Call for Presentations: 8th IWG World Conference on Women & Sport

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The International Working Group (IWG) on Women & Sport has today issued a Call for Presentations worldwide.

We are seeking interactive workshops, lightning talks and poster presentations for the upcoming 8th IWG World Conference on Women & Sport, taking place between 5-8 May 2022 in Auckland, New Zealand and also Online.

  • Deadline to Submit: 6 April 2021, 11.59pm New Zealand time
  • Applications accepted in English, Français and Español
  • Notification of Submission Outcome: June 2021

For the first time in its 25-year history, the IWG World Conference on Women & Sport will be delivered as a physical-digital hybrid. In response to COVID-19, presenters and participants can be physically here in Auckland, New Zealand (broadcast online simultaneously), and / or on video from their global locations. When you are filling in your submission form, you will be asked whether you would like to present in Auckland or online, and if you have the ability to be flexible.

This is an amazing opportunity to present your very best work to inspire change for women and girls at the world’s largest gathering on gender equity in sport and physical activity! Travel restrictions allowing, many hundreds of participants are expected to attend the event in New Zealand with another several hundred participating via a fully interactive online experience. It is being staged by the IWG New Zealand Secretariat (Women in Sport Aotearoa)

The content framework for the 8th IWG World Conference on Women & Sport is being co-designed by a range of extraordinary global sport and physical activity contributors with diverse skill sets and experiences. They have been collectively grouped into five global INNOV8 Programming Teams. There are now over 150+ members included from 28 different countries and all 7 continents. Each member is highly committed to working together, collaborating online and over long distance to design content that enables positive change for women and girls worldwide and ensures a range of global and local ideas are included in the conference programme. Their core task has been to identify the most pressing global issues that impact on gender equality in sport and physical activity globally. This has now formed the basis of the content framework for the Conference. You can see names and locations on our live interactive map.

The overall theme for the 8th IWG World Conference on Women & Sport is “Change Inspires Change”.

Content is being organised into five themes:

  1. Leadership 
  2. Social Change
  3. Active Lives
  4. High Performance 
  5. Visibility and Voice

Each of the five themes will be examined through seven conference lenses:

  1. Indigeneity
  2. Technology
  3. Health and Wellbeing
  4. Systems, Resource and Investment
  5. Environmental Sustainability
  6. Human Rights
  7. Integrity and Accountability

When you submit your presentation idea, you will be asked to choose one of each.

We are looking for presentations that embrace a critical focus on action. If you are an academic with research or insight to share, we encourage you to submit your presentation idea with a partner that has applied your knowledge, such as a sporting organisation or community group. We want to see how your research was turned into a practical programme.

Every participant at the 8th IWG World Conference on Women & Sport will be seeking inspirational practical ideas for women and girls in sport and physical activity. Ideas they can adapt for their own use in their own environment. This is not just a ‘conference’ – it is an open learning space for connection, collaboration and creativity. It is a place for commitment to leadership, action and social change. The IWG aspires to provide an environment focused on interaction and engagement. That’s why we chose “Change Inspires Change” as our overall campaign and theme for 2022.

Don’t miss this rich opportunity to be a part of the largest global community of action on gender equity. We want to hear about the changes YOU made. We want to know how you developed your ideas. How you applied them. What you learned. And what changes happened for women and girls because of your ideas. Your changes will inspire everyone’s changes. And we will be weaving everyone’s ideas together to help accelerate positive change worldwide.

We plan to offer live translation at-event and online. Currently, you can both APPLY and PRESENT in English, Français and Español and Sign Language. We will be announcing more languages soon.

Applications are now open!

Please click here to read all information about the presentation guidelines and submit your presentation.

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