THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SAFE SPORT AND GENDER EQUITY HAS CONCLUDED

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Featuring presentations by highly regarded speakers such as Gloria Viseras (Spain), Marialoreto González (Chile), Yolanda Sosa (United States), María Caridad Colón (Cuba), and Soraya Carvalho (Brazil), the International Congress on Safe Sport and Gender Equality: Prevention for Sport with Integrity concluded its second day of programming on Thursday, April 30, at the Compensar University Foundation in Bogotá, Colombia.

This second day of the Congress featured presentations such as: “Building Safe Sports Environments: Global Leadership and Local Commitment,, “The Urgency of Safe Sport: Prevalence, Responsibility, and Social Transformation,” “Safe Sport: Prevention, Response, and Shared Responsibility,” among others.

Specifically, the academic sessions allowed attendees to reflect on the environments and realities that encompass the various disciplines within the sports ecosystem. For example, the situations and challenges are not the same in timed and scored disciplines or early-age sports as they are in combat or precision sports.

With this in mind, the topics were expanded to include aspects such as mental health, prevention, social responsibility, commitment, and leadership, with the aim of addressing, through examples, cases in which the sports community was harmed by inefficient actions, attitudes, and processes.

Athletes increase their chances of staying in the sport through support that builds a network allowing them to grow and feel safe in various situations, ranging from a victory to the loss of a loved one.

A sports career requires attention and vigilance at different stages of its journey, as safe spaces mark the turning points in a life.

Functioning  as an ecosystem, sports require communication, values, principles, and protocols that address the various situations within a specific context. Metrics, data, and experiences serve as the pillars upon which bridges are built to mediate and safeguard athletes’ continued participation in sports.

The Secretary General and Coordinator of the Gender Equality Commission of the Colombian Olympic Committee, Ana Edurne Camacho Corredor, presided over the closing of the academic session and emphasized: “With these two days of the Congress, we are embarking on a serious endeavor that we wish to carry out and establish in the country. Recognize within yourselves that willingness to attend and be part of this entire effort, because I know you will replicate it in your work and with the people around you. Thank you so much, and we’ll meet again soon, because this experience is for both your professional and personal lives.”

After two days of activities, the International Congress on Safe Sport and Gender Equality: Prevention for Sport with Integrity concluded its program, committed to strengthening sports processes in our country and promoting a more equitable and safe environment for all stakeholders.The Colombian Olympic Committee organized this event with the support of Panam Sports, the International Olympic Committee, and Compensar, as well as its permanent partners Totto, SmartFit, Positiva Compañía de Seguros, RCN Radio, and Canal RCN.