ITF to Host Forum on Gender Equality - Conferences & Conventions

(ATR) The International Tennis Federation will host a global forum on gender equality in sport on April 12.

The latest initiative under the ITF’s "Advantage All" strategy will open with Billie Jean King live in conversation with sports broadcaster Catherine Whitaker.

Two panel discussions will follow. The first, entitled "Change the System", will discuss the key issues related to inequalities in leadership positions and decision making roles. Among the confirmed speakers are IOC Athletes Commission chair Kirsty Coventry and Caroline Courtin, the head of diversity, equality & inclusion for BNP Paribas Group.

The second panel discussion is called "See It To Be It" and will focus on the portrayal and perception of women’s sports and female athletes in the media and on social media.

Victoria Azarenka, who has won two Grand Slam tennis titles and is a former world No. 1, and Annika Sorenstam, who won 10 golf majors and is the president of the International Golf Federation, are among the speakers for this panel.

The live event, called "Level the Playing Field: Global Forum" is scheduled to run from 2pm to 5pm BST on April 12.

It will be available for live viewing on YouTube here.

Second eTALKS Session Next Week

Sportel’s new virtual platform Sportel+ will turn its focus to esports for the second in a series of what it calls eTALKS.

There will be two sessions for the online event on April 8 in collaboration with Esports Insider. The first entitled "Esports & Traditional Sports – Cultivating the Crossover" and the second "Opportunities in Esports for Broadcast & Production". The sessions, which each run an hour, will be held back to back beginning at 1400 Central European Time. Speakers for both will be announced soon.

Sportel+ eTALKS, which the company says is designed to complement live events and connect with the community digitally, discuss evolving trends emerging from the pandemic and beyond.

Click hereto register. The events are free to attend.

The first two sessions in the series were held on March 11 and focused on sports media rights and new broadcast strategies.

The next two eTALKS have also been scheduled. "Sports Business Opportunities in the US" will be on May 6 and "The Future of Sports Tech" in collaboration with SVG is set for July 8.

Meanwhile, Sportel is preparing for the next edition of Sportel Monaco, scheduled for October 5-7, 2021.

Last year's edition had originally been pushed back from its traditional October spot to February 22-24, 2021. But in January it was decided to delay it again so that the event could be 100 percent face-to-face.

SportsPro Live Agenda Set

The full agenda for the upcoming SportsPro Live virtual event is now available here.

Among the 40 hours of content on offer will be speakers including Andrea Gaudenzi, the chair of the ATP, the organization that runs men’s professional tennis, and Matchroom Sport Managing Director and boxing promoter Eddie Hearn.

Eurosport president Andrew Georgiou, DAZN’s co-CEO James Rushton and Olympic Broadcasting Services chief executive Yiannis Exarchos will also speak at the two-day event on April 28-29.

Click here to register for free. A VIP pass that also includes on-demand content access, networking access and access to the VIP attendee list costs £199 ($273).

Host City Americas to Debut in June

The inaugural Host City Americas digital conference will take place on June 29-30.

The event will bring together international rights holders and suppliers with event hosts and investors in the Americas.

Host City says more than 1,000 people will be taking part in the online event, including IOC members, sports ministers, mayors, International Federations and Organizing Committee leaders.

There could be plenty to talk about, including which of the 23 cities in Canada, Mexico, and the United States in the running to host 2026 FIFA World Cup matches will make the final cut later this year.

Key themes for the 14 planned sessions include Post-Covid Recovery, Digitalization, Sustainability, Private Investment, Esports, and the changing media landscape.

Speakers for the event are currently being lined up.

Click here to register and get your free ticket for Host City Americas.

Later this year, the 2021 edition of Host City will be a global, hybrid event held in Glasgow, Scotland on December 7-8. The format change is designed to build on last year’s first digital edition, combining the face-to-face interaction at Glasgow’s Technology & Innovation Centre with online connectivity.

International Federations Summit in April

The 4th edition of the International Federations Summit will be held virtually due to the pandemic.

The event is scheduled for April 21-22.

Organizers say that given their international audience, a flexible time schedule and menu of options is available to create an individualized workshop program.

There will be three different 90-minute workshops on offer for each day. Delegates can register for up to five.

The themes are Broadcast & Digital, Esports, International Federations & Associations, Host Cities, New Olympic Sports, and Venues.

To ensure"as real an experience as possible" for the online summit, organizers are offering Breakfast, Lunch and 'After Hours' roundtables to give delegates the opportunity to meet each other outside the program sessions.

Click here to register and take advantage of an early bird discount.

Written by Gerard Farek

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