The two-day Forum is being hosted in partnership between World Taekwondo and UK Sport and will draw expert speakers and panelists from in and out of Taekwondo. The Forum will be opened by World Taekwondo President Chungwon Choue and UK Sport Chair Dame Katherine Grainger before moving into four sessions over two days.

IOC Executive Board Member and Vice Chair of the IOC Women in Sport Commission, HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein, will be among the distinguished speakers at the Forum. Mr. Jean-Christophe Rolland, an IOC Member and President of World Rowing will speak about the role of IF in rule making to achieve gender balance.

Topics for discussion include ‘Achieving Gender Equality during COVID-19’, ‘Gender Equality in rule-making’, ‘Celebrating women in sport’ and ‘Emotional intelligence and women leadership.’ Besides the list of distinguished speakers, the Forum will also cover topics related to the psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, as part of World Taekwondo’s commitment to deliver safe sport. Mr. Niccolo Campriani, Olympic, World and European champion in shooting who is now the senior sports intelligence manager in the IOC, will speak about ‘Mental Health in Elite Sport’.

The final session will involve a Q&A with young Taekwondo female ambassadors who are championing positive changes in social norms through sport, and a presentation entitled ‘Women Can’ by Ms. Farah Al Asa’ad. Al Asa’ad is Coordinator for the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation and recently completed a fundraising mission to reach the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.

World Taekwondo President Choue said

“The first edition of the World Taekwondo Gender Equity and Women Leadership Forum was a great success and we are looking forward to building on that for our second edition. We are privileged to have so many expert speakers who can bring best-practice and personal insights to our discussions.

“Having discussions on these important topics is very important as it allows us to identify areas where we can improve and listen to new ideas and perspectives. However, it is critical we turn these discussions into action so that we make positive change. At World Taekwondo we are committed to doing more so that we can build on the great work that has been done and move towards becoming truly gender equal across every level of our sport.”

The 1st Gender Equity and Women Leadership Forum was held in partnership with the Saudi Arabia Olympic Committee in November 2020.