Participants

Over the years, she conducted multiple national research project and received international research funded by the IOC, Commonwealth Games Federation, European Union, the Australian Sports Commission, and CSI research projects such as the Sport for Social Change Network (SSCN) to lead and conduct research in several African countries.

She is currently leading three national research projects relating to youth leadership, school sport and physical education. She is the Director of the UJ Olympic Studies Centre and a Vice-President of the International Association of Sport. In 2017, she received the Universitas 21 award for Excellence in the Internationalisation of Higher Education and the G-Sport National award for service and innovation in South African Sport.  

Marc Theeboom holds a PhD in Sport and Movement Sciences and a Master’s degree in Adult Educational Sciences. He works as a full professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium (VUB). He is the current chair of the Research Group ‘Sport and Society’.

His research primarily focuses on policy-related and educational aspects of sport in general and in relation to specific target groups in particular. He has a special interest in the analysis and evaluation of ‘sport for development’ programs in which sport is regarded as a means of personal, social and community development.

To date, Marc Theeboom has coordinated over 30 policy relevant studies in Flanders with regard to grassroots sport. He has been frequently asked to act as an advisor in steering groups and as a member of scientific committees with regard to the social value of sport and of policy preparation initiatives on different national and international levels. 

Maria Dinold is Assistant Professor, Department of Sports Pedagogy, at the University of Vienna, Centre for Sport Science and University Sports. Her research focus and publications are in the fields of adapted physical education/ activity (theory and practical application); socio-psychological dimensions of disability in sport, recreation and physical education; inclusion of people with disabilities through physical activities, and inclusive pedagogy. She graduated from the University of Vienna in 1987 (MA) and 2000 (PhD).

Piero Bassetti (Milan, Italy, 1928) is currently President of Globus et Locus, an association of institutions whose objective is to analyse global and local relations, and President of the Giannino Bassetti Foundation, the purpose of which is the study of "responsibility in innovation".

He was the first President of the Lombardy Region and Member of Italian Parliament. Former President of the Chamber of Commerce of Milan, and of the Union of Italian Chambers of Commerce, he was also President of the Association of Chambers of Commerce Abroad (CCIE).

He is author of the book Let’s wake up, Italics! Manifesto for a glocal Future”, Marsilio, Venezia, 2015 (English version, Bordighera Press, New York, 2017).

Candice Welsch is the Chief of the Implementation Support Section of the Corruption and Economic Crime Branch of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).  She leads a team based in both Vienna and the field that is responsible for providing technical assistance to countries in preventing and combating corruption under the United Nations Convention against Corruption. 

 

Ms. Welsch previously held positions in the Justice Section and the Organized Crime and Illicit Trafficking Branch of UNODC, during which time her work focused primarily on issues relating to criminal justice, piracy off the coast of Somalia, human trafficking and international cooperation in criminal matters.  Prior to joining UNODC, Ms. Welsch worked as the senior legal officer to the judges of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, a UN-backed international war crimes tribunal.  At the national level, Ms. Welsch was a federal prosecutor at the Department of Justice Canada where she prosecuted cases relating to drugs and organized crime and was responsible for extradition and mutual legal assistance with countries around the world.  

 

Ms. Welsch has an LL.M. in international criminal justice (University of London), a master’s degree in international law (Université de Paul Cézanne), law degrees in both common law and civil law (McGill University) and a bachelor of arts in politics (Queen’s University).

 

María Trinidad Bequer Soto del Valle holds a Degree in Physical Culture, Master in Sports Training Methodology. She is Assistant Professor at the University of Physical Culture and Sports Sciences Manuel Fajardo in Cuba.

María Trinidad has published articles, programs and books and has participated in numerous events, congresses and scientific conferences as a speaker both nationally and internationally.

She has taught courses and performed diagnostics in different countries. She has worked as an advisor to the Peruvian Olympic Committee in conducting multidisciplinary events. Currently she works for the National Institute of Sports Physical Education and Recreation (INDER) in the Vice Presidency of Physical Culture.

