French Minister of Sport chairs auxiliary seminar on gender equality in sports in conjunction with the 2011 IWG Annual Meeting
 French Minister of Sport, Mme. Jouanno; French Ministry of Sport Technical Advisor, M. Michael Christophe; French National Olympic Committee President, M. Denis Masseglia |
 Raija Mattila, Co-Chair of the IWG and IWG representatives |
 Maureen Nisima (left) and Myriam Baverel (right) in discussion with French Minister of Sport, Mme. Jouanno |
 Seminar participants pose for a group photo after fruitful discussions and informative presentations |
Raija Mattila, Co-Chair of the IWG, cordially thanked Mme Jouanno for organizing this important and unforgettable meeting and presented the IWG and its objectives to the event's participants. National policies were presented on behalf of the IWG by the following individuals: Matilda Mwaba, Zambia; Valiollah Saint-Louis Gilmus, Haiti; Prof. Etsuko Ogasawara, Japan; Amanda Bennett, UK; Terhi Heinilä, Finland; and Susan Yee, Fiji.
In her opening address to the seminar attendees, Mme. Jouanno paid special attention to the importance of the development of the role of women as sports leaders and to the careers of female athletes in France. She also expressed her interest in the upcoming 6th IWG World Conference on Women and Sport to be held in Helsinki in June 2014. Minister Jouanno herself has an impressive career as an athlete and has claimed the French Championship in karate a total of twelve times.
Key French sport leaders from the Ministry of Sport, the sports movement, sports federations and from the Sport and Citizenship think tank along with members of the IWG and the IWG Secretariat were in attendance. Speakers at the event included Denis Masseglia, President of the French Olympic Committee (CNOSF); Thierry Maudet, Director General of the French Institute for Sport and Physical Education (INSEP); Julian Jappert, Director of Sport and Citizenship; as well as Myriam Baverel, trainer of the French national women's taekwondo team; Maureen Nisima, 2010 World Fencing Champion; and Isabelle Gautheron, National Technical Manager of the French Cycling Federation, each of whom added their unique expert insight into the women and sport movement in France from a variety of perspectives.
The seminar served as both informative and inspirational for those in attendance. For example, Maureen Nisima shared her inspiring path from growing up in a low-income level Parisian suburb to becoming a world-class successful athlete. She also underlined the importance of paying special attention to supporting the careers of female athletes, for example, during adolescence or pregnancy. Also, she spoke on the interest of the media and society and its concentration on aspects of female athletes' appearance. Sport reflects society, Julian Jappert underlined, and instead of lagging behind in gender equality issues he added, “sport could be a model for women’s role in a society.” Amanda Bennett, the IWG Regional Representative of Europe, Chair of the European Women and Sport and UK Sport Head of Policy, gave a thoughtful overview of positive trends taking place in the UK with respect to equality issues in sport in the lead up to the 2012 Olympic games punctuating her presentation with the inspiring sentiment that "We are living the legacy of London now."
The seminar was of great importance and a model for other ministries and other institutions to emulate. Cross-cultural and cross-sectoral exchange and collaboration are of crucial importance to form meaningful networks of those interested and dedicated to advancing the women and sport movement. The International Working Group would like to express its deep appreciation to Mme. Jouanno for making the event possible and for her sincere commitment to promoting gender equality in sport.
