Part 2: Sport as a Human Right

Episode 35: Sport as a Human Right

Part 2:  Sport Leadership and Social Change Webinar Series 

Sport has been framed as a social good (True Sport Report, 2022) and as a vehicle for supporting human and social development including “improving health and well being, putting children and youth on a positive life course, building stronger and more inclusive communities, promoting environmental sustainability, and contributing to Canada’s economy.” 

Sport has also been situated within the realm of ‘entertainment’, ‘health’, ‘heritage and culture’, and ‘education’. 

In this Episode 35 of Sport, Leadership and Social Change webinar series, we will explore whether and / or in what ways sport is or could be a human right. The United Nations and the Centre for Sport and Human Rights  have taken the approach that sport is ‘anchored in human rights’; but, many also agree that we all should have the Right to Play and that sport, as a form of education, must be included as part of the educational system. 

Join Dr. Jen Walinga as she hosts three guests to discuss the opportunities, implications, barriers and importance to treating sport as a human right. 

• Date: May 12th, 2025
• Time: 12:00 PM-1:30 PM PT 

Minky Worden is an American human rights advocate and author. She serves as Director of Global Initiatives at Human Rights Watch developing and implementing international outreach and advocacy campaigns. She has been an adjunct associate professor at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs since 2013. She previously served as Human Rights Watch's Media Director, working with the world's journalists to help them cover crises, wars, human rights abuses and political developments in some 90 countries worldwide. Worden speaks and writes on the topics of political prisoners, women's rights, and human rights and sports.

Ige Egal is the Founder and CEO of Play for Dignity, a national nonprofit reimagining Canada’s sport system through a human rights-based approach. His work spans grassroots sport and international public policy, with a focus on building systems that reflect dignity, equity, and access. He is a Maytree Fellow and serves on the board of MLSE LaunchPad.

Macintosh Ross is the McCain and McLean Centre for Sport, Business, and Health Fellow at Saint Mary's University and Chair of both the Rights and Responsibilities Awareness Initiative and the Canadian Collective for Human Rights in Sport.