The 5th World Conference on Women and Sport was held from 20 to 23 May 2010 in Sydney, Australia.

The main conference venue was the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre located in Darling Harbour, a deepwater cove of Sydney Harbour.  The Darling Harbour area is Sydney's most exciting tourism precinct, located on the waterfront within walking distance of the heart of the city.

The final day of the conference was held in Sydney Olympic Park, home to the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games.  This final day also featured a Women's Sports Festival celebrating women's participation and achievement in sport.

The 5th IWG World Conference on Women and Sport was organised under the auspices of the International Working Group on Women and Sport (IWG) with the support of NSW Sport and Recreation, the University of Technology, Sydney the Australian Government, Department of Health and Ageing and Sydney Olympic Park Authority.

The Sydney conference followed those conferences held in Brighton, U.K. (1994); Windhoek, Namibia (1998), Montreal, Canada (2002) and Kumamoto, Japan (2006).

You can find more information on conference presentations here.

You may wish to check out the photo gallery from the conference on our facebook page here. 

Reflecting the theme Play | Think | Change the Conference program was designed with a unique blend of presentations about good practices and cutting-edge research to stimulate debate and explore positive change for women and sport.

The Conference aimed to:

- Review the progress for women and sport since the 4th World Conference on Women and Sport in Kumamoto, Japan in 2006, sharing experiences and celebrating achievements

- Build a global community of practice for women, sport and human rights

- Strengthen and support the development of women and sport in the Oceania Region

- Provide a vision for sustained development and progress of the global women and sport movement from 2010-2014

The main theme of the Conference was Play | Think | Change.

The Conference Program had five sub-themes.

1.       Women, sport and human rights
-          UN Millennium Development Goals, UN Charters and Conventions
-          Empowering women and girls through sport
-          Challenging gender stereotypes in sport

2.       Financing and media for gender equality in sport
-          Gender budgeting
-          Quality media coverage
-          Women, sport and the social media
-          Marketing and sponsorship

3.       Physical activity and health for women
-          Health benefits and risks
-          Physical activity and mental health
-          Lifelong participation
-          Energy and nutrition

4.       Sport and social change
-          Sport, peace and development
-          Inclusive/exclusive practices
-          Women in sport governance and other leadership positions
-          Trafficking, sexual harassment and abuse in sport

5.       Engaging Generation Y and Z in sport and physical activity
-          Girls’ motivations and aspirations
-          Quality physical education
-          Extreme sports
-          Role models for girls in sport