Empowering Future Leaders in Grassroots Sport

The International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE) has launched its ‘Empowering Future Leaders in International Grassroots Sport’ project, which sees future leaders from Germany, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia come together over a series of six online workshops (8-24 February 2022).

The aim of the project is to design and develop a Toolkit, which will help young leaders, especially girls and women as well as persons with a disability, to plan and implement grassroots sport events in their communities. The project is funded by the UNESCO Participation Programme.

Topics to be worked on in the workshop series include Parameters of Grassroots Sport, Leadership and Empowerment, Networking, Relationships, Equality and Inclusion as well as Governance and Management, Sponsorship, Suppliers and Fundraising.

The programme involves four countries with three participants from Germany, South Africa and Zambia as well as two from Namibia. All participants are engaged in grassroots sport in their respective countries as e.g. students, volunteers, coaches, researchers or teachers.

“We are very excited to kick off our Future Leaders workshop series as part of the UNESCO Participation Programme and are looking forward to working with a promising group of participants and a very experienced group of facilitators over the next few weeks,” ICSSPE vice-president Annette Hofmann said.

A team of experts from the ICSSPE membership will facilitate the project, including the following:

• Annette Hofmann (Germany) - ICSSPE vice-president, Professor of Sport Studies at Ludwigsburg University of Education and Vice-President of the German Gymnastics Federation
• Jackie Lauff (Australia), CEO and co-founder Sport Matters
• Valereis Geldenhuys (Namibia) – former President Namibian Gymnastics Federation and Biology and Physical Education Teacher, Commonwealth Gymnastics Confederation Executive and FIG Gender Equality Commission Member
• Cora Burnett (South Africa), Professor at the University of Johannesburg, Director UJ Olympic Studies Centre
• Anneliese Goslin (South Africa), Emeritus Professor in Sport Management at the University of Pretoria, South Africa
• Katongo Bwalya Moonga (Zambia), Executive Director National Organisation for Women in Sport Physical Activity and Recreation (NOWSPAR), ICSSPE Executive Board Member, Physical Education and Sport lecturer at the University of Zambia.

A two-day online seminar will follow the six workshops with the project set to wrap up at the end of March. The series is moderated by ICSSPE Executive Director Detlef Dumon.

Workshop Sessions & Facilitators