The BiH Olympic Committee gathered future leaders in sports.

Sarajevo, 24 January 2025 – The Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina hosted a conference as part of the Erasmus+ project Women4Sport, which focuses on achieving gender equality in leadership and decision-making within the National Olympic Committees of the Western Balkans, Women4Sport, dedicated to strengthening women's leadership in sport. This significant event brought together prominent experts, academics, and athletes with the aim of improving the position of women in sports organizations.

The conference was opened by the President of the Olympic Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Academician, Prof. Dr. Izet Rađo, and the opening remarks were given by Academician Asim Kurjak, President of the International Academy of Sciences and Arts in BiH, who emphasized that only 25% of women in the world are in leadership positions.

As part of an interactive lecture, Academician Prof. Dr. Izet Rađo, president of the BiH Olympic Committee, spoke about the evolution of leadership over time, including the audience to share their experiences with us, while Nazif Hasanbegović, an expert in strategic communication, presented the challenges of human resource management in the context of female leadership.

Panel discussions covered key topics, including the role of digital technologies in the development of women's leadership, where academician prof. Ph.D. Velimir Srića, director of the Verlab Institute, dr. sci. Lejla Gurbeta Pokvić, Azra Ademović, director of International Business Solution, and the inspiring Selma Purić, ing. arch, bh. paraswimmer, web designer, paraswimming trainer in education.

The second panel focused on the challenges of female leadership in the 21st century, with the participation of proven sports leaders such as MTB cyclist Lejla Njemčević, Nevena Šavora, director of the Office for Programs of National Sports Associations and Development Programs of the Croatian Olympic Committee, president of the Special Olympics in BiH, prof. Ph.D. Kade Delić Selimović, International Ski and Snowboard Federation Manager Jelena Dojčinović, Olympian Sanja Kusmuk, Technical Secretary of the Ski Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina, shared with us the challenges they faced throughout their careers.

At the end of the conference, a draft strategy for strengthening the position of women in the decision-making process in sports was presented, with a special emphasis on regional cooperation among the Western Balkan countries.

We are honored to have hosted participants from the entire Western Balkan region and beyond, including prominent experts, policymakers, and representatives of sports associations in BiH - members of the BiH Olympic Committee, 41 sports associations, prominent athletes, and civil society organizations.

The Women4Sport initiative is a two-year Erasmus+ sport capacity-building project in the field of sport that aims to improve gender equality in leadership and decision-making within the National Olympic Committees and sports associations of the Western Balkan countries.

This event represents an important step towards empowering women in sports and advancing gender equality in sports organizations.