Events
5 March 2026, 2.00 pm – 5.00 pm CET
Hybrid format (Strasbourg, Palais de l’Europe, Room 7 and online)
Organised by the Council of Europe's Sport Division
Concept note and programme: English | French
Presentations from the speakers of the "Active and Equal" launch event 05/03/2026:
- Baz Moffat: Transforming the system for girls and women in sport, fitness & wellness
- Evert Verhagen: Current healthcare issues: menstrual cycle and health tracking
- Flaminia Ronca: Exercise neuroscience: Female life transitions and brain health
- Jane Dennehy: Knowledge: Research and Gaps Women and Girls in Sport and Physical Activity
- Cyprien Peronet: Les architectes silencieuses du sport santé
- Annamarie Phelps: The growing visibility of female athletes at the Milano-Cortina Olympic Games 2026
Presentations from the speakers of the Breakfast Roundtable on women and girls' participation in sport 06/03/2026
- Sarah Bellew: Black girls and sport: a breakup story
- Marie Denitton: Women and girls participation in sport
- Evert Verhagen: Programmes to increase women physical activity level
- Nadia Bonjour: Best practices on promoting women and girls' participation in sport
- Caroline Henry: Le sport: L'ADN de Canal +
- Päivi Tolppanen: Inclusive environments in sports- Retaining girls and women with disablities
The growing visibility of women and girls in European sport has to be matched by systems that recognise the health realities that shape their participation across the lifecycle. Menstruation and puberty in adolescence, pregnancy and return-to-sport, peri/menopause and ageing are to be treated as standard design parameters in policy, programme design, coaching or facilities to prevent drop-out, increase retention and equal access to the health and social benefits of sport.
“Active and Equal: Women’s Health in Sport Across Generations” aims to advance equality, inclusion and health-enhancing physical activity, by embedding women’s health needs into the design and operation of sport at national, regional and grassroots levels. The joint project activities are targeted at turning existing commitments into practical, measurable changes, making health needs across life stages a standard feature of how sport is planned, delivered and communicated. The joint project supports the EU’s strategic objectives under the Erasmus+ Sport framework by promoting inclusion, equality, health-enhancing physical activity and gender-sensitive planning, and by reducing discrimination against women and girls across all levels of sport.
