TAFISA, AUSC and AWISA Host “Gender Equity in Sport for All” Webinar

On Thursday, 12 November 2020 our new webinar series in collaboration with the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) was launched with a first webinar in partnership with the African Women In Sports Association (AWISA).  With a remarkable total of 191 registrations, coming from 74 countries around the world, our highly anticipated webinar “Gender Equity in Sport for All” addressed the topics of women participation, empowerment, and leadership.

Introductory words were given by TAFISA Vice President Leonard Thadeo, AUSC Senior Sport Officer Robert Auguste and AWISA President Sheila Desha.

TAFISA\'s Business Development and Fundraising Manager Keri McDonald then set the stage of the webinar and gave insights on how the Sport for All Movement can contribute to creating a better world, gender equity, social inclusion and peace through participation, empowerment and leadership.

 
Her intervention was followed by presentations from AUSC Officer Nonhlanhla Nzuza and AWISA Vice-President Carol Garoes, who introduced what is the current status quo & opportunities for women in Sport for All in Africa. Together, they emphasised the need for solidarity: "one of our responsibilities is to promote and advocate a culture of gender equality in the domain of sport".

Stanley Mutoya, CEO of AUSC Region 5 then highlighted the work being done in his region through policies and practical solutions that have been developed to activate girls and women in Sport for All, such as the FLOT programme �\" in partnership with TAFISA, the Woman4Women programme and the Olympic Pan-African education programme.  He concluded that while there are still a lot of challenges before being able to reach Gender Equity, such programmes are giving opportunities for girls and women to take action. 

The webinar ended with a round table that involved representatives from the 5 regions of Africa, who reflected on the state of female participation, leadership, and empowerment in their regions. The following speakers shared their insights:

• Sarah Lemgherbi Assistant Director of Projects and Major Sport Events, Ministry of Youth and Sports & President, AWISA Region 1, Algeria
• Mahmoud Lamin Jawala, Region 2 - Deputy Executive Director, National Sports Council & President, AWISA Region 2, The Gambia
• Blanche Akouala, Region 3 - President, Congolese Women in Sport Africa & President, AWISA Region 3, Congo Brazzaville
• Delta Ward Horner, Region 4 - Chairperson, Seychelles Women and Sports Association & President, AWISA Region 4, Seychelles
• Ana Idalete Ferreira, Region 5 - Vice-President, Association of Women and Sport & President, AWISA Region 5, Angola

Click the image below to view the recorded webinar on our YouTube channel:

TAFISA, AUSC and AWISA would like to express their gratitude to all participants and the speakers that gave thought-provoking insights on the topic of Gender Equity in Sport for All. Stay tuned as TAFISA and AUSC will announce new webinars in the coming weeks!