Birmingham, England, July 12, 2026: The Olympic Council of Asia’s “Watch Her SHINE” initiative delivered a message to the world at the IWG Global Summit on Women and Sport over three days from July 9-11 in Birmimgham, England.
SHINE stands for Strength, Hope, Inspiration, Next Generation and Empower, and the OCA distributed pin badges to delegates from around the world to show their commitment to supporting the women in sport movement.
The OCA sent 11 delegates to the summit:
*Ms. Valerie Tarazi, OCA Executive Board member and Chair of the Gender Equity Committee
*Mrs. Niloo Jayatilake, Sri Lanka NOC and OCA Executive Board member
*H.E. Dr. Sheikha Hussa Bint Khalid Al Khalifa, Bahrain Olympic Committee Board member and Chair, Equal Opportunities and Gender Balance in the Sports Committee
*Mrs. Suwanna Silpa-Archa, Thailand National Olympic Committee Vice President and OCA Gender Equity and Safeguarding member
*Dr. Teoh Chin Sim, Singapore Olympic Council member, OCA Gender Equity Committee
*Mrs. Soha Marzouk, Lebanon Olympic Committee, member, OCA Gender Equity Committee
*Ms. Tatyana Bogoslovskaya, Kazakhstan, OCA Para Asian Games Committee member
*Mrs. Nargiza Khalmirzaeva, Uzbekistan, Chair of Women Council and Senior Manager at the NOC Uzbekistan
*Ms. Bayartuya Bayarsaikhan, Mongolia NOC Head of International Relations
*Mrs. Fajer Hasan, Bahrain Olympic Committee Board member, Director of International Relations
*Mrs. Sabine Fakhouri, OCA Gender Equity and Safeguarding Manager
During the event, the World Gender, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Champion from Asia, Abhijit Bhattacharya, received his award from IOC.
OCA EB member Valerie Tarazi delivered the keynote speech in the continental session.
There was also a safeguarding panel discussion involving Hala Alzayani (Bahrain), Nurul Huda Abdullah (Malaysia) and Yuiko Inoue (Japan). The discussion was moderated by Sabine Fakhouri (OCA).
The continental session also included a workshop on safeguarding in sport led by Yuiko Inoue; and presentations by Abhijit Bhattacharya, Yi-An Chen (Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee); and Niloo Jayathilake (Sri Lanka).
The IWG 2026 Women in Sport Mentorship Programme Scholarship supported representatives from 13 NOCs: Laos, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Thailand, Chinese Taipei, Bahrain, Jordan, Pakistan, Nepal, Kazakhstan and Malaysia.
