Abu Dhabi: The fourth edition of the International Conference of Sports for Women was inaugurated by Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of State for Tolerance in the capital on Monday. The two-day conference will see industry leaders, sporting pioneers and global icons including Olympic legend Michelle Kwan, Maria Teixidor Jafresa of FC Barcelona and Beirut Marathon founder May El Khalil deliberate over various key issues.
“Women’s sport reflects the commitment of women to grow mentally, physically and to create happiness and contribute positively to society,” said Shaikh Mubarak Al Nahyan.
“No wonder, therefore, that this leading conference, which includes elite participants from across the UAE and around the world, is organised under the patronage of the Mother of the Nation, Her Highness Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak,” he added.
The opening morning of the Conference also saw the first two panel discussions of five which are scheduled to take place over the two-day event. ICSW has attracted a stellar line-up of speakers, and Panel One saw a packed auditorium listen to an informative discussion around the theme ‘Empowering Women: Sports and Leadership’.
Panel One continued in the discussion of leadership in sport, with Maria Teixidor Jufresa and Michelle Kwan giving the assembled delegates an insight into their views of what goes into the creation of a leader and the importance of role models in sports.
“I had many role models growing up. At seven years old I watched the 1980 Olympic Games and was star-struck by the American Olympic skating team,” explained the American double Olympic medallist Kwan.
“In any sport, you learn many life lessons of hard work, determination, perseverance. Learning how to pick yourself up after falling down in front of millions. These are lessons that serve you well in life. The moments that I fell and made mistakes were when I learnt the most about myself,” added Kwan.
The second panel of the day was organised under the topic of ‘Behavioural Change: Sports as the Norm’ and featured a group of leading sports administrators from both the UAE and overseas. Each panellist was invited to begin the session by asking the question — ‘what is the single issue that the sports world needs to address in order to change behaviours, attitudes and increase opportunities for women in sports?’