Alfredo Durante Mangoni is Coordinator for Anticorruption at the Italian Foreign Ministry since June 2016. In this capacity he partakes in the main multilateral fora active on anticorruption as part of the global agenda (UNCAC, OECD, GRECO CoE; G20 and G7).

Head of Delegation to the G20 Anticorruption Working Group. He deals with legal diplomacy and civil and criminal justice since 2013, when was appointed diplomatic adviser to the Justice Minister. Contributor to reviews on legal affairs and lecturer in these matters at Italian Universities, High School of Public Administration, specialized Masters.

Foreign posts: Moscow (1995-99), first secretary; Benghazi (1999-2002), consul general; Tokyo (2008-2012) as Minister and deputy Head of Mission. In Rome he worked on development cooperation, economic affairs, EU issues (namely Justice and Home Affairs), deputy Asia director and as adviser to the Labour and Welfare Minister. In 2012 he edited a study on the Japanese Yakuza for the Italian review Gnosis.

Omara Durand Elías holds a Degree in Physical Culture. Multimedallist in Para-Pan Am Games, Paralympic Games and World Championships. Nominated for the Laurens Awards in 2016 and 2017.

Decorated with the Living Without Limits Award for being the best female athlete in 2016 of the Americas, by the United States Sports Academy in 2017 as the best disabled athlete from America.

Decorated by the International Paralympic Committee with the Best Female Athlete Award of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, where she won the triple crown in 100, 200 and 400 meters with World and Paralympic Records.

André is also a Lecturer at the University of Ottawa at the School of Human Kinetics. As a member of the Sport for Life movement in Canada, André has helped several organizations in Canada and around the world with athlete development, coach education and quality programming.

He has also worked with professional organizations in various sports and has been consulting with several organizations in North America, Europe, Central and Latin America. In 2012, he received the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Award for his contribution to the Canadian Sport system.

Léa Cleret has a Ph.D in philosophy specializing in ethics in sport, with a special focus on the use of performance enhancing substances. This led her to spend close to decade working with athletes on large scale behaviour change programmes with the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Léa was then asked to expand her mandate into the field of conducts which breach sport integrity, in particular match-fixing. During this mandate, she studied criminology in order to understand the specifics of the criminal mind and develop appropriate policies.

She also wished to blend her 15 years of experience and key learnings in sport and founded Equitelos, a not-for-profit organisation aiming to support riders to reach their potential in an ethical way.

Fred Coalter is visiting Professor of Sports Policy at the Free University of Brussels (VUB) and Leeds Beckett University. He was previously Professor of Sports Policy at Stirling University.

His published work includes Sport-in-Development: A Monitoring and Evaluation Manual (UK Sport/ UNICEF, 2006), A Wider Social Role for Sport: who’s keeping the score? (Routledge, 2007), Sport, Conflict and Youth Development (Comic Relief, 2011) and Sport-for-development: what game are we playing? (Routledge, 2013).

Fred has worked on M&E with sport for development organisations in the UK, 7 sub-Saharan African countries, India and Brazil, and is currently a member of the board of the Nairobi-based Mathare Youth Sport Association’s Sport Leadership Academy and works on M&E with Magic Bus (India) and Sportstec (South Africa).  He was a member of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister’s Neighbourhood Renewal Unit’s Working Group on Sport and the UK Centre for Social Justice’s Working Group on Sport and Social Regeneration. Currently, he is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Swiss Academy of Development. He recently completed a project for Comic Relief on sport and employability in the UK and South Africa and (with staff from VUB) a EU funded project on sport and employability.

Rosaline Afor Amba Kwende is from the North West Region of the Republic of Cameroon. She was former Deputy Director at the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education  for the Teaching of Physical Education.

Ghazi Hussein Nujeidat holds a M.A. Degree at Haifa University. Today, he is Sport Supervisor in the Ministry of Culture & Sport and responsible for 55 communities in the North of Israel – Galilee.

