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By Ko Dong-hwan
World Taekwondo (WT) hosted a forum dedicated to encouraging female athletes and other women to seek leadership positions, Friday.
The "Gender Equity and Women Leadership Forum" featured inspirational speeches from global sports figures and policymakers. It continues Saturday.
The Seoul-based taekwondo headquarters prepared the online event with the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee, the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation (THF) and the Saudi Taekwondo Federation.
WT President Choue Chung-won, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach and Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al Faisal Al Saud, the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee (SAOC) president, delivered the forum's opening speeches.
"The COVID-19 pandemic may be the greatest challenge that humanity has faced in modern times, but the global sports community has a responsibility to overcome such adversity and continue to inspire the world," Choue said.
Turki Al Faisal said: "During the COVID-19 pandemic, our role as members of the sports movement has become even more important to help the world reconnect, recover and thrive.
"Sport has a lot to offer to the international community in such unprecedented times, and we are honored to join WT in organizing the 1st World Taekwondo Gender Equity and Women Leadership Forum to discuss how sports and taekwondo in particular can contribute to gender equity and women's leadership in society".
Members of the World Taekwondo for All Committee, the World Taekwondo Council and the SAOC spoke about female leadership and gender equity. Irina Gladkikh and Sandra Lengwiler from the IOC ― whom WT referred to as "great icons in the field" ― talked about the IOC's gender equity movement.
Athletes also participated, including para taekwondo champion Lisa Gjessing from Denmark; Olympian and World Taekwondo Council member Sarah Stevenson from England; Olympian and member of the IOC Athletes' Entourage Commission Myriam Baverel from France; and Saudi fencing Olympian Lubna Alomari, who talked about Saudi female participation in sports.
THF coordinator Sophie Roduit, from Lausanne, Switzerland, spoke on how taekwondo has been taught in refugee camps and used to empower women.
