making”, “Coaching/Training”, “Media” were mentioned, and she provided concrete proposals regarding the “visualized activities” in each of the five recommendations.
Participants said, “I could understand the clear differences between Japan and other countries, including the fact that Japan is behind”, “I understood that the world’s expectation for women’s sports in Japan is very high.” These comments indicated that the session became a valuable opportunity for participants to know the global standards of women and sports.
Finally, Dr. Kari Fasting commented, “Clarifying the content of the commitment is also very important”. In regards to Japan Sports Agency signing the “Brighton Plus Helsinki 2014 Declaration”, she concluded the session by stating, “I hope that this will be a good opportunity for the further development of women’s sport in Japan”.
*Japan Sports Agency signed the “Brighton Plus Helsinki 2014 Declaration” on April 10, 2017, the next day of the conference. Keynote Speech Ⅱ
Participants said, “I could understand the clear differences between Japan and other countries, including the fact that Japan is behind”, “I understood that the world’s expectation for women’s sports in Japan is very high.” These comments indicated that the session became a valuable opportunity for participants to know the global standards of women and sports.
Finally, Dr. Kari Fasting commented, “Clarifying the content of the commitment is also very important”. In regards to Japan Sports Agency signing the “Brighton Plus Helsinki 2014 Declaration”, she concluded the session by stating, “I hope that this will be a good opportunity for the further development of women’s sport in Japan”.
*Japan Sports Agency signed the “Brighton Plus Helsinki 2014 Declaration” on April 10, 2017, the next day of the conference. Keynote Speech Ⅱ
Keynote Speech Ⅱ
Next, former IWG Co-Chairperson Ms. Raija Iisalo-Mattila gave a keynote speech on “Brighton Plus Helsinki 2014 ―The legacy of the 6th IWG World Conference on Women and Sport”.
It was introduced that the 6th IWG World Conference on Women and Sport was held in Finland focusing on the theme “LEAD THE CHANGE BE THE CHANGE”, and it was held after 20 years from the development of the “Brighton Declaration”, the resolution of the 1st IWG World Conference on Women and Sport that was held in England in 1994. It was also reported that the 6th conference was a historical conference that transcended the boundaries of organizations with speeches given by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach and International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Philip Craven.
Also, he explained the background of how the “Brighton Declaration”, the resolution of the 1st Conference, was updated to become the “Brighton Plus Helsinki 2014 Declaration” and how the “Brighton Plus Helsinki 2014 Declaration”, which now includes a proposal that women should occupy 40% of decision-making positions by 2020, was adopted.
Ms. Raija Iisalo-Mattila looked back on the conference and considered that the conference successfully delivered messages to the world that women should participate in various sports and different fields, and further promoted that women’s empowerment should be realized in daily activities as well as in school sports activities.
The participants shared positive comments such as: “I felt that ‘I want to make change happen and become the driving force for that’. I want to tell my girls that ‘We can do it, and make change happen'”, ” After knowing that many countries are working on necessary measures, I felt the potential for women to play an active role in the field of sports.” Finally, Ms. Raija Iisalo-Mattila emphasized that “the experience, knowledge, and values that only women can bring will further advance the sports movement for the future!” Keynote Speech Ⅲ
It was introduced that the 6th IWG World Conference on Women and Sport was held in Finland focusing on the theme “LEAD THE CHANGE BE THE CHANGE”, and it was held after 20 years from the development of the “Brighton Declaration”, the resolution of the 1st IWG World Conference on Women and Sport that was held in England in 1994. It was also reported that the 6th conference was a historical conference that transcended the boundaries of organizations with speeches given by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach and International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Philip Craven.
Also, he explained the background of how the “Brighton Declaration”, the resolution of the 1st Conference, was updated to become the “Brighton Plus Helsinki 2014 Declaration” and how the “Brighton Plus Helsinki 2014 Declaration”, which now includes a proposal that women should occupy 40% of decision-making positions by 2020, was adopted.
Ms. Raija Iisalo-Mattila looked back on the conference and considered that the conference successfully delivered messages to the world that women should participate in various sports and different fields, and further promoted that women’s empowerment should be realized in daily activities as well as in school sports activities.
The participants shared positive comments such as: “I felt that ‘I want to make change happen and become the driving force for that’. I want to tell my girls that ‘We can do it, and make change happen'”, ” After knowing that many countries are working on necessary measures, I felt the potential for women to play an active role in the field of sports.” Finally, Ms. Raija Iisalo-Mattila emphasized that “the experience, knowledge, and values that only women can bring will further advance the sports movement for the future!” Keynote Speech Ⅲ
Keynote Speech Ⅲ
IWG Co-Chairperson Ms. Ruth Maphorisa gave a keynote speech on “Women’s leadership; Be Bold for Change”. She said that women’s empowerment can increase work efficiency and bring great benefits to society. She shared her own experiences that Ms. Ruth Maphorisa herself was affected by a male-dominated society, but she realized that she shouldn’t use it as an excuse and decided to rouse herself. She enthusiastically urged that women should be able to make necessary changes they need by exhibiting their leadership.
Finally, Ms. Ruth Maphorisa addressed the participants to demonstrate our potentials together as sports leaders in Japan as well as being true female leaders.
