Over 30 years of professional experience in several intergovernmental sectors of the Council of Europe, involving co-operation, monitoring and standard-setting, as well as in the Parliamentary Assembly. She has worked as Director in the field of legal cooperation, judicial reform and efficiency of justice.  During her career she provided political advice to the Council of Europe leadership (Director of SG Private Office), led intergovernmental cooperation, developed and implemented multi-disciplinary and multi-annual strategies.  Presently Director General of Democracy and Human Dignity (DG2), her areas of responsibility include children’s rights, trafficking in human beings, gender equality, violence against women, addressing intolerance, civil society and youth participation, education, culture and natural heritage. Finnish nationality. Studied at McGill University (Canada); mother of three. 

Themis Christophidou is the Director-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture of the European Commission, since March 2018.

She is a civil engineer with 37 years of experience in private and public sector management.

After having worked in the private sector for 15 years, she joined the European Commission in 2001. During the last 20 years she has held various positions, including in the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, as Head of Cabinet of the Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries and as Head of Cabinet of the Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management.

Themis Christophidou is an alumna of the civil engineering faculty of the Metsovio Polytechnic University of Athens. Born in Famagusta, Cyprus, she is trilingual, fluent in Greek, English and French.

João Paulo Correia was born in Porto, in 1976.

Since 2022, João Paulo Correia is the Portuguese Secretary of State for Youth and Sport.

Graduated in Business Organization and Management at the Lusófona University of Porto, in 2006. 

Advisor and Chief of Cabinet of the Civil Government of Porto, in 2005/2008. 

Advisor and Chief of Cabinet of the Secretary of Transportation, in 2008/2009. 

Deputy to the Portuguese Parliament, between 2009 and 2011 and between 2013 and 2022.

President of the Board of Directors of Oliveira do Douro Football Club, in 2012/2018. 

Assistant to the Mayor of Matosinhos, in 2011/13. 

Vice-President of the Parliamentary Group of the Socialist Party, between 2015 and 2022.

President of the Ad-hoc Commission for Monitoring of the Process of Definition of the "Portugal 2030 Strategy".

Mayor of the Parish Council of Mafamude and Vilar do Paraíso, between 2013 and 2022.

Former professional handball player and handball trainer, including 50 games with the Icelandic national handball team and over 30 years of experience as a trainer for different age groups and elite athletes. Over 15 years of professional experience in the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture and in the Ministry of Education and Children. He has worked as a director in the fields of culture, schools, sports and youth. Leadership in several intergovernmental working groups and co-operation, including a working group specifically set up following the #Metoo revolution of 2018, when stories of women who had to endure inequality, harassment or different kinds of violence in the field of sport were made public. Currently Head of the Sport Unit at the Ministry of Education and Children. Icelandic nationality. Studied at German sport University in Cologne (Germany); Married with two children (girls, 34 and 26 years old) and two grandchildren.

Violeta Birzniece is a policy officer in the Sport unit in the Directorate General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, European Commission. Her main fields of expertise are gender equality in sport, Erasmus+ mobility action for sport staff and the European Week of Sport. Before joining the unit in 2021, Violeta worked for many years in the youth policy and programme unit of the European Commission.

Anne-Flore Marxer is a snowboarder known internationally for her sporting prowess, her committed approach to the steepest slopes, her competition wins and her films. She was World Champion in 2011 and Vice World Champion in 2016 & 2017.

Confronted with the numerous discriminations in her sport, Anne-Flore has long been a militant for gender equality in her sport; her actions have largely contributed to the inclusion of women, up to and including equal pay for men and women in freestyle and freeride snowboarding competitions.

Her film "A Land shaped by Women" is one of her many actions for gender equality that brings reflection on the current status of women.

​​​Charlotte Girard Fabre is Secretary General of IFSO, a handball and curling referee at national level and a former olympic ice hockey referee.

I am 41 years old, I have been a high-level sportswoman since the age of 13, and I wish to represent this new generation of committed women. The quest for excellence and the requirement of performance led me to referee at the Olympic Games in Sochi (Russia) 2014 and Pyeonchang (South Korea) 2018, and I sharpen my skills and expertise every day to honor my 10 Olympic rings.

