⇒ Why are we focusing on young talents from different disciplines and academic fields?
⇒ Why should they be on the Centre Court?
During my four-year Bachelor and my two-year Master in sport management, I never had the chance to dive into the geopolitical and human rights questions that form an integral part of the modern sporting landscape. I also feel that students and young professionals are often very uncritical of the sports business, as it is regarded as a privilege to work in the field you love. Nevertheless, taking a step back and understanding the interconnections between sport and politics is essential to build a more sustainable sporting industry for the years to come.
I believe there should be more spaces for young professional to share their knowledge and encourage a switch of perspective. There are several issues to be addressed when it comes to sport and human rights. For instance, women working in the sport field still suffer from lack of exposure and too often, they find themselves dealing with misogynistic attitudes. It is important to create channels where young professionals can talk about how sport is perpetuating discriminative paradigms in order to act on this and boost positive changes in the sporting sector.
Human rights in general and human rights in the sport context in particular are topics that strongly need an interdisciplinary and international perspective. How do sport organizations work and where do we see human rights issues arise? What could be done to address these issues on a policy or on a legal level? What best practices have been established so far? To discuss these questions, especially with other young professionals, is crucial to develop creative ideas for these issues that will affect all of us in the future.