Some 20,000 females in Morocco have entered a 10-kilometre event for gender equity. Inas Mazhar reports from Casablanca The Association Marocained Sport and Development (AMSD) together with Nike, Mama Cash, the Swiss Academy for Development (SAD), Women Win and NCDO are organising "Gender Equity in Sport for Social Change" on 19-22 May in Casablanca, Morocco. The conference will be held in conjunction with the ninth edition of the Women's marathon with at least 20,000 girls and women participating in the 10km run/walk. The conference is the second in a row aimed at discussing sport as a tool for gender equity. Nike is an active advocate of women in sport and prioritises gender equity in its corporate responsibility strategy. Nawal Al-Moutawakel, the first North African and Muslim woman to win an Olympic gold and current member of the IOC, has made part of her post-Olympic legacy supporting gender equity and development through sport via her organisation AMSD. Mama Cash, the second largest women's fund in the world, and based in The Netherlands, supports pioneering and groundbreaking women's rights initiatives worldwide. Recently, and with support from Nike, Mama Cash made sport for gender equity a new focus activity. "We are happy and proud that last year's meeting found such a positive follow-up, thus creating an excellent practical base for this year's conference. SAD is dedicated to the question of how societies handle social change and cultural diversity," Al-Moutawakel, president of AMSD, said. She added, "They will focus their efforts within the Casablanca conference at research, reporting and publishing. Women Win is in the process of becoming the first women's global sport for gender equity fund. NCDO's core goal is to strengthen and highlight public support for international cooperation and sustainable development and achievement of the Millennium Goals. "Within the aim of this conference they will help in raising awareness on this subject on an international platform through their website, magazine and tool kit," Al-Moutawakel said. "The conference 'Gender Equity in Sport for Social Change' aims at convening a meeting with practitioners and others who are interested in how sport can further enhance women's role in society. The conference follows the four- platform structure of the first Casablanca meeting. Participants will exchange strategies and expertise in the field and in other programme areas and learn more about advocacy and networking. A set of impact measurement tools for sport and gender projects will be introduced and new funding strategies developed. "The work which will be done in this field will be a great asset to the overall sharing of knowledge. Simultaneously, this will give the participants a great opportunity to get linked up with a new network and learn practical tools to bring back to their own organisations." The opening session on Saturday is expected to hold a surprise for the participants according to Al-Moutawakel. "Sunday morning the group will be participating in the unique and amazing 'Course Feminine', the 10km women's race, (no fitness level is required) and a number of existing gender programmes in sport for social change will display their work." The conference will continue with sessions on 21 and 22 May.
