NZ Football President Johanna Wood will be among the speakers at a two-day global summit in Switzerland to help take forward football’s programme to safeguard participants and protect children.
FIFA will host the summit at its Zurich headquarters on October 25-26, 2023, and Wood will speak about good governance and the role of senior leadership in safeguarding.
Wood, a FIFA council member, will be joined at the session by speakers Irena Guidikova, Head of the Children’s Rights and Sport Values Department, Council of Europe, and Michael Llamas, President of the Gibraltar Football Association and Chairperson of the FIFA Human Rights and Social Responsibility sub-committee.
Main photo: Johanna Wood at a FIFA-run safeguarding residential seminar. Photo credit: FIFA.
More than 6,000 football learners from around the world have completed course one: FIFA Guardians Safeguarding Essentials.
Ninety learners have become the first group of safeguarding officers to work towards graduating with the FIFA Guardians Safeguarding in Sport Diploma.
About the FIFA programme
FIFA explains safeguarding and child protection on its website, stating:
“Safeguarding means taking proactive action to protect people from harm or abuse through appropriate prevention and response measures and promoting their wellbeing. It means doing everything possible to identify and address risks and to prevent any kind of harm or abuse from happening such as physical, sexual, emotional abuse and neglect, trafficking and exploitation. It also means having appropriate systems in place to adequately address and respond to concerns.
“Child protection is an essential part of safeguarding and refers to the action taken in response to a specific concern for a child or children who may be suffering or is/are at risk of suffering harm or abuse. It requires referral to specialised child protection services, law enforcement agencies and expert local organisations that are trained to advise on, and manage, cases, if concerns arise about a child’s welfare.”
READ MORE: Major milestones for FIFA Guardians Safeguarding Diploma >>>>
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