Following the success of the first Women’s Leadership Webinar Project which was launched in July 2020 and took place over the course of last year, European Athletics is extending the initiative and the Women’s Leadership Webinar Project 2nd Generation will get underway in September.
Over 120 women from more than 20 Member Federations took part in last year’s online seminars and its success – as well as continuing logistical considerations due to the COVID pandemic – convinced the European Athletics Development Department to ‘stay virtual’ in 2021 with a further series of seven webinars.
The purpose of the webinars is to engage all women who are involved within their national federations and have the potential to be a leader in their respective field, irrespective of age or background.
A participant could be an athlete, official, coach or member federation/regional federation staff.
European Athletics have taken a two-pronged approach to this series.
- Centralised webinars involving the 30 Member Federations that currently do not have local moderators to educate women on leadership issues and strengthen their development within their respective positions and federation. The webinars for this group will usually take place on Saturday mornings.
- Webinars aimed at a national audience delivered in a local language in the 21 Member Federations – from Azerbaijan to Ireland and Estonia to Italy – that already have a moderator i.e. women with the skill set and approved by European Athletics to lead the webinars. Similarly, these webinars have the goal of educating women on leadership issues and helping them strengthen their position locally in the home country as well as inspiring them about future international possibilities.
Details of how to register for these webinars have already been sent to all Member Federations but if you are interested in participating and have not heard about it how to register yet then contact your Member Federation general secretary or equivalent.
The Women’s Leadership Webinar Project 2nd Generation is just one part of a new look overarching European Athletics Leadership Programme.
There will be more exciting news to come in the coming days on this programme but here is a sneak peek at a video profiling Chiara Montesano, a young leader in Italy who is driving both local and international initiatives.
Having attended the 2016 and 2018 European Athletics Young Leaders Forums, she is one of the keynote speakers and organisers of the 2022 Forum which will be held in conjunction with the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships next summer, part of the multi-sport European Championships encompassing nine sports to be held in the German city.