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History of the International Academy for Women's Leadership

On November 3, 2001, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution (A/Res/58/5) proclaiming "2005 as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education, as a means to promote education, health, development and peace", thereby inviting governmental and nongovernmental agencies worldwide to organize events to "underline their commitment and to seek the assistance of sports personalities in this regard".

What prompted the UN General Assembly to adopt such a bold first-of-its-kind proclamation? A world crisis in physical education and sport has been documented by an international audit conducted in 1998-1999 under the auspices of the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE). Findings from this audit of 123 countries exposed recurring themes in several parts of the world:

• A decrease in curriculum time allocation

• Budgetary constraints with inadequate financial, material, and personnel resources and anticipate cuts in 60 % of the surveyed countries

• Low subject status and esteem (legal status in 86 % of countries surveyed, but actual status in only 43 %)

• Marginalization and under-valuation by authorities

• Inadequate teacher preparation in many countries

• Lack of implementation of existing requirements in physical education (only 25 % in Africa , 71 % globally)

ICSSPE hosted the First World Summit on Physical Education in Berlin , in November, 1999. Recommendations from the Berlin World Summit were used as a working document for the International Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials responsible for physical education and sport (MINEPS III Conference) in Punta del Este , Uruguay , in late 1999. Ministers of Education were lobbied about the worldwide need for quality physical education and sport and the value of quality, daily physical education in the lives of youths.

To continue to build upon the 2005 United Nations Year of Sport and Physical Education, Kennesaw State University of Georgia , through its WellStar College of Health and Human Services, USA, hosted one of the United Nations conferences in Atlanta . The conference theme - 2005 International Summit - Women and Sport: Affecting Social Change through Women's Leadership in Sport, was attended by over 600 people, representing 36 countries. This was the only conference on the United Nations agenda with women and sport as the focus. Adolf Ogi served as the keynote speaker, with a consortium of women leaders in sport guiding the conference. Consortium members developed and shared the following:

The Consortium of Women Leaders for Social Change through Sport:

• Recognizes the importance and relevance of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals to the interests of girls and women ;

• Recommends that gender equality in and through sport be integrated into all Millennium Development Goals and Objectives and the work of the United Nations agencies and other international organizations;

• Reaffirms the principles of the Brighton Declaration on women and sport;

• Affirms the congruence between the Millennium Development Goals and the Brighton Declaration;

• Encourages the continued efforts and actions of individuals and national and local organizations who further the interests of women in and through sport in their communities throughout the world

• Commends Kennesaw State University for bringing together key academic and professional leaders and advocates at this unique conference to discuss social change through women's leadership in sport, under the aegis of the 2005 International Year of Sport and Physical Education;

• Welcomes the establishment of the Center for International Women's Leadership and Sport Development at Kennesaw State University , Georgia , USA , with Dr. Darlene Kluka as its first Director.

As a result of a world-class summit which was part of the United Nations International Year of Sport and Physical Education, Affecting Social Change through Women's Leadership and Sport , the following became part of the Kennesaw Commitment:

• To develop and sustain the International Academy for Women's Leadership;
• To devote the Global Center 's best efforts to accelerate progress in the development of research, policy and practice relating to women's leadership in and through sport;
• To facilitate the exchange of ideas, experience and information through a physical and virtual learning environment for scholarly activity;
• To function as a nexus for scholarly inquiry, research and advocacy;
• To provide a repository for the collection of national and international policy statements and commitment that has been made worldwide;
• To serve as a catalyst for use of collaborative expertise among academic, NGOs, the Olympic and Paralympic Movements and governmental agencies to benefit social change in and through women's leadership and sport.

The commitment to the development of the International Academy for Women's Leadership was announced during the Summit . It builds on a history of international and women's leadership initiatives, and partnerships in developing/implementing sport initiatives aimed at affecting social change through sport. KSU has been referred to as Georgia 's international university because of its focus on global learning for engaged citizenship. The WellStar College of Health and Human Services has had a long history of outreach to the Latino community both in northwest Georgia and in Mexico . The management of three free clinics in Cobb County and study abroad programs for nurses, social workers, and health educators in Oaxaca , Mexico are examples. Other university partnerships have been developed, through the WellStar College of Health and Human Services, in South Africa , China , Brazil , and the Netherlands . Women's leadership initiatives have been highlighted by former President, Dr. Betty Siegel, as well as other recognized female leaders at the university. The KSU Institute for Leadership, Ethics and Character also has a wide range of such initiatives, along with the KSU Institute for Global Initiatives.

Finally, Dr. Betty Siegel, Dr. Richard Sowell, Dr. Vanice Roberts, Dr. Lendley Black, Dr. Sandra Gangstead, Dr. Louise Bill, and Mr. Mike Spino served as the administrative team who created the concept of the summit hosted by KSU, through its WellStar College of Health and Human Services, and also served as the driving force behind the concept of the International Academy for Women's Leadership.