Sport is a vehicle for peace, solidarity and inclusion. Unfortunately, sporting environments all too often give rise to discriminatory, violent and abusive behaviour. Whether the discrimination is based on race, gender or sexual orientation, it is essential to prevent and respond to these phenomena at national and international level.
The Council of Europe and its Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) have been working on these issues since 2007, drawing on the values of equality and inclusion enshrined in the European Sports Charter. Council of Europe - European Union joint projects are also working to promote gender equality in sport and combat hate speech, the most recent being “All In Plus” and “Combating hate speech in sport” respectively.
On the eve of the opening of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, EPAS held a conference entitled “Equality and diversity in French-speaking sport: a reality?” on 25 July in Paris. The aim of the conference was to bring together different stakeholders in French-speaking sport to learn more about the initiatives implemented by their country, institution or organisation, and to encourage collective and effective action to strengthen inclusion and combat discrimination.
The conference was opened by Sophie Kwasny, Head of the Council of Europe Sport Division and Executive Secretary of EPAS, Daniel Zielinski, Ministerial Delegate for the Francophonie at the Ministry of Sport and Olympic and Paralympic Games and Honorary President of the Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe, Hervé Barraquand, Cabinet Director of the Secretary General of the Francophonie, and Lidi Bessi Kama, Minister of Sport and Leisure of Togo.
During the first panel on the fight against racism in sport, the speakers shared their experiences as well as the tools and best practices implemented to combat racism in French-speaking clubs and federations.
The second panel on gender equality in sport assessed the inequalities in participation in competitions, pay and media coverage, as well as the obstacles to women taking part in sport.
The conference welcomed the progress made by the sports world, highlighting in particular the fact that the Paris 2024 Games will be the first Games in history where perfect gender parity will be achieved among athletes. However, it stressed that there is still a long way to go to achieve full parity and absence of discrimination, and that all those involved in sport have a duty to continue their efforts towards a more equal and inclusive sports world.
Click here to rewatch the conference (only available in French)
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