A fighter at heart and an explorer of new horizons, I push my limits in sport as well as in my professional life today and tomorrow. Decision-making, time management and conflict management are among my areas of expertise. Resolutely focused on excellence and performance, I accompany your teams collectively to develop a disruptive and pragmatic approach.

An ardent defender of gender diversity and the place of women in our society, I am also passionate about civic engagement: elected Secretary General of the International Federation for Sports Officials, Secretary General of the French Association of Multisport Referees and Ambassador of several think-tanks, I have also chosen to act at the highest institutional level (Ministries, UNSS, FFHB,...).

In 2016, before reaching the age of 30, single-handedly and with her own money, Aurélie Bresson founded Les Sportives, France’s first-ever women’s sport and multi-sports print magazine, which embodies her particular vision of life, sport and equality.

She has numerous contacts in the worlds of sport and education and runs Les Sportives with a team of volunteers, activists, experts and assistants. Within six years, Les Sportives has come to be recognised as a unique and authoritative publication offering a wealth of information on women’s sport. Outside of the media realm, the Les Sportives team helps public and private organisations with their strategies to promote feminisation and diversity through sport.

As well as being the founder and general manager of Les Sportives, Aurélie is also a speaker. She was a digital expert on the Candidature Committee for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and received the Sport Managers Award in the Media category in 2019.

She is also president of the Alice Milliat Foundation, Europe’s first-ever women’s sports foundation, under the umbrella of the French Sports Foundation (FSP). She also sits on the Consultative Committee of the Council of Europe’s Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS).

Caterina Bolognese has worked at the Council of Europe on constitutional law, criminal law reform and anti-torture monitoring. She directed the Office in Georgia from 2011 to 2015. Since 2018, Caterina manages the Gender Equality Division and supports the Gender Equality Commission, the intergovernmental steering committee which has developed the Council of Europe’s Gender Equality Strategy and many standards such as the CM recommendation on preventing and combating sexism.

Annamarie Phelps: CBE OLY Co-chair, IWG Women and Sport, the largest global network for the advancement of gender equality in sport, hosted by the UK 2022-2026. European Olympic Committees: ExCo and Chair of Gender Equality Commission; European Rowing: President; British Olympic Association: Vice-chair; Safe Sport International: Associate Consultant. She represented Great Britain in rowing at Atlanta Olympic Games 1996.
Annamarie is passionate about promoting safe and accessible sport for all. Previous roles include Vice Chair, British Paralympic Association and independent chair of UK’s Safeguarding Adults in Sport Strategic Partnership. She chaired the British Horseracing Authority, British Rowing and the Independent Review into the culture of British Cycling’s high-performance programme. Annamarie currently serves on the IPC Legal and Ethics Committee, the IOC and ANOC Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Commissions, IOC Faculty for Safeguarding and World Rowing Governance Committee.

Mary Byrne serves as the editor in chief of Olympics.com, responsible for leading the editorial strategy for the platform. Paris 2024 will be her 11th Olympic Games. Byrne, who is based in Madrid, Spain, joined Olympic Channel Services in December 2017. Previously, Byrne spent 25 years as a journalist in the United States, working as a senior deputy editor at ESPN.com, sports managing editor at USA Today and deputy sports editor at the Associated Press during her career.

Mejdaline Mhiri began her career in Charente, where she covered rugby (ProD2) for the sports section of the regional daily, Sud Ouest, between 2014 and 2020. In 2016, she joined Les Sportives magazine and later became its editor-in-chief. 

At the beginning of 2021, she co-founded the French Association of Women Sport Journalists (FJS) with Laurie Delhostal and four other female colleagues.

Mejdaline Mhiri, 33, also commentates on the Handball Champions League for Eurosport and on France’s top women’s handball league for HandballTV, and writes a weekly column for the national daily, L’Humanité. 

A versatile freelancer, Mejdaline Mhiri has covered several international handball competitions, hosted radio shows and podcasts and works regularly with a variety of media.

