Global Voices Day - Safe Sport 2026
Shared learning, global collaboration and future commitments.
Bringing together insights from across the conference to shape the future of safe sport worldwide.
Global Collaboration and Future Commitments
Global Day brings together insights from across the conference to explore how safeguarding can be strengthened worldwide through collaboration and shared commitment.
The day connects perspectives from research, policy and practice, creating space to reflect on key themes emerging throughout the conference. It focuses on how these insights can be translated into meaningful action across different sporting contexts.
Through stakeholder dialogue, shared learning and collective reflection, Global Day aims to identify priorities for future action and strengthen international cooperation in advancing safe sport systems worldwide.
Wednesday Schedule (Day 3)
Session details and timings may change
07:00 – Morning wellbeing activities at your hotel
Optional self-led activities or take a guided run with Chiel Warners OLY.
08:15 – Venue Opens
Delegates arrive, collect materials and begin networking.
09:00 – Opening Remarks: Sport as a safe place for all
Neal Anderson, CEO of Safe Sport International, opens the day by exploring the theme Sport as a safe place for all. Setting the stage for the sessions ahead, he highlights opportunities to learn about and contribute to discussions on global safeguarding trends, emerging opportunities, and the latest breakthroughs shaping safer, more inclusive sport environments worldwide.
09:10 – 12 Years of Impact: The International Safeguards in Sport Initiative
This session celebrates twelve years of progress since the creation of the International Safeguards for Children in Sport – marking their adoption, influence, and global reach. Speakers will reflect on successes achieved, lessons learned, and the development of the International Safeguards for Adults in Sport (2023) and the International Safeguards for Children in eSports (2025).
- Jonathan Hannay MBE, CEO ACER Brasil
- Prof. Daniel Rhind, Loughborough University
- Dr Lombe Mwambwa, Global Observatory for Gender Equality and Sport
- Mark Mungal, Chair SSI Inclusive Standards Committee
09:45 – From Readiness to Accountability
Building on the Readiness theme and outcomes of Safe Sport 2025, this session takes the next step, turning reflection into responsibility. Anne Tiivas OBE, co-Founder of Safe Sport International, will set the scene before delegates join a discussion group to explore how accountability is defined, who holds it, and what it means for advancing safe, equitable sport systems worldwide.
- Anne Tiivas OBE, Safe Sport International
| Discussion Group 1 | Discussion Group 2 | Discussion Group 3 | Discussion Group 4 | Discussion Group 5 | Discussion Group 6 |
Coaching Systems: Embedding Athlete Wellbeing from Parks to Podiums Facilitators: | Designing and Developing Safeguarding from the Margins in Facilitators: | Leadership Accountability; Setting and Upholding Safe Sport Culture Facilitators: | Sustaining Multi-Disciplinary Teams from Events to Longer Term Collaboration Facilitators: | Safe Sport by Design: Creating People-Centred Sporting Environments Facilitators: | Networks of Care: Support for Safeguarding Leads in your Practice Facilitators: |
11.00 Refreshments and Networking
11:30 – Parallel Sessions: Safeguarding With and For All in Sport
Cyber Abuse in the Olympic Games: What the Data Tells Us | Athletes as Partners in Safe Sport | Beyond Compliance: Using Auditing as a Catalyst for Cultural Change in Sport Governance | Strengthening Safeguarding for Young People | Emergent Risks: Responding to Today’s Safeguarding Challenges |
Findings, trends and implications for sport safeguarding As the scale and profile of the Olympic Games grows, so too does the exposure of athletes, officials and staff to online abuse. This session presents findings and emerging trends in cyber abuse across Olympic competition, drawing on real data to examine who is targeted, how, and to what effect. Delegates will leave with a clearer picture of the current landscape, practical insights they can apply in their own safeguarding contexts, and an understanding of what effective response looks like at the highest level of sport. Scott Sloan (International Olympic Committee) | Discussions on athlete partnerships, transgender inclusion, and strengthening safe sport through lived experience. SSI Athlete Voice for Safe Sport Group | Exploring how qualitative insight, prevention-focused actions, and tailoring approaches to the unique cultures and communities within sport can foster environments where accountability is embedded, and cultural change is possible. Hannah Hinton | How to Engage Young Peoples Voice in your work – technology/social media Chloe Jordan (ENGSO Youth) Upholding UNCRC Article 12 when consulting Young People Seamus Byrne (MMU) Research informed safeguards for 16-18 Year Olds transitioning to Adult Sport Neal Anderson (SSI) | What safeguarding officers are facing now, how they are responding, and what is needed next. This session will bring participants together to consider current trends, share learning, and discuss the resources and capabilities needed to respond to future risks. Marcella Leonard MBE |