Coordinator of International Relations in Sport, he is also Court member of Wingate institution, Member of the UNO-SDP IWG (United Nation Office for Sport for Development and Peace), Member of the INSC (Israel National Sport Council), Coordinator of the multicultural sport initiatives in the Ministry of Sport.

Nick Aplin has been lecturing in PE and Sport in Singapore since 1985. His first book To The Finishing Line was published in 2002. In 2005, he was the lead author of Singapore Olympians: The Complete Who’s Who 1936-2004. He was the co-author (with Tibor Karolyi) of Anatoly Karpov: Endgame Virtuoso which won the Guardian (UK) award for the Chess Book of the Year. 

 

Nick has been engaged in local television commentary work since 1997. In 2010 he was a lead commentator for the local cable TV network coverage of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games hosted by Singapore. 

 

Recent Published Works:  Aplin, N.G. (2017). Sport in Singapore (1945-1948): From Rehabilitation to Olympic Status.

The International Journal of the History of Sport (FHSP), 2017(1), 1-20; Aplin, N.G. (2015). Hosting the Youth Olympic Games: The Pioneers from Singapore. 

In Leng, H.K.& Noah, Y.T. (Eds.), Emerging Trends and Innovations in Sports Marketing and Management in Asia (pp. 219-240). Hershey, Pennsylvania: IGI.

 

Maja Pilgaard is Head of Research at the Danish Institute for Sports Studies. She holds a Ph.D in Movement, Sport and Society from University of Southern Denmark. 

Javier Wallace is a current doctoral (PhD) student in Physical Education Teacher Education program at The University of Texas at Austin. Javier holds a Masters of Science in Sport Management from Florida A&M University where he was also a NCAA Division I Football student-athlete. 

Lerina Bright's long history in sports management and administration includes roles with national and international sport federations in Europe, the Middle East, North America, and the Caribbean.

She holds an M.A. Sport Administration from the AISTS in Lausanne, Switzerland and B.A. International Studies & Economics from the University of Miami, Florida.

She is the Executive Director & Founder of Mission 89 a Geneva based Research, Education and Advocacy NGO aimed at tackling child trafficking in sport. 

Ibrahim Juneidi is the general coordinator of Al Sharq Youth network, the former vice president of the student representatives' council in Malaysia, an experienced project manager and conferences coordinator with a proven history in the international affairs industry.

He is a career-oriented professional and academic with a Master's degree in Biochemical Engineering from the University of Malaya, Malaysia.

Christa Maria Schumann Lottmann holds a Degree in Communications (Universidad Rafael  Landivar URL) and  a Bachelor in Broadcast Journalism / Minor in Advertising (Lousiana State University). She is Sports Coordinator in a guatemalan German School and Technical Coordinator at the National Council of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation. In this latter role, she cohordinates programs and investigations related to the promotion of physical activity, evaluation of the physical condition, detection of early  sport talent in children and youth,  with the governing institutions of Physical Education, sports and recreation. She coordinates Scholarship program of Specialized Diploma in Physical Education, Sports and Physical Recreation in the  Plateau area in Guatemala.

 

Christa participated in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, U.S.A. in 100 and 200 meters; is Member of the guatemalan National Olympian Association, and  has represented Guatemala at the World Olympian.

 

She was named Athlete of the Year by the National Track and Field Federation 1983-1985; Athlete of the Century by the guatemlan national Track and Field Federation in 2001; Athlete of the year in 1984 by the Guatemalan Olympic Commitee 1984.

She holds national records in 100, 200 and 400 meters since  1986.

Franz Gastler grew up in Minnesota (USA), and has been based in a tribal village in Jharkhand, India since 2008 where he cofounded Yuwa, an NGO using football and education to help girls take charge of their own futures.

He has a BA and MA in International Political Economy from the University Professors Program at Boston University and holds certificates in negotiation and mediation from the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. 

Before co-founding Yuwa, he was a ski & snowboard instructing and worked as a consultant at the Confederation of Indian Industry and with another grassroots NGO in India.  Yuwa is recipient of numerous awards including Nike Gamechangers, and has been featured extensively print, television and online media, including Al-Jazeera, BBC, and Washington Post.

