JAKARTA, 6 December 2021 – The ASEAN Secretariat held the ASEAN #WeScore Talk Show on 3 December, through a hybrid format in Jakarta, with the ten appointed ASEAN Women in Sports Ambassadors participating online.

Tomohiko Arai, Director of International Affairs Division of the Japan Sports agency and  Japan’s Leader of ASEAN Plus Japan Senior Officials Meeting on Sports (SOMS+Japan), officially opened the talk show. In his opening speech, he acknowledged the progress made towards promoting gender equality through discussion and exchange of perspectives. Further, he noted that, “ASEAN will take steps for a gender equal society through sports.”

The highlight of the talk show was the conversation with the ten women sports ambassadors; including HRH Princess ‘Azemah Ni’matul Bolkiah (Bruneian polo athlete), Sokha Pov (Cambodian traditional martial arts athlete), Leani Ratri Oktila (Indonesian para-badminton athlete), Soulamphone Kerdla (Lao PDR’s national swimming team head coach of), Farah Ann Abdul Hadi (Malaysian gymnast), Soe Soe Myar (taekwondo athlete and referee from Myanmar), Hidilyn Diaz (Filipino weightlifter), Amita Berthier (Singaporean fencer), Panikpak Wongpattanakit (Thai taekwondo athlete) and Tuyet Van Chau (Vietnamese taekwondo athlete).

Jamshed M. Kazi , UN Women Country Representative, Indonesia and liaison to ASEAN took part in the conversation as a commentator, giving advice on gender quality and women’s rights as the talk show also coincided with the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.

Coinciding with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, ASEAN #WeScore Talk Show also touched on the rights of persons with disabilities. Tokyo Olympics 2020 Gold and Silver Paralympic medalist from Indonesia, Leani Ratri Oktila, expressed appreciation for the annual commemoration. However, she also commented concerns over the cancellation of para sporting events due to the COVID-19 situation, while some non-para sport competitions continue.

The talk show led to some valuable key takeaways, notably:

• Perseverance, confidence, good support system, among others are keys to success to overcome social pressures in the sports industry;
• More platforms, infrastructures and opportunities are needed to enable more women to represent their countries and prepare them for leadership in sports;
• Media coverage and outreach programmes are important to amplify the issues and engage more people;
• Sports in ASEAN should adapt to the pandemic whilst continuing to inspire. The cancellation of para-sporting events due to pandemic are demotivating for athletes with disabilities. More support should be given to para sports platforms, particularly by giving equal attention and prioritisation.

The event concluded with closing remarks by the Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, Ekkaphab Phanthavong. Highlighting the legacy of Tokyo 2020 Games “as the most gender-balanced games since its establishment,” Phanthavong later added, “Learning from our discussion with sports ambassadors and experts, we all need to think beyond women’s and girl’s achievements in sports activities and competitions. We have to start paying attention to women’s leadership and career paths in sports institutions, as well as their safety and protection.”

ASEAN #WeScore campaign is part of the ASEAN-Japan Actions on Sports, a project under the SOMS+Japan funded by the Japanese government through Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund. Prior to the talk show, the ASEAN Secretariat held a Tribute to Tokyo 2020 ASEAN Olympic and Paralympic Medallists to honour and celebrate the achievements of ASEAN athletes at the Games.

ASEAN #WeScore Campaign contributes to the implementation of ASEAN Work Plan on Sports 2021-2025 and is in line with ASEAN Vision 2025 and the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 5: Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering All Women and Girls.

In her presentation, Aya Noguchi, Assistant Professor of Juntendo University’s faculty of sports and health Science, shared outcomes of the ASEAN-Japan Workshop on Promoting Gender Equality in Sports, held last August by the Japanese Center for Research on Women in Sport.

She noted that the workshop delivered a set of country-specific strategies to empower and promote the participation of women and girls in sports, and foster the next generation of young leaders. The workshop also enabled young women leaders to dive deep into gender issues in sports in their respective countries and communicate them to policymakers.