Sports Bulletin Report
New York (USA): The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has renewed its partnership with UN Women, underlining each organisation’s commitment to using sport to promote gender equality and to empower women and girls.
The new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which was signed by IOC President Thomas Bach and UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous during a meeting in New York, USA, extends a partnership that began in 2012 and was extended for the first time in 2017. It will see the two organisations continuing to work together to maximise the value of sport in shaping social norms and reaching sustainable development outcomes that impact women’s and girls’ lives daily. During the ceremony, the IOC President was accompanied by Mrs Laura Chinchilla, IOC Member in Costa Rica, Mrs Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, IOC Member in Croatia, and HRH Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud, IOC Member in Saudi Arabia.
“Sport has the potential to transform lives, and the extension of our partnership with UN Women will help us to ensure that all women and girls have the opportunity to benefit from this unique power of sport,” said President Bach. “ With this new MoU, we will enhance our ongoing initiatives to encourage sports participation among girls and advance towards gender equality.”
UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous added: “Sport is an unrivalled asset to help us to end all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls, and to ensure women’s full and equal participation in leadership and decision-making. There can be no higher goal, and no greater win for us all, and we are honoured to be renewing our partnership with the IOC to work towards this target together.”
