...............................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................................
|
Beyond Fun and Games: From July 7 to 10 Smith will host a gathering both serious and celebratory of 100 of the world's most influential women in sports and physical education. "Physical Education and Sport in a Global Context: Honoring the Legacy, Charting the Future" is the title of what will be only the second American meeting of the International Association of Physical Education and Sport for Girls and Women (IAPESGW), an organization founded by Smith's own Dorothy Ainsworth in 1949. Presenters from more than 30 countries-including Australia, Barbados, Brazil, China, Colombia, Croatia, India, Iran, Israel, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Switzerland, Turkey, Uganda, the United Kingdom and the United States-will be on hand. Taking as their theme the role of sport and physical education in the global development of women, their topics will range from "Sexual Harassment in Physical Training" to "The Role of Sport and Physical Education in the Rehabilitation of War-Traumatized Women" to "Women's Football in England: The Struggle to Imagine a Community." "This is an exciting time to be advocating for girls and women in sports," notes Christine Shelton, associate professor of exercise and sport studies at Smith and IAPESGW vice-president. "Since the 1995 United Nations Conference on Women, held in Beijing, governments and nongovernmental organizations in developing countries have shown greater recognition that physical activity and sports programs are not only fun and games but are critically linked to women's health and safety, to women's literacy and persistence in school and even to their access to social and political rights." The conference will open with a keynote address by Jill Ker Conway, former Smith president and a director of the Nike corporation, which sponsors a number of programs addressing girls' self-esteem through sports. Conway will be joined by Benita Fitzgerald Mosley, a three-time Olympian and the only African-American woman to win the Olympic gold medal in the 100-meter hurdles. Donna Lopiano, executive director of the Women's Sports Foundation and a leading advocate for gender equity and athletic opportunity for women, will address a plenary session, discussing the challenges facing women athletes today. A gala celebration also will mark the organization's 50th anniversary and its founding at Smith. IAPESGW now has members in five continents and more than 40 countries. |
..............................................................................................................................................................
NewsSmith
is published by the Smith College Office of College Relations
for alumnae, staff, students and friends.
Copyright © 1998, Smith College. Portions of this publication
may be reproduced with the permission of the Office
of College Relations, Garrison Hall, Smith College, Northampton,
Massachusetts 01063. Last update: 4/26/99.
Made
with Macintosh
