Hacettepe University hosted an important event ahead of International Women's Day on March 8. The talk titled “Opening of the Future Women Sports Leaders Program and Women’s Leadership in Sports” was held on March 6 at the Mehmet Akif Ersoy Hall on the university’s Beytepe Campus.
The event was organized through the collaboration of Hacettepe University’s Faculty of Sport Sciences and the Women in Sport and Physical Activity Association, with the support of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Turkey, the Turkish National Olympic Committee, and the Turkish National Paralympic Committee. The program began with an opening speech by Prof. Dr. Canan Koca, a faculty member of the Faculty of Sport Sciences at Hacettepe University and also the President of the Women in Sport and Physical Activity Association. Following the opening remarks, Prof. Dr. Tahir Hazır, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the university, and Duygu Arığ, Acting Deputy Director of the United Nations Türkiye Office, also delivered speeches.
The Rector of Hacettepe University, Mehmet Cahit Güran, spoke about the role and importance of women in society and said:
“First of all, I would like to begin by celebrating the March 8 International Women’s Day of our women. Until this age, I have observed one thing: the work that women touch always leads to beautiful results. One of the greatest examples of this is our university. Fifty-nine percent of our university’s academic staff consists of women. Likewise, we see that women hold an important place among our administrative managers as well. Perhaps one of the reasons behind the success of our university is the high number of women within it.”
Speaking about the importance of the program and the place of women in sports, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Safa Koçoğlu Gürsoy, stated:
“Today, we are here not only to launch a program but also to discuss the future of sports. More importantly, we are here to talk about a period in which women will have a stronger voice in the future of sports. The program we are launching today is not merely a training program; it is the opening of a door to a future where women will take stronger roles in sports management, decision-making mechanisms, and leadership.”
The event, attended by female managers from many sports institutions in Türkiye as well as national female athletes, continued with discussions on women’s leadership in sports. Two separate sessions were held during this part of the program.
In the first session titled “Women Leaders in Management,” the experiences of women leaders involved in the decision-making mechanisms of sports were shared. Speakers included Neşe Gündoğan, Secretary General of the Turkish National Olympic Committee; Şafak Müderrisgil, President of the Turkish Tennis Federation; and Elif Barut, Head of the Department of Administrative Services at the General Directorate of Sports Services of the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
In the second session titled “Women Leaders on the Field,” topics such as the performance dimension of sports, success stories, struggle, resilience, and the responsibilities that come with being a leader on the field were discussed. In this session, Gizem Girişmen, a national Paralympic archer, and İlke Özyüksel, a national Olympic modern pentathlete, shared their experiences.
The event concluded with a group photo session.
