【Background】

Addressing gender issue is one of the most important issues in international cooperation through sports. At the 2017 International Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials Responsible for Physical Education and Sports (MINEPS) VI held by UNESCO in Kazan, Russia, the “Kazan Action Plan” was agreed upon and the role of sports in achieving SDGs Goal 5 “Gender Equality” was also highlighted. In light of these international trends, the Japanese government has strengthened its cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN) and at the 1st ASEAN-Japan Ministerial Meeting on Sports held in 2017, it was agreed that four areas including “improving the rate of women’s participation in sports” would be given priority. In addition, in 2019, the Japan-ASEAN Women’s Sports Conference was launched in conjunction with the 2^nd ASEAN-Japan Ministerial Meeting on Sports. A framework for policy dialogue for Japan to cooperate in promoting gender equality through sports in ASEAN countries was also established.

In response to these movements, the ASEAN-Japan Workshop on Promoting Gender Equality in Sports was held on August 10th to 13th, 2021 during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, sponsored by the Japan Sports Agency（JSA） and the ASEAN Secretariat, funded by JAIF (Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund). This workshop, which was held to promote gender equality in sports, aimed to achieve the following two objectives:

〇 Develop an action plan for ASEAN countries to promote the participation of women and girls in sports in the ASEAN region
〇 Provide life skills and leadership training through sports to empower young women in ASEAN countries

Seventy people selected from 10 ASEAN countries participated online, with the Japanese Center for Research on Women in Sport at Juntendo University used as the broadcasting hub. With a view to developing women’s sports in the ASEAN region and the realization of gender equality in society through sports, government officials from ASEAN member countries, members of the Women’s Sports Committee of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) and young women sports leaders gathered online engage in lively discussion. Participants from each country examined the action plan.

【Project Objective】

This project is the result of these various initiatives. In order for the sporting world to further promote gender equality in ASEAN countries, the following five objectives were implemented for this project:

〇 Promoting further collaboration between ASEAN countries and Japan
〇 Promoting an international understanding of gender equality in sports
〇 Following up on the action plan laid out at last year’s workshop
〇 Developing next-generation leaders from the sporting world who promote gender equality in each country
〇 Globally communicating the gender equality initiatives being implemented by Japan and ASEAN.

【Activities/projects】

Project１: Strengthening collaboration and strategic planning with the ASEAN Secretariat

Collaboration with the ASEAN Secretariat, which coordinates the 10 Southeast Asian countries, is essential in implementing projects in a coordinated manner among the countries. While ensuring fairness and access to information on priorities in each country, the Secretariat gains advice on how to formulate a strategy plan, and how to develop and proceed with the project.   The secretariat was also involved in coordinating with each country.

More specifically, cooperation with the ASEAN Secretariat was strengthened through regular and irregular meetings as well as daily emails. Consultations regarding the content of the plan were also carried out. Furthermore, in October 2022, we participated in a meeting (Third ASEAN Plus Japan Meeting on Women and Sports) held in Thailand where the governments of the 10 ASEAN countries gathered. We presented the plans for this project to each country’s government and received advice. The Sport for Tomorrow (SFT) project provided a great opportunity to communicate to the government officials in attendance that Japan is continuously supporting ASEAN countries.

Project 2: Participation in the IWG World Conference on Women & Sport and Creation of Presentation Opportunities in Collaboration with the ASEAN countries

One representative from each of the 10 ASEAN countries and two representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat participated in the 8th IWG World Conference on Women & Sport, held in New Zealand from November 14th to 17th, 2022. In addition, we negotiated with the IWG secretariat to obtain a timeslot to conduct group presentations. Of the 10 ASEAN countries represented, one representative country and the ASEAN Secretariat presented on the results of the abovementioned “ASEAN-JAPAN Workshop on Promoting Gender Equality in Sports”, as well as presenting on the initiatives and challenges related to women’s sports in each country. On-demand and online participation and information sharing were available for all 10 countries. The project involved communication with various sports leaders, including government officials, experts, those in sports-related fields, athletes and coaches from around the world to promote international cooperation in Japanese sports and women’s sports policy in anticipation of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

In addition, participants from the 10 ASEAN countries were asked to prepare participation reports and share the content thereof with relevant organizations in their own countries. Evaluation monitoring was conducted by submitting the reports. Throughout the conference, officials from the 10 ASEAN countries and the ASEAN Secretariat learned about approaches to gender equality in sports in their own countries and throughout Southeast Asia. It was a good opportunity for participants to encounter a variety of good examples from around the world.

Project 3: Follow-up to the Thai Government Action Plan

The circumstances for women in each country are influenced by culture, society and religion; thus, priority gender issues vary from country to country. In order to implement effective gender projects, it is essential to plan projects with government officials while meeting the individual needs of each country. Thus, as a follow-up to the abovementioned ASEAN-JAPAN Workshop on Promoting Gender Equality in Sports, a collaborative project was conducted based on the action plans on women’s sports policies created by the governments of each country at the workshop. Considering the advice from the ASEAN Secretariat and the situation in each country, Thailand was selected as the target country for this project. In response to the needs and wishes of the Thai government, a follow-up workshop was held over a period of two days in collaboration with an international network of organizations that promote gender equality in sports internationally and organizations that train women sports leaders, as well as domestic experts on gender and sports.

https://x.com/sport4tomorrow/status/1620243176165617665

Project 4: Follow-up for Young Women’s Leadership in Thailand

As with Project 3, a workshop on empowerment of women through sports was held for young women leaders in Thailand. A program was devised in cooperation with the Thai government, that includes perspectives such as Sport for Development (SfD) which specializes in domestic gender issues. Experts from global and Japanese networks also collaborated.

https://x.com/sport4tomorrow/status/1621049304839503872

【Outcome】

〇 First of all, it is a great achievement that the project was carried out in close cooperation with the ASEAN Secretariat. It was very important to strengthen cooperation with the ASEAN Secretariat as we proceeded with our five-year project plan.

〇 Another achievement this year was the sharing of the five-year plan at the ASEAN-Japan Senior Officials Meeting on Sports and the ASEAN-Japan Women in Sports Meeting, where it was approved. Having received approval for our business plan made it easier to implement follow-up projects in each country in the future.

〇 As the first country to implement the follow-up, we consider it a great achievement that the project was realized in line with the action plan set forth at the 2021 ASEAN-JAPAN Workshop on Promoting Gender Equality in Sports with the government of Thailand.

〇 The actual follow-up workshop was a program on viewing sports from a gender perspective, the use of role models to increase women’s sports participation, and human rights violations and sexual harassment found in sports settings that can be a marginalizing factor for women and girls to participate and continue in sports.

〇 Through this follow-up workshop, it was meaningful that we were able to look at sports from a gender perspective, look at things that have been taken for granted until now from a critical perspective, and create time to talk with each other. The workshops for young women leaders also provided an opportunity to think about issues that had not been discussed in sports before, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child and sexual harassment.

〇 The 8th IWG World Conference on Women & Sport in November 2022 was attended by officials from the Thai government and the ASEAN Secretariat, providing an opportunity to disseminate the efforts of ASEAN countries at an international conference. The presentations from the Thai government and the ASEAN Secretariat provided a good opportunity to disseminate examples of initiatives in the Asian region, as there were few participants from Asia and Africa at the conference.

【Related URL】

ASEAN-JAPAN Actions on Sports 2022 Report | Juntendo University Japanese Center for Research on Women in Sport

HP：ASEAN-JAPAN Actions on Sports 2022 Report