WIS Week: Champions of Check, Challenge and Change to #BreaktheBias Webinar

The webinar will take place on the 8th of March 2022 from 15:00 – 16:00.

MEET THE SPEAKERS

Keynote: 15:00 – 15:20

Minister Jack Chambers

Government Chief Whip and Minister of State for Sport and the Gaeltacht

Jack Chambers is the Fianna Fáil TD for Dublin West. He is the Government Chief Whip and is also Minister of State for Sport and the Gaeltacht. He was elected to Dáil Éireann on his first attempt in the February 2016 General Election and was re-elected in the 2020 General Election.

Before entering the Dáil, he served as a Fingal County Councillor and as Deputy Mayor.

He is the frontbench Spokesperson  for Defence, Communications, Climate Action & Environment. He has been an active member of a number of Oireachtas committees including Climate Action, Justice & Equality and the committee on Seanad Reform.

Dr Una May

CEO - Sport Ireland

Dr Una May is the Chief Executive Officer of Sport Ireland. Sport Ireland is the authority tasked with the development of sport in Ireland. This includes participation in sport, anti-doping, ethics, coaching, high performance sport and the development of the Sport Ireland Campus.

Una was appointed CEO in January 2022, and has worked with Sport Ireland (previously the Irish Sports Council) since 1998. Prior to her appointment as CEO, Una was Director of Participation and Ethics. She also held the role of Director of Anti-Doping, leading the creation of a world class, globally recognised Anti-Doping Programme.

Una has a PhD in Exercise Physiology (1996) and a BSc (Hons) in Sports Science (1991) from John Moores University, Liverpool and has represented Ireland in both orienteering and mountain running. Una is passionate about the power of sport and physical activity to improve lives and communities.

She also represents Sport Ireland on the Sports Leadership Group which was established to drive the implementation of the Government’s National Sports Policy. Una is part of the implementation Group for Ireland’s National Physical Activity Plan, which aims to increase physical activity levels across the whole population.

Panel 15:20 – 16:00

Eimear Breathnach

President – Paralympics Ireland

Following an accident when she was 17, Eimear became involved with para sport through the Irish Wheelchair Association and later with Paralympics Ireland. An experienced athlete, Eimear competed in an array of sports both nationally and internationally including Athletics, Wheelchair Rugby and ultimately establishing herself in the sport of Table Tennis. She has an impressive list of competitions under her belt, most notably, 2002 World Championships in Taiwan, 2006 World Championships in Switzerland, 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing and the 2012 London Paralympic Games. She has held a number of influential positions as Chair of the Athletes Commission, Vice President of Paralympics Ireland was formally elected to the role of President of Paralympics Ireland in 2021.

A firm believer in the power of education, she holds a Bachelor of Commerce, an ACII qualification, Diploma in Social Media Marketing, Certification in Physical Fitness and Conditioning in Sport, and most recently she has completed the Sport Ireland Level 9 Certificate in Governance in Sport.

Sibusisiwe Mhlophe

Sanctuary Runners

Sibusisiwe (Busie) grew up in Gwanda in southwestern  Zimbabwe. She came to Ireland alone in 2017 to seek asylum and entered the direct provision centre in Cork. A simple poster caught her eye calling for residents at the centre to join a running group, to show solidarity with those living in direct provision. This led her to joined the Sanctuary Runners in Cork in 2018. After taking part in the Cork city marathon, Busie was invited to join the running group at the Togher Athletics Club in Cork city. She now describes her friends at the club as her Irish family.

A strong desire to develop and grow has led Busie to University College Cork. She is currently in her 3rd year studying for a BSc in International Development and Food Policy on a Sanctuary Scholarship.  

Ger McTavish

Diversity and Inclusion Officer – GAA

Ger McTavish studied Sport science in TUI Dublin and has spent many of her years in the sporting fields of development, planning and youth development. In August 2011, Ger became the first Diversity and Inclusion Officer in a sporting organisation and challenged the sporting bodies across the world to create more opportunities to help disabled people, the LGBT communities, ethnic minorities and to give a voice to the less visible in society. She has worked on Human rights programmes with the Council of Europe and is an advisor to the Irish Human Rights Commission in Ireland. She is also an advisor of best practices to the family of Gaelic Games, GAA, LGFA, Camogie, Handball & Rounders. Previous experience as club development manager with Special Olympics Ireland and the Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA). Ger is an experienced sports presenter on the Irish channel TG4 and has a huge grá for the Irish language, sports, and culture.

John Fulham

Public Engagement Manager – Irish Wheelchair Association

John is the Public Engagement Manager for Irish Wheelchair Association. A native of Limerick City, John moved to Dublin in 1991 where he worked as a Bank Manager with AIB for 24 years before changing career to join Irish Wheelchair Association to support the work of an organisation and a cause he feels passionately about. John is a sports enthusiast, inheriting Limerick’s passion for sport. His love of Athletics and Basketball saw John compete up to and including Paralympic Level. His achievements include representing Ireland in both Athletics and Basketball, participating at four Paralympic Games, European Champion over 100 & 200m in 2003. John is currently the Chairperson of UL Sport, a member of Sport Ireland’s Women in Sport Committee and a former President of Paralympics Ireland.

John, however, rates his greatest achievement as being married to his wife Mary, a running coach and having their five-year-old son, Harry.

The event will be hosted by Michelle Carty, Organisational Development and Change Manager, Sport Ireland.

This webinar is FREE to attend and all registered participants will be sent a Zoom link prior to the webinar. Please ensure you input an accessible email address. Your email address will be used to send you the Zoom link, as the link won't be available on Eventbrite.

The deadline for registering is 7pm on Monday the 7th of March 2022.

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