World Netball (WN) and the World Netball Foundation (WN Foundation) have become the latest signatories of the Brighton plus Helsinki Declaration, in their pledge to be true champions of equity for women and girls in sport and physical activity.
Developed and established by the International Working Group (IWG) of Women and Sport in 1994, the Brighton Declaration is an international treaty that has become a road map to support the ongoing development of a more fair and equitable system for sport and physical activity, fully inclusive of women and girls.
WN first signed the Declaration back in 2017 under their former name of the International Netball Federation (INF).
They took the opportunity to re-sign the Declaration under their new name as they deliver against their strategy to build upon the sport’s unique female-focused foundations and to GROW, PLAY and INSPIRE at every level of the sport.
WN Foundation, the new charitable arm of WN launched just last year, signed the Declaration for the first time as they work towards addressing gender inequalities through their work.
Netball is a sport predominantly played by women, with over 20 million playing the sport worldwide, and WN and the WN Foundation only plan to build on these unique female foundations in the future, to remain a leader in women’s sport.
Lisa O’Keefe MBE, Secretary General for the IWG, attended WN’s board meeting on 23rd June to conduct the signing, along with Dame Liz Nicholl DBE, WN President who was joined by Shirley Hooper, WN Vice President, Monica Golding, WN Foundation Project Manager and Stacey Francis-Bayman, WN Athlete Director and retired England Rose.
Lisa said: “I was really pleased when World Netball asked us if they could re-sign the Brighton plus Helsinki Declaration as it shows the principles remain appreciated by and relevant to the International Federations.
“When World Netball – then known as International Netball Federation – signed the Declaration back in 2017, they did so with around 23 of their Member organisations.
“I’m hoping that today’s re-signing will not only raise awareness of what World Netball are doing to encourage more women and girls around the world to be physically active, but will also remind their Members to look at their strategies and consider either re-signing or signing the Declaration themselves.
“I’d also like to welcome the World Netball Foundation to our list of signatories.
“Their mission to ‘build opportunities, environments and partnerships to promote equality and change lives’ through netball aligns with what IWG is trying to achieve across sport generally, and I am looking forward to highlighting the World Netball Foundation as a case study for our network to learn from.”
Dame Liz Nicholl DBE added: “As the President of World Netball and the Chair of the World Netball Foundation Board, I am delighted that both World Netball and the World Netball Foundation have signed the Brighton Plus Helsinki Declaration.
“We are very proud of our unique female focused foundations, and we must continue to promote that not just on the court, but off it too and that is what our Strategic Plan sets out to do.
“When we first signed the Declaration back in 2017, we only had 71 Members, but we have been on a real journey of growth since then, with now over 80 Members, giving more women and girls access to netball around the world,
“We have also launched the charitable arm of World Netball, the World Netball Foundation, through which we hope to continue to create a better world through netball, especially for women and girls.”
To read the full WN strategy click here.
To learn more about the WN Foundation, click here.