 |
|
THE WINDHOEK CALL FOR ACTION Progress and Lessons Learned
Promoting and sharing information about the
positive contribution sport makes to other aspects of women's
development links very closely with Action Point 2, and is an
essential part of reaching out and collaborating with agencies
outside sport. A wide range of channels and opportunities have
been used to successfully share information and promote the benefits
of women and sport. WomenSport International
(WSI) 1. A 40-page document for UNESCO was prepared by Elizabeth Darlison on Social-economic Development sport and women. It is available for download at the WSI website: www.de.psu.edu/wsi/index.htm 2. A paper (3 pages) prepared for the purpose of Beijing+5 advocacy, "Physical activity as a basic human right," is available from Dr. Carole Oglesby, WSI president: reds@astro.temple.edu, fax: +1 215 887 3778. International Association
of Physical Education and Sport for Girls and Women (IAPESGW) IAPESGW members have led and contributed to a range of seminars at the national and regional levels, to disseminate the evidence that girls' and women's participation in physical activity and sport contributes to educational achievement and the reduction of risk behaviours and health problems. There have been presentations at national conferences in Cyprus, Hungary, Ireland and the UK. The annual IAPESGW Bulletin and Web site have been used to disseminate information to members in more than 50 countries. Some of the relevant Declarations have been translated into other languages by national representatives or members of the Executive Board, and an annotated list of useful Web sites was prepared for the 2000/2001 Bulletin by Marina Bonello. The evidence from the World Summit on Physical Education (Berlin 1999) has been summarised and circulated as PowerPoint presentations for use by members in their own countries, along with copies of the Windhoek Call for Action and the Declarations and other advocacy documents which have been produced during the last 4 years. The Association is responding to requests from members in Africa for a leaflet for use in traditional communities, which challenges the physiological and social myths about women's participation in physical activity. USA - Women's Sports Foundation One of the Goals in the Women's Sport Foundation's Strategic Plan is to educate the public about the importance of sports and physical activity for girls and women, and the current state of inequality. The objective is to annually increase the percent of the general public and key influencer groups such as mass media, legislators, educators, parents and sports agencies who:
The Foundation completed a variety of projects in 1999 that served to educate female sports participants of all ages and skill levels as well as the general public, including:
In 2000, the Foundation collaborated with one of its sponsors to launch Minds in Motion -a depression awareness program designed to educate people about the symptoms of depression, as well as increase the understanding of this potentially debilitating condition. In 2001 the Foundation published its Health Risk and The Teen Athlete research study. The study provides objective assessment of the relationship between sports and adolescent health. Canadian Association for
the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS) CAAWS has widened its communication network significantly using the Internet and e-mail communication. The CAAWS Web site (www.caaws.ca) is available in English and French, and is Canada's main resource for up-to-date information on news, leaders, breakthroughs, useful links, guidelines and publications on women and girls involvement in sport and physical activity. The Web site has shown great success and has grown substantially since it was first launched in July 1999, with currently up to 60,000 visitors per month. News releases are widely disseminated using the national Sport Information Resource Centre's database to the entire sport, physical activity and health community. CAAWS is currently completing a review of its communications plan and will soon launch an e-mail bulletin (to be distributed every two months) to keep individuals up to date on the accomplishments of girls and women in sport and physical activity. CAAWS was asked to provide feedback, advice and letters of support prior to the granting of the license to launch the first Women's Sports Television Network in the world: WTSN (see additional information under point 6). The following programs/initiatives of CAAWS also try to promote and share information about the positive contribution that girls' and women's involvement in sport can make:
Australian Sports Commission The Australian Active Women policy includes information on the benefits to individuals (health and social), to the Australian community (social and economic) and to the sport industry (economic) of women and girls in sport. Articles promoting the policy and the benefits have appeared in several Australian sport industry publications. In particular, the ASC ensures that there is always a gender balance, if not gender predominance, in articles and images in its corporate magazine, Centreline, and its sport development magazine, Activate. Singapore Sports Council The positive contribution that girls and women's involvement in sport makes is highlighted in all speeches and publicity materials for the various projects implemented to date, such as the Funtastic Sports Camps for Girls and Sports Leaders Workshop. In addition, the High Performance Committee has developed a notebook titled "The Women Athlete," the aims of which were to:
Lessons Learned The athletes particularly enjoyed and were appreciative of the visits by the High Performance Committee members, as we are also made up of retired successful athletes. However, the male administrators in the National Sports Associations did not want to be involved in the meetings and visits - they felt it was a women's affair. We found their attitudes somewhat discouraging as they had been informed to join in and the committee had wanted the male administrators to be aware of what we do with and for the athletes. Responses from the athletes were initially not as high as expected, even though we had included contact numbers and e-mail addresses for athletes to speak with either an English-speaking or Mandarin-speaking member. Nevertheless, we will continue to open our lines of communication and organise events for the athletes. Additionally, in a culture and environment which places a lot of emphasis on educational success, we have found that if sport participation is linked to brain stimulation, it is one way of getting more parental support for their children's participation in sports. As such, there is a need to educate more parents to see the links of sports to learning, the enhancement of social skills and health. Finland Oulu "Ladies in Sport" network's
success story: Oulu Ladies in Sports membership includes women from different sports areas and sports groups, trainers, instructors, action leaders, sports teachers, sports directors, elected community representatives, a minister and members of sports committees. The aim of the network is to increase equality and diversity of values in sports culture by enhancing such concrete matters as children and young people's possibilities, local area development, the building of sports areas and improving the position of women in sports organisations. The goal is to ensure that women's, children's, youth and special groups' recreational sports are seen to be equally valuable with men's competitive sports when political and financial decisions are made. What has been achieved? Oulu Ladies have also positively influenced the cross-administrative cooperative work being conducted in the City of Oulu. Experts in the network have given statements on matters of sports strategies for the City of Oulu and the use of sports buildings. Moreover, the network has positively affected the environments being built for sports, such as for instance ensuring that school and nursery areas and playing and sports fields of local areas are in usable condition. Oulu Ladies also act as godparents in children's afternoon clubs and enable the possibility of conducting guided sports sessions after school. Finally, women of the network have risen to leading positions in the field of sport. Lessons Learned
|