Celebrating International Women’s Day through sport

Following the university’s special feature on women in sport on International Women’s Day (Sunday 8 March), Dr Gary Stidder and female students in the third year of their respective degree programmes invited fifty girls from Millais School to a School of Sport and Service Management conference to hear about a range of topics.

Visiting students received presentations about Physical Education (from Ciara Buckley), Sport Coaching (Gloria Gyan), Sport and Exercise Science (Ellie Noble and Lucy Shepherd), Sport and Business Management (Eeva Liimola) and Journalism (Sophia Andersson-Gylden).

International Womans Days student conference delegates

Dr Stidder said: “The conference aimed to empower young women to consider careers in sport and the possible pathways available to them at the University of Brighton. It also intended to inspire and motivate these young women to have the confidence to pursue degree course that they may have not previously considered.

“The conference not only celebrated International Women’s Day but also the International Day for Sport for Development and Peace on 6 April 2020 and The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number five, which aims to achieve gender equality and empower all young women and girls”

Students also learnt about the European Erasmus Exchange programme and the ground-breaking Football 4 Peace International, which is about to celebrate its 20^th anniversary.

The conference followed a social media campaign, produced in conjunction with Sport Brighton, involving staff and students to discuss the issues regarding women and sport, one of IWD 2020’s key missions for the year ahead.