Join us for a livestream of the seventh National Sport Integrity Forum to hear sports leaders discuss sport for human rights.

The Sport Australia Hall of Fame and Victoria University along with our partners: Sportscover, Sport Australia and the Australian Institute of Sport are proud to bring you the seventh National Sport Integrity Forum:

SPORT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: To boycott or not to boycott, is that the question?

The world that we live in is arguably in the biggest state of disruption since the start of recorded history. Recovering from the global pandemic, waking up to the threat of global conflict and the erosion of democracy, all of this is further disrupted by the global reach of omnipresent communication technology that can and is used for constructive and destructive purposes. It is in this context that ‘human rights’ have never been more relevant – regarding what they are, how we understand what they are, how we act, and how we protect them.

During the Forum we anticipate to focus our attention on the world’s biggest sporting events such as the football World Cup and the Olympic Games, to debate a range of human rights matters. These matters range from how sport can be used as a platform for equal opportunities (the Sport for Development movement), how the economics and power relations around sport override human rights (for example, in awarding the World Cup to Qatar), or how sport delivers soft diplomacy tools but also offers hard sanction options. It is in regard to the latter – sanctions – and then specifically the often-used sanction of athletes, federations or nations ‘boycotting’ major sporting events that we anticipate to focus the discussion. Can a sporting boycott deliver positive and impactful results in regard to safeguarding and advancing human rights?

Event Details

Topic: Sport for Human Rights: To boycott or not to boycott, is that the question?
Date: Thursday 26 May 2022
Time: 3:30pm – 5pm (AEST)
Webinar details: The event will be live streamed to attendees

Registration

Please CLICK HERE to register via the Victoria University event page. Registrations for the event close 5pm, Wednesday 25 May 2022.

Panelists

Sir Peter Cosgrove

Sir Peter Cosgrove served as the 26th Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. He was Knighted at his swearing in 2014 and following his retirement in 2019 Sir Peter was further honoured as a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order by Her Majesty the Queen. In retirement he is actively involved with defence, health and other charitable organisations including serving as chairman of BizRebuild, the Business Council of Australia’s Community Rebuilding Initiative following the 2019/20 bushfires and more recent floods. Sir Peter is also an avid sports fan with a particular interest in Rugby and Cricket.

Dr Shane Gould AM MBE

Dr Shane Gould PhD obtained her Doctor of Philosophy at Victoria University in 2019, studying the culture of swimming in Australia. During her research she identified that athletes representing Australia on national teams are expected to be de-facto ambassadors, a political diplomatic role – but without training. Sport and politics are supposedly separate, however Shane takes the school of thought proposed by Jonathon Grix, 2016 of ‘Sport Politics’, where sport is political and always has been. While Shane does not have direct experience of sport boycotts, she was a competing athlete at the infamous Munich Olympics in 1972. Shane brings her academic perspectives, with her life-long experience as an elite athlete ‘role model’ and her cultural knowledge, to the discussion about sporting boycotts and increasing politicisation of sport.

Prof. Stan Grant

Professor Stan Grant is one of Australia’s most respected and awarded journalist, with experience across radio, television, and print covering world news and international affairs. With a strong reputation for independence and integrity, one of his most significant positions was as a Senior International Correspondent for CNN covering the rise of China and numerous wars in the Middle East.

In 2021, Professor Stan Grant was appointed as the Vice Chancellor’s Chair of Australian-Indigenous Belonging at Charles Sturt University. He is also Industry Professor at UTS Business School. He is a Wiradjuri man.

John Bertrand AO – Official Welcome

John Bertrand is a businessman, international sportsman, and philanthropist. He successfully built companies in the marine industry, property development and digital media industries in Silicon Valley and co-founded Quokka Sports, a pioneering digital sports broadcast company based in San Francisco. Over his 25-year international sporting career, he was involved in five America’s Cup campaigns in both sailing and management, and as Chairman of oneAustralia. He competed in two Olympic Games and skippered the winged keel Australia II to victory over the US Defender Liberty to win the 1983 America’s Cup, ending 132 years of American domination and in the process, breaking the longest-running record in the history of modern sport.

Prof. Ramón Spaaij – Introduction

Professor Ramón Spaaij is an eminent scientific expert on sport, social inclusion and human rights. He is based at the Institute for Health and Sport at Victoria University, where he heads up the Healthy and Inclusive Communities Research Program and the Sport and Social Change Living Lab. Ramón is also a Visiting Professor at the Utrecht University School of Governance and, between 2013 and 2021, held a Professorial (Endowed) Chair in Sociology of Sport at the University of Amsterdam. Ramón leads a number of collaborative research projects that address issues of inclusion, exclusion, discrimination, violence and equity in sport. Ramón is renowned for his innovative international research on sport for development, including with culturally diverse migrants and refugees.

Prof. Hans Westerbeek – Facilitator

Professor Hans Westerbeek is Professor of International Sport Business and Head of the Sport Business Insights Group. His research expertise is in international marketing and strategic management of sport organisations, and in the field of sport business insights and analytics. Hans is on a range of advisory boards, has academic appointments in Beijing, Brussels and Madrid and has consulted to more than 50 (inter)national sport organisations including FIFA, the Dutch Olympic Committee, the AFL, Al Jazira Sport and Cultural Club (Abu Dhabi), Cricket Australia and for several overseas governments. He has published more than 25 books and over 200 research and opinion articles.

Live Stream

Live Stream will appear here closer to the date of the 2022 National Sport Integrity Forum.

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