Finally, Ms. Ruth Maphorisa addressed the participants to demonstrate our potentials together as sports leaders in Japan as well as being true female leaders.
Speech
Associate Professor at the University of Tsukuba, Ms. Kaori Yamaguchi, who was the only Japanese speaker at this conference, gave a speech on “Future that Japan should aim for concerning Women in Sports until Tokyo 2020”. She pointed out that Japan’s gender gap index is at a very low level where Japan ranked in 11th among the 144 countries. She also shared the current situation of Japan that 62% of women who work full-time spend more than 20 hours a week doing housework. Many participants nodded to the fact that Japanese women are expected to play an active role both at work and at home.
Also, she mentioned that the number of female coaches and leaders is still small while female athletes have continued to play an active role in sports, and reported the current situation that 9 out of 62 organizations under the Japan Olympic Committee (JOC) did not have female directors.
Ms. Kaori Yamaguchi said, “The decision of appointing one female coach/leader will influence the future of women in sports hereafter. Each one of you should lead the field of sports” and gave out powerful words to the female coaches and leaders at the conference.
We received reassuring comments from participants such as: “I felt that the perspective of capturing things not only from the field of sports but from the Japanese society, in general, is very important”, “I think we should aim for 2020 as our immediate goal but it is important to continue carrying out the growth strategy. I strongly felt that women will play an important role in women’s value and women’s social change are necessary for this.”
Sport has the power to give people successful experiences, develop the ability to think and motivate people to share various things, and mutually enhance each other. Ms. Kaori Yamaguchi said as a conclusion, “It is important to think about how social issues can be solved through sports and I believe that there are many approaches that can be made through sports to cope with women’s issues.”
Also, she mentioned that the number of female coaches and leaders is still small while female athletes have continued to play an active role in sports, and reported the current situation that 9 out of 62 organizations under the Japan Olympic Committee (JOC) did not have female directors.
Ms. Kaori Yamaguchi said, “The decision of appointing one female coach/leader will influence the future of women in sports hereafter. Each one of you should lead the field of sports” and gave out powerful words to the female coaches and leaders at the conference.
We received reassuring comments from participants such as: “I felt that the perspective of capturing things not only from the field of sports but from the Japanese society, in general, is very important”, “I think we should aim for 2020 as our immediate goal but it is important to continue carrying out the growth strategy. I strongly felt that women will play an important role in women’s value and women’s social change are necessary for this.”
Sport has the power to give people successful experiences, develop the ability to think and motivate people to share various things, and mutually enhance each other. Ms. Kaori Yamaguchi said as a conclusion, “It is important to think about how social issues can be solved through sports and I believe that there are many approaches that can be made through sports to cope with women’s issues.”
Group Discussions・Presentation,
Overall Discussion (Exchange of Opinions /Questions and Answers)
In the latter half of the conference, participants were divided into two groups for a group discussion. The groups were divided into the following discussion groups, and each participant was able to choose which group to join according to their interest.
A: International Group “The legacy of women and sport from an international perspective”
Facilitator: Ms. Lilamani De Soysa（IWG Special Member, International Relations Officer at “TIAS”, University of Tsukuba)
B: National Group “The legacy of women and sport from Japan and regional perspective”
Facilitator: Ms. Rieko Yamaguchi (Associate Professor at Josai University)
A lively discussion took place in each group under the coordination of each facilitator. Participants from the International Group said, “I felt that it is important for people with different backgrounds to get together and talk to each other with one passion”, “It made me reconsider why female leaders are needed.” Participants from the National Group also shared their feedbacks and said, “I was impressed that we could share a wide range of opinions and values”, “I felt that understanding my position and responsibilities and surely practicing what I can do based on that will lead to future leader development.”
A: International Group “The legacy of women and sport from an international perspective”
Facilitator: Ms. Lilamani De Soysa（IWG Special Member, International Relations Officer at “TIAS”, University of Tsukuba)
B: National Group “The legacy of women and sport from Japan and regional perspective”
Facilitator: Ms. Rieko Yamaguchi (Associate Professor at Josai University)
A lively discussion took place in each group under the coordination of each facilitator. Participants from the International Group said, “I felt that it is important for people with different backgrounds to get together and talk to each other with one passion”, “It made me reconsider why female leaders are needed.” Participants from the National Group also shared their feedbacks and said, “I was impressed that we could share a wide range of opinions and values”, “I felt that understanding my position and responsibilities and surely practicing what I can do based on that will lead to future leader development.”
Facilitator Lilamani De Soysa
Facilitator Ms. Rieko Yamaguchi
After the group discussions, the contents discussed in each group were shared by each facilitator.
In the overall discussion, IWG members and other members provided multiple tips to solve the issues that were raised as questions from the participants, making it a lively discussion.
Introduction to the “7th IWG World Conference on Women and Sport”
IWG Secretary-General Ms. Hami Mochibi explained the outline of the “7th IWG World Conference on Women and Sport” which is to be held in Botswana in May 2018. The theme of the 7th conference is “Determine the future. Be Part of the Change!” Besides the information of the conference, she also introduced a safari tour where people can experience the fascinating nature of Africa, and convinced everyone to participate in the 7th conference saying “Please come to Botswana!”
Childcare
Same as the last conference, a “childcare room” was set up in the facility and specialized staff members looked after the children, so participants with small children could participate without anxiety.
