IWG New Zealand Secretariat (Women in Sport Aotearoa) is delighted to welcome Game Mothibi, Women’s Sport Africa Network (WSAN) and Sallie Barker, European Non-Governmental Sports Organisation (ENGSO) to the IWG Global Executive.
Ms Mothibi was formerly Secretary-General of the IWG Secretariat & Conference 2014 – 2018 in Botswana and has many years of experience in the global gender equality in sport movement. She started her advocacy for women in sport and sport development as a volunteer, working at the Botswana National Sport Council for several years before eventually becoming a board member of the National Olympic Committee. Ms Mothibi has also served as Secretary-General of Botswana Table Tennis and was the general team manager for the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.
She has broken barriers for women in sport in Botswana and has influenced key policy changes, including the UNESCO Charter on Physical Education where she advocated for the inclusion of language pertaining specifically to women and girls.
Ms. Game Mothibi, Africa Representative said:
“I’m happy to represent Africa on the IWG Global Executive as I would like to see Africa being involved more in the women and sport movement. It will give us the opportunity to tell our story of African women in our own way and ensure African women and sport-work is showcased and celebrated internationally.
My focus will be making sure we reach all African countries and understand the work they do for women and girls in sport and also to encourage more research to be developed and shared from Africa. There is a lot of talent in Africa and I’m excited to share that talent with the world.”
Ms Barker is returning to the IWG fold, having been in attendance at the first-ever IWG World Conference in Brighton in 1994 and been part of the drafting of the ground-breaking Brighton Declaration and its update 20 years later, to become the Brighton plus Helsinki 2014 Declaration. She has worked in sport for over 30 years and originally trained to be a teacher and holds an MA in Physical Education.
Ms Barker then worked at the GB Sports Council and Sport England for 12 years before joining the Sport and Recreation Alliance in 2002, where she was the Head of Operations. Ms Barker retired in 2015 and is now able to use her time on her passion – volunteering and working for her community. She is chair of the Safeguarding Adults in Sport Steering Group, Finance and Governance Director on the Board of World Lacrosse, chair of GB Lacrosse Women’s World Cup and President of her local Women’s Institute. For her services to sport, Ms Barker was made an MBE in the 2017 New Year’s Honours list.
Sallie Barker, Europe Representative said:
“I am delighted to have been appointed onto the IWG Executive Committee and honoured that the European Non-Governmental Sports Organisation has invested its trust in me to lead the work of their Equality within Sport Committee and represent the voice of Europe on the IWG,” said Barker. “I was involved with the organisation of the first IWG Conference in Brighton in 1994 and much progress has been made since then on increasing women’s involvement in sport. However, there is still a long way to go, and I am pleased to be able to play my part with IWG once again.”
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