Over the past 20 years she has studied the life story of Brazilian Olympic athletes resulting in more than 1,300 interviews with athletes throughout Brazil and worldwide. From this study research was developed on female athletes, sports initiation and career transition.

She is the author of several publications and currently collaborates with the program of Olympic education of the Secretariat of Education of São Paulo.

Keith Gilbert is Professor Emeritus, University of East London. He is currently visiting professor at the University of Rome ‘Foro Italico’ and professor in sport management at John Cabot University, Rome. Formally he was a Professor in Sport Management in the School of Health & Bioscience at the University of East London and Director of the Centre for Disability, Sport & Health for many years.

 

He researched in the area of sport management, sport sociology and disability of sport and has a strong interest in qualitative, interpretive and narrative research methodologies. He has numerous publications and has edited several books in the broad areas of sport, sociology, cultural studies, sustainability, environment and disability. 

These include the following: The Paralympics: Empowerment or Sideshow (2010); Paralympic Legacies (2011); Sustainability and Sport (2011); Heroes or Zeroes: The Paralympics and the Media (2012); Sport, Peace & Development (2012); Fighting: Intellectualising Combat Sport (2013).

 

He has been an Executive Board Member of the International Council of Sports Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE) and has worked on the Editorial Board of (ICSSPE). Professor Gilbert is chief editor of the International Journal of Sport in Society and he has two book series one in the area of Disability and Sport and the other in the broad area of Sport in Society.

 

He was the Assistant Chef de Mission (Administration) of the Australian Paralympic Team in Sydney 2000. He was awarded an Australian Prime Ministers medal for his work at the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games and he has worked closely with the USOC in London 2012 and also in Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Paralympics. 

 

Etsuko Yamada earned a Master of Public Policy at Graduate School of Law, Tohoku University in Japan. She joined Japan Sport Council (JSC), engaged in the national project as an Intelligence Analyst to win more medals for London Olympics utilizing sport science, medicine and intelligence and worked closely with Japanese Canoe Sprint team. A wide variety of information from sport policy to scientific evidence had been collected and analyzed. 

 

From 2014 to 2016 she had worked for the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace (UNOSDP) as a Programme Officer, whose mission is to assist the Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace in the fulfillment of his mandate. She was mainly in charge of administering grant distribution to promote SDP projects around the globe by establishing fair and objective selection process and by providing 12 implementing organizations with technical advice and support from the perspective of project management.

 

Now she came back to Japan, working for JSC as the Head of International Sport for Development to integrate SDP into its policy, suggesting measures and strategies to the Japanese government.

 

Ivor Hoff has served over the past three decades, in many capacities in a range of voluntary structures including progressive political structures fighting for freedom and justice in South Africa.

 

During this period he qualified as a teacher, majoring in Pedagogy of Education and Physical Education, furthered his studies amongst others completing a Specialised Diploma in Child Guidance at the University of the Western Cape & Cape Town as well as completing a degree at the University of Johannesburg in Education.

 

The aforementioned equipped his to accept postings as a Senior Deputy Principle of a school, the Provincial Departments of Education Sport respectively, finally appointed as the Chief Director for Sport & Recreation in the Gauteng Province to date. In the recent past he was part of the organising committee for 2010 in the Gauteng Province.

Kristen Worley is an elite-level high performance cyclist who has been tirelessly at the forefront of the struggles against sport gender rules for 16 years. A transitioned athlete, Kristen was the first athlete in the world who was subject to the IOC’s 2003 Stockholm