Hilmar Björnsson, Head of Sports at Icelandic National Broadcasting Service – RÚV, has been working in the Television Industry since 1994, both as a Sports Producer and Sports Director.  In his role at Head of Sports at RUV he and his team have made a major shift in the broadcast coverage and quality of Women´s sport in Iceland as well as bringing on Women on-air talents.

Andrew Moger is an international advocate for press freedom in relation to major organised news events of big public interest. With a background as a career journalist, news business manager and negotiator, he is the Chief Executive of the News Media Coalition (NMC) of publishing and news agency business from around the world.

Through the NMC, Moger engages with sports federations and leagues as well as clubs and their commercial partners, and public policymakers to challenge curbs on news operations and on-the-ground journalism.

He was based in the Middle East for nearly five years and travels widely to support Members and to speak at conferences on the importance and value of independent witnessed-based journalism.

Having entered the profession at the TF1 Group, Stéphanie Roque is very much a product of the French news industry.

Years of working on current affairs have given her the high standards and flexibility needed to deal with any situation.

A reporter, presenter and columnist by turns, she has always been passionate about her work as a journalist.

She is also a staunch advocate of equal pay, as demonstrated by her recent documentary, “Sur la touche”, produced by France Télévision, which won the Jury Prize at the Nice Documentary Film Festival.

In addition, Stéphanie regularly works with feminist organisations to promote the place of women in sport and society in general, for example, by chairing debates. As a former elite volleyball player, she knows these issues inside out.

As well as being a journalist and director, Stéphanie is also a radio presenter. Since the start of the 2022/2023 season, she has been presenting RMC’s weekend morning news programmes.

She is interested in social issues such as gender, ecology and the climate crisis and, of course, sport, which runs in her blood.

Elsa Arapi was born and raised in Athens, Greece. She studied philosophy, theatre and scriptwriting and recently completed a graduate degree in International Relations at Harvard University. She is a Senior Sports Rights Manager managing a portfolio of summer sports properties. Elsa is also the lead of the EBU Women’s Sport Initiative, building a business case for gender equality in sport on- and off-screen. She is the author of “Reimagining Sport – Pathways to gender-balanced media coverage” which has been included in the Olympic Library. 

​Francine Hetherington Raveney is an expert in the fields of: sport policy, gender equality, diversity, project management, script analysis, audiovisual co-productions, and communication, amongst others. She obtained a Masters Degree in English and French Literature at The Queen’s College, Oxford University (1992-1996), a Masters Degree in Women’s Studies at The Queen’s College, Oxford University (1996-1997) and then carried out doctoral studies in France in politics and literature at Strasbourg University (1997-1998).

Since 2000, she has worked in a number of international organisations, including the Council of Europe, where she was a project manager for the Eurimages film fund for 11 years (2009-2020), and WHO Europe (2004-2005) where she was a Managing Editor. She is the founder, former Executive Director and currently an Honorary Member of the European Women’s Audiovisual (EWA) Network. She is also a member of the New Dawn Film Fund jury and regularly teaches pitching and gives presentations at festivals and universities throughout Europe.

Since April 2021 she has worked as the Deputy Executive Secretary of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS), where she oversees resources, works with the Governing Board and partner organisations to ensure that topical thematic activities (such as gender equality, diversity, integrity and good governance in sport) and conferences (e.g. on combating gender-based violence in sport) are dealt with smoothly and effectively. 

Dr Lombe Mwambwa, PhD (she/her) is Research Director at the Global Observatory for Gender Equality & Sport. She joined the GO in October 2022 with the support of the University of Lausanne (UNIL), one of the GO´s co-founding partners, where she is a member of its Institute of Sport Sciences. For the past 18 years, she has worked with sport associations, leaders of sport for development organisations, and sport policy makers in Southern Africa and in international contexts. An experienced development practitioner, her research, advocacy, and practice have focused on issues of inequalities within sport and on the use of sport to address societal inequalities. She is an Alum of the University of Zambia and the Southern African Regional Centre for Women's Law at University of Zimbabwe. Her doctoral research completed at the University of Chichester, UK, examined the experiences of women sport leaders within the African Union Sports Council. Dr Mwambwa is also Secretary General at the National Organisation for Women in Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation (NOWSPAR) in Zambia. Her areas of interest include women, leadership, and protection from violence, and she has supported leadership development, safeguarding & GBV protection initiatives in sport organisations across Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Carole Gomez is a graduate assistant in sociology of sport at the Institute of Sport Sciences of the University of Lausanne (ISSUL). Her research focuses on gender-based violence in sport and more precisely on how international sport federations consider and deal with sexual and harassment abuse.

