NEWS
2024.12.04
From October 7 to 9, 2024, Deputy Director Noguchi and Postdoctoral Researcher Miyazawa participated in an international conference organized by the Global Observatory for Sport and Gender Equality (GO) in Lausanne, Switzerland.
１．GO Expert Meeting
On October 7, 2024, the GO Expert Meeting was held at the University of Lausanne. The Expert Group of the GO is comprised of experts invited from research, policy, and practice institutions and networks. The groups provide technical support and advice to the Global Observatory on the development and delivery of initiatives within specified thematic areas. They further offer strategic guidance on the role and working methods of the Global Observatory and function as a supportive mechanism that contributes to accountability and quality of the work of the Global Observatory. SGE Deputy Director Ms. Noguchi is a member of this Expert Group. Representatives of related organizations gathered to discuss the future direction of the GO's promotion for gender equality in sport.
The main topic of the meeting was the GO's action plan on gender-based violence (GBV), which is a specific focus area for the GO starting from 2024 until 2026. First, the development of a research agenda was discussed, and a wide range of research topics were proposed, including the definition and interpretation of GBV, comparative analysis of legal and cultural frameworks in different countries and regions, and lastly, identification of GBV events specific to sport. In addition, analysis of the power structure in coach-athlete relationships, risk assessment by sport level and category, and measurement of the impact of existing safety programs were also identified as important research topics during the meeting.
In addition, research on the health of female athletes was also highlighted, the relationship between the menstrual cycle and athletic performance, the impact of pregnancy and childbirth on careers, and the relationship between mental health and gender were identified as important themes.
Next, the development of a global database was discussed. Various issues were pointed out in this project to consolidate research results and policy information from around the world, including the need for multilingual support, ensuring quality control and reliability of data, and ethical considerations for personal information protection and data sharing.
Regarding the establishment of an international cooperation system, the participants proposed an establishment of regional hubs, the formation of networks with research institutions around the world, and the promotion of research that takes regional characteristics into consideration. The importance of differentiation and cooperation with the International Working Group on Women and Sport (IWG) and UNESCO, as well as building cooperative relationships with government agencies and NGOs in various countries was also emphasized during the meeting.
Looking ahead, the short-term goals for the year 2025 were set to develop and test a pilot version of the database and to hold regular quarterly expert meetings. Long-term goals were confirmed, these goals were to establish a sustainable global data platform and to visualize and compare the progress of gender equality in each country.
During the meeting, SGE Deputy Director Ms. Noguchi provided important recommendations from an Asian perspective on international efforts. In particular, Ms. Noguchi emphasized the importance of multilingual support, pointing out that language can be a major barrier to database utilization for non-English speaking governments and researchers. This is an extremely important perspective in moving away from a Western-centric approach and achieving a global approach.
Furthermore, Ms. Noguchi stated that setting specific indicators and enabling comparisons among countries would make it possible to objectively assess each country's current status and progress. The SGE is in discussion with the GO about the indicators that can be applicable in the context of the ASEAN region and feasible for data collection.
２．2024 annual Conference of the Global Observatory for Gender Equality & Sport+
On the second day, we attended the 2024 annual Conference of the Global Observatory for Gender Equality & Sport+, an international conference held at the Olympic Museum. At this conference, various efforts to improve women's leadership and gender equality in sports were discussed. Session 1, in which Deputy Director Ms. Noguchi also participated, introduced measures to promote women's participation in sport organizations. The Conference also included a Photo Exhibition of images on women and sport from around the world and a networking opportunity for delegates to dialogue and further connect.
First, Lucy Piggot pointed out the multi-layered challenges in sport organizations, based on the case of the United Kingdom. She described the complex interplay of barriers at the formal, structural, cultural, and individual levels, citing in particular the unique challenges faced by black female leaders and emphasizing the importance of an intersectionality perspective.
Rachel Mack then introduced The Association For International Sport for All (TAFISA)'s Girls' Positive and Safe Coaching Pathway program, reporting on specific efforts to remove barriers to women's and girls' sports participation. However, she also pointed out the challenges of global efforts, such as low participation from non-English speaking countries and the difficulty of conducting long-term surveys.
Sergey Lyzhin presented a successful case study of Association of Summer Olympic International Federations(ASOIF)'s Women's Leadership Development Support Program and reported on the rise of women leaders in international sports federations. She emphasized that the program has also contributed to a better understanding of sports politics, and suggested that leadership development could lead to cultural change throughout the sporting world.
In contrast to these Western-centered examples, Deputy Director Ms. Noguchi explained in detail the relationship between gender equality in sport in ASEAN countries, taking into account their complex cultural and historical backgrounds, and emphasized that gender norms in ASEAN countries have been shaped by various influences from pre-colonial times to contemporary globalization. She emphasized that ASEAN countries' gender norms have been shaped by a variety of influences from pre-colonial times to contemporary globalization, and pointed out that a full understanding of these backgrounds is essential for the promotion of gender equality in sport.