Nikolaus Theodorou, parallel with his social humanitarian and sport volunteer work, represents, as General Secretary, the NATIONAL SPORT INTEGRITY PLATFORM (Council of Europe recommendations) bearing the name:  KEA FAIR PLAY CODE HELLAS. He acts as a H.R.D research executive of the Greek Institute of Employment & Human Resources & research associate of Greek Statistics Authority. He has been working professionally for a decade in the sports industry & in NFPO-NGO sports organizations, before undertaking a four years’ time, challenging H.R.M. role, in ATHENS 2004 Olympic & Paralympics Volunteers Division. Having experienced, a five years’ time top managerial role at the E.C. Greek National Agency – L.d.Vinci - Pro Education & Vocational Training L.L.P. program, Nikolaos, run, on behalf of NGO TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL / E.P.F.L - / D.F.L - / SUPERLEAGUE HELLAS,   the Greek leg of the educational training prevention awareness E.C. joint euro project ’STAYING ON SIDE, HOW TO STOP MATCH FIXING’ in 18 SUPERLEAGUE F.Cs , all over Greece.  

 

As national expert in sport integrity consults on behalf of Greece the E.C. and WADA consortiums such as:

• "FIX the FIXING “ - Proactive quelling of Sports Events Manipulation "  - 

• "SPORT WHISTLE”  - “Whistleblowing of Harmful irregularities in Sport Through Learning and Education”

• “C.S.I - Coach Sport Integrity – Educating sport coach to tackle match-fixing

• “A.D.V.I.C.E –  Anti-Doping Values in Coaching Education” – Educating sport coach to prevent doping in young athletes and players in competitive and grassroots sports

• “WADA whistle-DOP” whistleblowing learning and education for athletes and athletes support staff

 

A passionate athlete & sportsman, after his sports competitive career in track field, mistral sailing, waterskiing & snowboarding, Nikolaos, studied P.E. Leisure Studies & Sports Science at , the Moray House College-UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH & the STATE UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS, respectively. He specialized in Governmental Strategic Sports Policy & Sport Orgs Governance, with relevant M.Sc/MBA postgraduate degrees in, Sports & Olympic Management, from the OPEN UNIVERSITY, the LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERISTY, the International Olympic Academy I.O.A, and the International Olympic Committee I.O.C. Nikolaos remains a committed volunteer and an active, dedicated member of various relevant NGOs and sport related Charities, NFPOs Civil Societies, and European sport integrity networks and platforms.

Tiziana Beghin is a Member of the European Parliament since July 2014. She is Vice- President of the Sport Intergroup, Member of the INTA Committee (International Trade), and EMPL Committee (Employment and Social Affairs).

She graduated in Economics and Commerce at the University of Genoa, and assisted a Master in Human Resources and Management at the Mind Business School. Before her election as member of the European Parliament, she also worked as a motivational speaker and a consultant in Sport Management for some professional sports teams.

She has been a young athlete, a volleyball player to be more specific, and she is still playing a very active role inside some sport associations of the city she lives in, with the intent of promoting and developing sport activities addressed to young people.

Marc Probst studied economics and international relations at the University of St. Gallen (HSG) and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) as well as counseling psychology at the Swinburne University of Technology.

 

In 2004, he joined Political Affairs Division IV (PD IV) of the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) as project officer in the peace policy section. He was also Head of Desk Human Security and Business in the human rights promotion section. In January 2008, he joined the HD Centre Singapore where he worked until 2015 as Senior Project Manager.

 

In July 2015, Marc joined the Swiss Academy for Development (www.sad.ch / sportanddev.org) as Executive Director.

 

 

Fanny Bellier is the Communication and Advocacy Officer of the CHILDREN WIN campaign, coordinated by Terre des Hommes. The mission of the campaign is to ensure child rights are protected, preserved and respected before, during and after the organisation and delivery of Mega Sporting Events (MSEs), and that every event ensures a positive legacy for future generations.

 

Terre des Hommes also recognizes the importance of sports and games in helping children to develop life and social skills and as an integral approach to the psychological support of children, particularly those who have experienced trauma such as conflict and displacement. For instance, Terre des Hommes delivers sports activities and tournaments in child-friendly spaces to strengthen ties between refugees and the local population.

 

 

Marco Arpino is a former Fencing Olympian and Police Officer. He holds a Ph.D. in Law and joined Coni in the late 1990s: he has acted as Antidoping Lead for 8 years and has covered the position of Coni’s School of Sport Director during the following 6 years.