Ioanna Paraskevopoulou (BSc., MBA) is an EU and International Affairs Officer at the Cyprus Sports Organisation.  She studied Physical Education and Sport Science (University of Athens, Greece, 1995) and holds an MBA from the University of Cyprus (2009).

She has been employed by the Cyprus Sport Organisation since 1997, first in the National Sports for All department and then, since 2011, in the EU and International Affairs department. 

She has been actively involved in EU matters mainly as national representative in the EU’s Working Party on Sports since 2011 and has vice-chaired it during Cyprus’ Presidency in 2012. Moreover, she has been a member of the EU expert groups with regards to “Sport and Health”, HEPA Focal Points Group” and “Strengthening the recovery and the crisis resilience of the sport sector during and in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic”.

Her expertise has been developed during the last 13 years in EU projects development, administration and management in topics such as sport and physical activity, good governance and volunteering in sport. Furthermore, since 2015 she has been the National Coordination of the European Week of Sport initiative in Cyprus.

As from June 2022, she is an elected member of the EPAS Bureau and Gender Equality Rapporteur for the Governing Board. 

Dr Jane Dennehy is a social science researcher, advisor and consultant specialising in gender equality, media and sport. She is currently teaching International Sport Development at University of London on the postgraduate sport management course and researching the role of image rights law in sport. Jane has contributed chapters to Gender Equity in UK Sport, Leadership and Governance (2022), Seven Faces of Women’s Sport (2019) and Gender Diversity in European Sport Governance, (2018). She completed her doctoral research on gender, competition and management at the London School of Economics following 15 years working in media and marketing.

In our family, sport is a passion that we all share. I practically grew up in my parents’ sports shop, so I was immersed in the industry from an early age. With the encouragement of my grandfather, twice winner of the Tour de France, and my father, a former international footballer, I played many kinds of sport and discovered the joy of athletics. Today, I support my son in his sporting endeavours and in his work as a sports journalist.

Ever since I was a teenager, I have been aware of the gender inequalities in sport. As a track and field athlete, I was astonished to see that the results of the girls’ competitions were given short shrift in the Monday morning papers, in contrast to those of the boys. Examples such as this made me determined to promote gender equality in all areas of our society, help women to take their rightful place and combat prejudice and stereotypes.

With a master’s degree in Occupational Psychology, I have worked in both business and sport. I co-founded ADT-Center, a provider of on-the-job training and personal development, coaching, mentoring and psychological support services. I am very active in the women’s community and have over 30 years’ experience as a gender equality expert.

Positions held:

•    Member of the Board and former President of the Luxembourg National Council of Women (CNFL).
•    Adviser to the Board of the International Council of Women (ICW)
•    President of Pioneering Women of Luxembourg, a non-profit organisation
•    Founder member of the Luxembourg Federation of Women Entrepreneurs (FFCEL)
•    Advocacy work for the Luxembourg branch of Soroptimist International and founder member of the Soroptimist Club Luxembourg Melusina

Emma Bârsan is currently Head of Women’s Football Development department of the Romanian Football Federation (RFF). After spending over three years on the Communication department of the NA, focusing on women’s football, she was drawn to the perspective of growing women’s football to higher standards in Romania. Her expertise in communication is derived from filling in the position of Press Officer of the Romanian Women’s National Team since 2017.

In 2017 she graduated from the University of Bucharest, Journalism and Science of Communication Faculty, researching for her bachelor thesis the methods used by RFF in communicating about men’s and women’s football. In 2019, she obtained her Master’s degree in Média, Société et Development from the University of Bucharest, focusing her dissertation on analyzing the gender pay gap in sports. In 2021 she become an alumnus of the Certificate in Football Management module from UEFA Academy and University of Lausanne. Since 2022 she is a lecturer on women’s football management for the National Football Academy – an educational program developed by RFF.