12:30 – Lunch
13:45 – Parallel Sessions: Accountability, Integrity and Athlete‑Informed Change
Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games: Safe Spaces and Youth-Led Legacy | Recovery Beyond Crisis: From Disclosure to Sustainable Healing | Imagineering Future Standards, Safeguards, and Guidance | Two sides of the same coin? Integrity and Safeguarding Approaches | International Frameworks: What’s New and What’s Next? |
Updates and initiatives for this landmark Youth Olympic event Gloria Viseras Elevating young peoples voices at the Games: How ENGSO Youth’s work supports young people in shaping a lasting legacy of safe, inclusive, and sustainable sport beyond the Games. Chloe Jordan (ENGSO Youth) | Exploring how safeguarding support, case investigation and therapeutic practice can shape recovery from the moment abuse becomes known. Recovery is not linear, instant or the same for everyone. Drawing on psychotherapeutic, safeguarding and athlete perspectives, this session examines how ethics, trauma-informed practice and person-centred processes can support hope and healing from disclosure through to long-term recovery. Marcella Leonard (Leonard Consultancy) | Participatory workshop: International safe sport frameworks and International Safeguards for All in Sport – looking 20 years forward Mark Mungal | Exploring the relationship between safeguarding and integrity approaches in sport, including where they differ, where they overlap, and how they can work together. Through perspectives from the Athletics Integrity Unit and Swiss Sport Integrity, participants will consider just responses, victim-centred practice, complementary rules, dual investigations and the practical limits of current systems. Hayley Gibbons, Kyle Barber (Athletics Integrity Unit), Ernst Konig (Swiss Sport Integrity) | Singapore’s Framework for Safeguarding in Sport Wang Shao Ing, Ng Kend Tuck and Syahirah Latiff (Singapore Sport Commission)
Nancy McLennan The Clearing Sport Project Update Chiel Warners |
14:45 – Refreshments
15:15 – Keynote Interview: 25+ Years of Change
Join Anne Tiivas OBE, co-Founder of Safe Sport International, for a powerful reflection on over two decades of transformation in safeguarding and safe sport. From early collaborations to global safeguards, Anne shares the milestones, challenges, and lessons learned that have shaped safer sporting environments worldwide.
In conversation, this keynote offers a rare, personal insight into how change happens, and what’s next for the movement to make sport safe for everyone.
- Anne Tiivas OBE (co-Founder Safe Sport International) interviewed by Ieuan Watkins
15:45 – Conference Declarations
The closing discussion brings together the momentum of Safe Sport 2026—turning ideas into action. Led by SSI Trustees Karen Perrier and Chiel Warners, this interactive session will capture delegate feedback from Readiness to Accountability, affirm collective commitments to Advancing Equity & Inclusion, and endorse the updated SSI Safe Sport Principles. Together, participants will outline next steps to strengthen safeguarding across the global sporting community.
- Facilitators – Safe Sport International Trustees Karen Perrier & Chiel Warners
16:00 – Closing Remarks – Assuring The Legacy of Safe Sport 2026
Neal Anderson (CEO, Safe Sport International) alongside Allan Williams (CEO, Sport for Social Change Network Africa) conclude the conference with reflections on shared achievements and a call to carry the Safe Sport legacy forward, ensuring the progress made here continues to inspire meaningful change worldwide.
16:15 – Conference close and departures
Who Should Attend
Safe Sport 2026 is designed for those working at the intersection of evidence, policy and practice in safeguarding.
This includes:
- Researchers and academics exploring safeguarding, athlete welfare, sport integrity and related fields
- Safeguarding practitioners working directly with athletes, clubs, organisations and governing bodies
- Policymakers and regulators responsible for developing and implementing safeguarding frameworks and standards
- Sport governing bodies and federations seeking to strengthen safeguarding systems and practice
- Organisations working in athlete welfare and protection, including NGOs, advocacy groups and support services