 

Since 2014 he is Director of the Special Projects Area at Coni Servizi, the public service organization implementing the  Italian National Olympic Committee’s policies. In this position he manages the institutional relationships between Coni and the European Commission, with a special regard to the funding of European Projects submitted by Italian stakeholders.

 

Following the adoption by the Italian Government of the European Directives 2005/36/CE and 2013/55/UE through Legislative Decree 15/2016 which determines that Coni is the regulating authority for the sports regulated professions in Italy, Mr. Arpino  also acts as single point of contact for Italian Sport Qualifications and Regulated Professions.

 

 

Daniela Drago is a senior sport manager with 35 years working experience in the sports world.

 

She has covered different technical and managerial roles in various Italian and International Federations over her first 20 years of career. Since 2005 she has been working at Coni headquarters where she was lead of the Sports Promotion Department during 10 years, designing, planning and implementing national promotional sport programs for both schools and sport clubs.

 

At present she is in an advisory position within the Special Projects Area where she delivers project counselling and support to Sport Organizations who wish to apply for European funding, mainly under the Eramus+Sport Program.

 

 

Oliver Dudfield is the Head of Sport for Development and Peace at the Commonwealth Secretariat, the intergovernmental agency that provides policy guidance, technical assistance and advisory services to Commonwealth member countries.

 

The Sport for Development and Peace Section supports Commonwealth countries strengthen policy and strategy aimed at promoting and protecting the contribution of sport to sustainable development. Over his career Oliver has worked with multiple UN and intergovernmental agencies, national governments, NGOs and sporting organisations on Sport for Development and Peace policy design, strategy and partnership projects. 

 

Prior to joining the Commonwealth Secretariat, he was the General Manager at Vicsport, the peak body for sport and active recreation in Victoria, Australia and was previously the International Development Manager at UK Sport. He started his career as a basketball coach, working in the national systems in Australia and New Zealand.

 

 

Regina Moreno Guerrero is Master's student in public policy from the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana and holds a degree in public policy. Actually she's doing the research on Evaluation of the institutional capacities of governments for the promotion of social sports.

 

She is a researcher on social sports issues and has a diploma in public policies, legislation and sports administration from the Autonomous University of Mexico. She has worked for government on areas focused on the promotion of social sports in Mexico City.

 

She is former National Kick Boxing Champion for the World Kick Boxing Country (Mexico).

 

 

Ricardo Sánchez Martín is an anthropologist, Doctor by the Universitat Ramon Llull and Professor at the Faculty of Psicologia, Ciències de l'Educació i de l'Esport Blanquerna-URL. He is a member of the Grup de Recerca i Innovació en Esport i Societat (GRIES-URL) of Barcelona, collaborates with the Sport e Inclusione Sociale Research team (ASAG - CESI) of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano and is a member of the Asociación Española de Investigación Social Aplicada al Deporte (AEISAD). His main research interests are: sports in the urban public space, sport and local development, the corporal models of sport and the theoretical foundation of social research applied to sport. He is currently working at different projects on sport and social intervention.

 

His publications include: Antropología del deporte. Lineamientos teóricos (2017) and, as a co-author,  Culturas en juego. Ensayos de antropología del deporte en España (2003), Culturas deportivas y mercados globales y locales (2006),  Actualidad en el deporte: investigación y aplicación (2008) y Deporte, Salud y medio ambiente (2009). He is also the author of numerous contributions in collective publications and specialized magazines.

 

Martino Roghi, Italian, has been CSR manager for AC Milan since 2015. Since December 2017 Executive Manager of Fondazione Milan.

 

Martino Roghi is graduated in Economics and has been working for the mechanical and oil&gas industry for 10 years in Europe and South America, always developing and managing CSR policies for the private sector.

 

 

 

Antonio Meo works in collaboration with the Homeless World Cup Foundation, which uses football to inspire people who are homeless to change their lives. He is currently working in Business Development and External Relations.