Deputy Director Ms. Noguchi particularly mentioned the importance and challenges of data collection, pointing out the lack of gender-specific sports participation data in many ASEAN countries. She noted that this lack of data has become an obstacle to policy making, and that there is an urgent need to improve data collection capacity through cooperation with national governments and national Olympic committees (NOCs).
Deputy Director Ms. Noguchi also reported on her efforts to promote gender equality in sport in ASEAN countries through a project commissioned by the Sports Agency. She emphasized the importance of encouraging change while respecting each country's cultural background and existing gender norms, and the importance of supporting each country in the process of identifying its own priorities and finding solutions rather than imposing them from the outside.
Through these presentations, it became clear that achieving women's leadership and gender equality in sport requires a multi-layered and culturally sensitive approach. In addition to formal institutional reform, cultural change, individual capacity building, and systemic change throughout the organization are required. Comparison of case studies from Europe, the U.S., and ASEAN countries reaffirmed the need for efforts that balance global perspectives and issues specific to the region.
In the future, a multifaceted approach is required, including the development of common indicators on gender equality and the establishment of individual indicators according to each country's situation, the improvement of data collection and analysis capabilities, raising awareness among policymakers, and supporting efforts at the grassroots level. This conference was a valuable opportunity to highlight the importance of international cooperation on these issues and to show the direction for future promotion of gender equality in sport.
３．Global Observatory Academic Partners' Meeting
The Global Observatory Academic Partners' Meeting was held at the University of Lausanne on October 9, 2024. This meeting was set up as a forum to discuss specific partnerships to contribute to Global Observatory's research and data outcomes.
The meeting began with an overview of Global Observatory's database project. The project focuses on developing a digital platform for sharing good practices, resources, research, and policy trends, and aims to showcase tailored academic research and provide specific recommendations for policy makers.
Each participating institution then provided an overview of their priorities and resources, including SGE's work on leveraging its good relations with Southeast Asian countries to gather and provide policy development information, Louisiana State University's work on the Women's Sport and Health Initiative and its wide-ranging research activities. Loughborough University reported on its diverse research areas and fellowship program, and Stellenbosch University on its data collection activities in Africa and research on “life after sports. Power to Period Play and Mt. St. Mary's University shared their work on menstrual health, coaching girls and the resources that have been developed that can be shared as models of good practice, Sport and Gender Equality research hub at Griffith University shared their efforts on gender-based violence, disability, and inclusion research.
Ms. Noguchi emphasized that the SGE has established good relationships with governments and National Olympic Committees (NOCs) in Southeast Asian countries. She explained how this relationship could be leveraged to gather and provide information on sports policy development in each country, especially on the promotion of gender equality.
Ms. Noguchi also reported on the ASEAN-Japan project that Seijo University is currently commissioned by the Sports Agency of Japan. Through this project, she suggested the possibility of collecting information on the status of policy development and priorities in each country, which could be provided to the Global Observatory.
On the other hand, Ms. Noguchi also raised the issue of language barriers. In particular, she pointed out the difficulty of collecting information from non-English speaking countries, such as Cambodia and Thailand, and disseminating it in English. She mentioned the importance of properly translating and communicating the context and concepts of each country, and at the same time, the difficulties involved.
Ms. Noguchi also pointed out that language issues can be a major barrier to using databases and dashboards. She noted that while these tools may be useful for English-speaking countries, it can be difficult for non-English speaking countries to understand the significance and necessity of providing their country's information on an English platform.
Finally, Ms. Noguchi mentioned the potential for collaboration with Japanese researchers. She suggested collaboration with researchers working on leadership, media representation, and LGBTQI-plus issues in the Japanese sport environment, and suggested that the results of these studies could be summarized and made available to the Global Observatory.
The meeting discussed the importance of promoting collaboration among post-doctoral and master's students, creating a framework for each region and visualizing their collaboration, and an approach that integrates while maintaining diversity. Countermeasures were also proposed to address issues such as language barriers and budget uncertainties.
Looking ahead, the participants proposed holding quarterly online meetings and annual face-to-face meetings, assigning leadership to different themes, expanding fellowship and researcher exchange programs, strengthening ties with large universities, and expanding collaboration with Asia, Africa, and Latin American regions.
４．Others: Visit to the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee and participation in a seminar
In between the three-day meeting, Ms. Noguchi and Mr. Miyazawa visited the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to share information on how the IOC is promoting gender equality, its efforts and challenges.
In addition, Miyazawa participated in the Séminaire interdisciplinaire de recherche- L'athlète-femme dans le sport international held on October 10. Information on international discussions on gender-based violence (GBV) was collected, and information on the ASEAN-Japan project conducted by the SGE was also shared.
