DAY TWO OF PANAM SPORTS WEEK: ADVANCING GENDER EQUITY AND SAFE SPORT ACROSS THE AMERICAS

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The second day of Panam Sports Week brought together athletes, administrators, and advocates for a full day dedicated to two of the Olympic Movement’s most pressing priorities: gender equity and athlete safeguarding. The day was split into two major sessions — the Women in Sport Forum in the morning, and a series of Safe Sport presentations in the afternoon — drawing leaders from across the region and the International Olympic Committee.

Women in Sport Forum

The morning opened with the Women in Sport Forum, running from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Panam Sports President Neven Ilic delivered the institutional welcome, setting the tone for the day alongside a screening of the “Women of the Americas” video.

The forum then turned to video remarks from two prominent figures in global sport: HRH Prince Faisal bin Al Hussein and IOC member Kirsty Coventry, both of whom spoke to the importance of advancing women’s participation and leadership in sport.

Alicia Morea followed with an overview of the State of the Americas, addressing the work of the International Working Group (IWG) and the actions being taken by National Olympic Committees across the region.

“I’m happy and very excited about this forum. These are the women of Pan American sports who fill me with pride. We’ve grown by more than 300%, and that makes us very happy. We are raising awareness about who we are, where we stand, our worth, and the feeling that anything is possible—that there is no ceiling and that we must keep moving forward,” said Alicia Morea, President of the Panam Sports Women in Sports Commission.

Former Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla then took the stage to speak on women’s empowerment, bringing a political and social perspective to the conversation. Jane Thornton presented via video on the IOC’s Female Category Protection Policy, outlining the framework guiding eligibility and fairness in women’s competition.

Neven Ilic returned alongside Primrose Mhunduru and Eleonora Guzzi to present on future IOC strategies, summarized under the banner “First for the Future.”

The forum’s next segment focused on the IWG Brasilia 2030 conference and Brazil’s best practices, spotlighting the MIRA Programme. Marcos Laporta and Yanne Marques shared insights from that initiative before the morning session paused for a coffee break.

Panel Discussions

Following the break, attendees heard from three distinct panels:

• “Same Track… Different Rules” — A Q&A session featuring sprinter Asafa Powell and Damaris Young, discussing the differing realities faced by men and women in athletics.
• A mixed panel featuring Elise Seignolle, Eva Cordoba, Sonja Johnson, Cecilia Tait, and Katiuska Santaella, bringing together voices from across sports and disciplines.
• The Men Allies Panel, featuring Miguel Angel Mujica, Camilo Perez, Armando Bruni, Dennis Knight, Godfrey Munroe, and David Shoemaker, hosted by Annette Knott and Ana Camacho of the Women in Sport Commission. The panel focused on the role men can play as allies in advancing gender equity in sport.

Peruvian Olympic Committee board member Vanessa Endo presented the sessions throughout the forum.

Safe Sport Sessions

The afternoon shifted focus to athlete safeguarding, opening with Nicole Hoevertz, President of the Safe Sport Commission and a member of the IOC Executive Board. Hoevertz outlined the commission’s role in providing guidance and directives to National Olympic Committees and federations across the region.

Gloria Viseras followed with a presentation titled “Safeguarding in the Olympic Movement: Building the Future Together,” speaking in depth about capacity building for safeguarding officers in sport and the development of focal points for safeguarding education.

Former Los Pumas international rugby player Marcelo Bosch offered a personal perspective, drawing on his own experience to underscore the importance of strong safeguarding structures within sport.

Sarah Hirshland then led a session titled “Safe Sport Prevention and Response: Lessons Learned,” sharing practical takeaways from implementing safeguarding programs.

The day’s programming closed with discussions on the ASU25 Games and related activations, along with interactive exercises covering basic protocols and how to recognize risk situations in sporting environments.

“Women have always played a very important role, not only in sports but also in the global Olympic Movement. In the Americas, there have also been significant advances in the effort to ensure women’s right not only to participate in competitions but also to be part of leadership, to be decision-makers, and to serve on governing bodies such as federations and National Olympic Committees,” said Laura Chinchilla, former president of the Republic of Costa Rica.

“It’s wonderful to know that the Americas are leading this process. In other words, not only are we sending a sufficient number of athletes to the Olympic Games—already 50 percent, as requested today—but women are also making decisions within our region’s sports organizations,” concluded Chinchilla.

Closing Success Story: Colombia’s Five-Pillar Model

Ana Eugenia Camacho closed out the day with a success story from Colombia, detailing how the country built its safeguarding office from the ground up — including the concrete steps taken, the obstacles encountered, and the solutions implemented along the way. Camacho highlighted Colombia’s five-pillar model, built around prevention, protection, equity, integrity, and governance, illustrating the breadth of topics covered throughout the day.

Day two of Panam Sports Week reinforced a clear message: advancing gender equity and building robust safeguarding structures are not separate conversations, but interconnected pillars of a safer, fairer future for sport across the Americas.