Antonio holds a Master's degree in Engineering from the Université de Liège (ULg), Belgium and an MBA from IE Business School in Madrid, Spain. He has a previous working experience of over 17 years in the energy sector. He has worked in more than 40 countries and is fluent in English, French, Italian and Spanish.

Antonio is Italian and shares his time between Paris and Rome. He is passionate about football and is a former semi professional football player in the Belgian first league at RFC Seraing. He was youth Belgian national champion and Belgian cup finalist.

Deandra Farnita recently graduated from the Seoul National University (in South Korea) with MA. Global Sport Management. To commemorate her graduation, she was selected as the Valedictorian. Her Master’s thesis topic was The role of Sport for Development and Peace to break down cultural barriers in Southeast Asia.

She holds a Bachelor of Sport Science from State University of Jakarta. Her interest in sport and development began with volunteered for Generations For Peace, Indonesia, as a community coach in conflict areas. Thence, she worked for Puspor Jaya Sport Foundation where she served as coordinator. While she was in South Korea, she also volunteered with Football 4 Peace and Korean Sharing Movement where she works with children of both North and South Korea through the platform of sport.

Currently, Deandra serves as UNESCO Youth and Force Task Force member and has a strong passion for policy and research in sport and development.

 

Guido Battaglia works with the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) on research, project management and stakeholder engagement to integrate human rights principles into multiple industry sectors, including sport, commodities trading and extractive. He leads research on the topic of human rights and sport, development and peace.

 

Guido was formerly Director at the World Gold Council, where he managed the programme on responsible mining and socio-economic development. Prior to that he held manager positions at the World Economic Forum (WEF) - engaging business and government leaders, faculty experts, international organisations and civil society in two initiatives addressing responsible mineral resources management and infrastructure development in the African continent. At WEF he designed and facilitated high-level roundtables at the Annual Meeting in Davos and at other events worldwide. Guido also worked for the Law Firm DLA Piper and for the Italian Mission to the World Trade Organisation in Geneva. An Italian and Swiss citizen, Guido was a visiting student at the University of Tuebingen and holds a Bachelor and Master in International Law from the University of Milan.

 

 

Dushan Lalisha Kahatapitiya is currently  a Ph.D. students, Doctorate in Sports Science at the Manuel Fajardo International University of Physical Culture and Sports Science. (Habana - Cuba). He holds a Master in Administration and Management of Physical Culture and Sports Science (M.Sc.) from the Manuel Fajardo International University of Physical Culture and Sports Science (Habana - Cuba) and a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education and Sports Science. B.Sc.(Hons) from EIEFD International University of Physical Education and Sports Science. (Habana- Cuba).

 

Sports Achievement's as a Boxer:

• Silver Medal - South Asian Junior Boxing Championship. Katmandu – Nepal - 2001 

• Bronze Medal - International "YMCA" Boxing Championship – New Delhi – India- 2002 

• National Boxing Champion and Former Boxer of National Boxing Team - Sri Lanka. 

 

Jackie Lauff is the co-founder and CEO of Sport Matters, an international NGO based in Australia that uses sport to promote development and peace in Australia, the Pacific, Asia and Africa. Sport Matters is a powerful voice for sport for development and peace and has hosted two international conferences in Australia. In partnership with the Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC) and UNESCO, Sport Matters delivers advocacy, capacity building and technical assistance in the Pacific to harness the contribution of sport to sustainable development. 

Jackie has an undergraduate degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Sydney, a Master of International and Community Development with Deakin University in Australia, and an Erasmus Mundus Master of Adapted Physical Activity from the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. Jackie is passionate about creating opportunities for everyone to be active, healthy and included in their community through sport and is based in Sydney, Australia.

 

Matthias Gütt is managing partner of the sports development consultancy SPIN Sport Innovation. He assists public and private stakeholders with their questions on how sport should be planned, designed, organized and promoted. This area of ​​work concerns the social and political framework conditions of sport, the organizational structures, the development of innovative sport and physical activity opportunities, and the use of sport as a tool for social inclusion.

