GABORONE, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The 7th International Working Group (IWG) on women and sports world conference started on Thursday in Gaborone, capital of Botswana.
The 4-day conference has attracted sports leaders from different sport disciplines around the world to discuss key issues pertaining to women participation in sports.
Speaking to the media following the official opening of the conference on Thursday evening, IWG co-Chairperson Ruth Maphorisa of Botswana said they are excited as a country to be hosting an event of high magnitude where key discussions will be done to map a way forward in improving participation of women in sport.
Maphorisa said Botswana has done a great job since assuming the Chairpersonship and secretariat of IWG four years ago in terms of bringing to the forefront issues affecting women participation in sport, as well as tackling them.
She said Botswana as the first African country to host the conference has also brought a spotlight to the continent to be frontrunners in ensuring women issues in sports are addressed properly and with the right channels.
Maphorisa also applauded Botswana for obtaining more signatories to the Brighton Plus Helsinki declaration during the past four years.
The declaration was first made immediately after the very first IWG conference that was held in Brighton, United Kingdom and it is meant to promote participation of girls and women in sports.
Meanwhile, over a thousand delegates amongst them athletes, former athletes, researchers, sports leaders and others attended the first day of the conference.