Barbara Schweizer is a Senior Manager at the IOC overseeing multiple Sport for Development initiatives as part of the Olympism365 strategy that promotes the role of sport in society and its contribution to the SDGs 365 days a year. Over the last ten years she has been driven by her passion to make a meaningful contribution to social change and sustainable development, using the power of sport and value-based learning. Barbara holds a Master's in Sociology and Business Administration. Prior to joining the IOC she worked with UNDP, based in Brazil, and as a social scientist with a focus on social capital, equality and inclusion.

Thorsten Afflerbach holds a Masters (MA) in Sociology, History and English from Kiel University, Germany. After positions as a Lector at the Universities of Leicester and Warwick, United Kingdom, he joined the Secretariat General of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg in 1995. Since then, he has held positions as a Head of Division in different fields devoted to combating discrimination and fostering equality, such as promoting the rights of persons with disabilities, social cohesion, regional and minority languages, the inclusion of Roma and Travellers, and, since 1 May 2022, inclusion and anti-discrimination programmes protecting the rights of LGBTI persons, promoting the intercultural integration of migrants, and combating hate speech and hate crimes. For several years, he used to be the Vice-Chair of the Council of Europe Secretariat’s internal Equal Opportunities Board.

Anne-Flore Marxer is a snowboarder known internationally for her sporting prowess, her committed approach to the steepest slopes, her competition wins and her films. She was World Champion in 2011 and Vice World Champion in 2016 & 2017.

Confronted with the numerous discriminations in her sport, Anne-Flore has long been a militant for gender equality in her sport; her actions have largely contributed to the inclusion of women, up to and including equal pay for men and women in freestyle and freeride snowboarding competitions.

Her film "A Land shaped by Women" is one of her many actions for gender equality that brings reflection on the current status of women.

Emma Smith has been a member of the Council of Europe Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Unit since 2019. Emma has helped with grassroots transgender support since 2007 and undertaken advocacy for human rights on grounds of gender identity or expression and sex characteristics in Europe since 2009. This has included collaborating with Transgender Europe “And others” project towards transgender inclusion in Europe and contribution to the Council of Europe thematic document “Human Rights and Gender Identity”. Since joining the Council of Europe, Emma has contributed to a wide range of activities to assist with the Unit’s implementation of Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)5 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on measures to combat discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity across Council of Europe member States.

​Francine Hetherington Raveney is an expert in the fields of: sport policy, gender equality, diversity, project management, script analysis, audiovisual co-productions, and communication, amongst others. She obtained a Masters Degree in English and French Literature at The Queen’s College, Oxford University (1992-1996), a Masters Degree in Women’s Studies at The Queen’s College, Oxford University (1996-1997) and then carried out doctoral studies in France in politics and literature at Strasbourg University (1997-1998).

Since 2000, she has worked in a number of international organisations, including the Council of Europe, where she was a project manager for the Eurimages film fund for 11 years (2009-2020), and WHO Europe (2004-2005) where she was a Managing Editor. She is the founder, former Executive Director and currently an Honorary Member of the European Women’s Audiovisual (EWA) Network. She is also a member of the New Dawn Film Fund jury and regularly teaches pitching and gives presentations at festivals and universities throughout Europe.

Since April 2021 she has worked as the Deputy Executive Secretary of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS), where she oversees resources, works with the Governing Board and partner organisations to ensure that topical thematic activities (such as gender equality, diversity, integrity and good governance in sport) and conferences (e.g. on combating gender-based violence in sport) are dealt with smoothly and effectively. 

Ms Floor van Houdt works in the European Commission since more than 25 years. She is currently active as Head of Unit in charge of EU Sport Policy. Prior to this, she worked on several EU policies, including youth, maritime affairs, entrepreneurship and research.

Originally from the Netherlands, she studied law and European Studies in the Netherlands, Spain and Belgium before moving to Brussels to start her career in European policy.