 

In this context, Matthias supports sports federations from the Olympic and Paralympic Movement, sports ministries and businesses, from local to international level. Matthias comes from science and knows the practice. This gives him comprehensive insight into the world of sport and enables him to support the development of individual, innovative ideas that can be implemented sustainably.

 

Matthias has developed, monitored or evaluated more than 40 international multi-stakeholder projects, and currently works as expert related to diversity through and in sport for the Council of Europe.

 

 

Steve Marsden is the Director of the largest multi-sports and wellness centre in the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland together with being Secretary General of Evaleo, a Swiss association whose mission is the development and active promotion, throughout the world, of sustainable health for all.

 

Steve is also a member of the Active Well-being Initiative (AWI) team. Evaleo were the initiators and co-founders, with TAFISA, of the IOC-supported AWI, which, through its Global Active City Label, helps cities to improve the lives of their citizens through the promotion of physical activity, sport and well-being for all.

 

Steve has previously held senior management positions in the areas of sport, physical activity, and nutrition. 

 

João Paulo Rosa Azevedo de Almeida holds a degree in Sport Management from the Human Kinetics Faculty – Technical University of Lisbon, a degree in Sociology from ISCTE – University Institute of Lisbon and a Master’s degree in Public Administration and Public Policies from ISCTE – University Institute of Lisbon with specialization in EU Sport Policies. João Paulo acts as an expert in match-fixing, EU sport policies, responsible gambling, gambling regulation, sports betting integrity and good governance in several projects, task forces and steering committees chaired or coordinated by the International Olympic Committee, Council of Europe, European Commission, European Gambling and Betting Association and UNODC.

Director General at the Olympic Committee of Portugal since 2013, he is guest lecturer in several post-graduation courses and masters in sport management and sport sociology. He is a trainer, speaker, advisor and independent consultant on sports betting regulation, responsible gambling, sports betting integrity and public policies for sport. He is also Chair of the Sports Betting Integrity Steering Committee – Sport Integrity Global Alliance and Coordinator of Portugal NOC in several ERASMUS+ Sport projects, notably the SIGGS project (Support the Implementation of Good Governance in Sport) coordinated by the EOC EU Office.

 

Simone Galimberti, after graduating in political science in the year 2000 at Universita' Cattolica Milano and several occasional jobs in the private sector, started a volunteering experience in Angola, supporting PISI, a child focused centre run by Don Adriano Ukuachali. After four years, he started collaborating with CCS, a not-for-profit, first in Angola and then in Nepal.

 

In 2012 he co-founded in Nepal, together with his wife Kalpana, ENGAGE, a local not-for-profit, active in the promotion of social inclusion with a special focus on disabilities, supporting the process of self empowerment of youths living with disabilities. They have created a demand driven approach that spans from sport playing to personal development and support to enhanced networking to support youths with physical disabilities. Within their sport framework, Simone and Kalpana are running a volunteering coaching program where they train local youths with a passion of sports on how to become coaches and for now they are focused on wheelchair basketball and blind cricket.

 

ENGAGE Sport Coaches are assigned to different teams to coach for one year while at the same time, learning the athletes, they become Champions of the Inclusive Society. Simone and Kalpana also conduct awareness programs in the schools and organize the Turkish Airlines ENGAGE Empowering League, the premier wheelchair basketball competition in South Asia.

 

Warit Totthing is a cyclist based in region 9 especially in Southern Border Provinces of Thailand, a conflict zone in southern Thailand. He is an officer at the National Thai Post Office and through his work, he hopes to deliver sport-based social responsibility programmes.

 

Through the post office, he is involved in sports programmes in Betong and Yala Provinces, two areas along the border with Malaysia where conflict has been active. Cycling can contribute to national reconciliation and boost intercultural understanding in conflict zones.

Abdulkareem Almeer, Head of Local Activities, General Organization for Youth and Sports (GOYS), Bahrain.

Christopher Gaffney, specialist geographer, USA

 

Yousif Fouad Yousif Almuharraqi, Head of clubs operation supervision, Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs, Bahrain.