adminDevelopment, Tommy Sithole, urging the media to advocate for Olympic movement values.
Over 30 female journalists are in Nairobi undergoing a training seminar to discuss issues to do with using sport as an empowerment tool for women, bringing education to the youths and bringing awareness to the society on the values of the IOC which go beyond athletes winning medals in their sporting disciplines.
“This seminar is meant to bring awareness and make journalists understand the role of the IOC. The IOC is an organisation which uses sport to develop human kind and believes in the support of the media.
“The problem is we have discovered is that journalists do not understand anything else beside the sport, we are good at organising events but what do we do in between?
“The Olympic movement is clear on that there is more to sport than winning medals, it means independence, empowerment, discipline and respect in the society.
“It is important for the media to understand that it is not about teaching a child to win medals but to instill discipline in knowing that young people can be involved for much more than that.
“The IOC developed a youth strategy seeing that young people are a basis for existence hence the deliberate move through the 2009 IOC movement to refine the youth by talking to young people not only about sport but education and what they can do for themselves through sport.
“It is the reason why we have to look at catering for women and young girls in the youth strategy, women standing up for elections in influential positions and them receiving coverage in the media,” said Sithole.
Officially opening the seminar, Kenyan minister of Youth Affairs and Sport, Kabando wa Kabando, said the quality and quantity of the coverage of women’s sport by the media was not an accurate reflection of the amount of sporting activities played or watched by women.
“This seminar is a tangible manifestation of the importance of the media in steering women in sports. Women have made a consistent and significant contribution to sport at all levels, yet their achievements receive limited coverage.
“The aim of this workshop is therefore to raise participants’ awareness on the importance of the media in achieving gender equality in and through sport. My challenge is that you should seek to address key issues like that the African public is mostly unaware of women’s sporting events and achievements in sport, there are few widely known positive role models for women and girls.
“Also, it is a fact that women in sport with a low profile, do not get sponsors hence the need to give women equal opportunities in exposing their sporting talent,” Kabando said.
Participants also heard case studies presented by representatives of Rwanda, Cameroon and Egypt that exposed cultural and religious barriers that prevent women from excelling in all facets of their lives.
Online Reporter