The fourth International Olympic Committee (IOC) World Conference on Women and Sport, held in Jordan on 8-10 March 2008, brought together the Olympic Movement, universities, industry, governments and NGOs to discuss the role of sport as a vehicle for positive social change and women's role in this.
Among the issues debated were HIV/AIDS, challenging gender norms and relations between sport, gender and ethnicity. In addition, the participants discussed new opportunities to increase the participation of women in sport.
The conference adopted the Dead Sea Plan of Action, which sets out a roadmap to advance the cause of girls and women in and through sport via actions in five specific areas:
- Promoting gender equality through all means, such as the upcoming Olympic Games in Beijing, the elections of National Olympic Committees and the first Youth Olympic Games (YOG);
- Better governance through research gathering data on the involvement of women in the Olympic Movement, so that a specific strategy and guidance for better participation can be developed;
- Empowering women through education and development by improving their access to and participation in sport;
- Improved media relations to put an end to the current disparity in treatment of women's sport by the media, both in terms of reporting on women's sports and employing women sports journalists, and;
- Helping achieve the UN's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through sport.
According to the IOC, more than 600 participants from 116 different countries agreed unanimously and committed themselves on the strategy and goals of the action plan.
The winners of the '2008 Women and Sport Awards' were also revealed during the conference. These prizes are awarded to women who have made outstanding contributions to strengthening the participation of women and girls in sport around the world. The 2008 winners include both political personalities and former top athletes.
The Commission's White Paper on Sport and the accompanying Action Plan, adopted in July 2007, also highlight the need to encourage the mainstreaming of gender issues into all the EU's activities related to sport.
