CEV
Maja Poljak joins high-level panel discussion on women’s role in sports administration
Archive
Article Thu, Mar 11 2021
Luxembourg, March 11, 2021. CEV Events Coordinator and former Volleyball star Maja Poljak joined earlier this week a high-level panel discussion organised in conjunction with the second webinar for Women in Leadership (WiLEAD) run by the FIBA Regional Office Europe, as part of the TIME-OUT 2.0 project.
Co-funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ Sport programme, the TIME-OUT 2.0 project aims at promoting education in and through sport by developing skills that athletes can utilise in their future careers away from the court.
WiLEAD helps identify, educate, motivate and develop the next generation of female leaders in (sports) management and administration, whilst also increasing gender diversity by creating new pathways and support networks.
This week’s WiLEAD webinar, which features 31 female participants selected by 28 European National Federations, focuses on providing opportunities for talented and motivated women working in such organisations to develop their careers even further and work together to increase the growth and visibility of the women’s basketball game across Europe and the world.
The programme includes two 3-day webinars with leading female speakers from the world of sport, business and politics delivering impactful keynote speeches to the selected participants, and sharing their individual experiences and pathway to the top of their careers.
Poljak joined a panel discussion hosted by former Finnish basketball star and TIME-OUT graduate, Tiina Sten. The discussions revolved around women in leadership roles and equality, will Maja joining Veronika Muehlhofer (CEO, Swiss Rugby Union), Elisabeth Egnell, (Development Director, Swedish Skiing Association) and Carlota Castrejana (Secretary General, Royal Spanish Athletics Federation).
“I was honoured to share and review my transition from professional Volleyball player to sports administrator, a process that is especially important and not always that easy for elite athletes, as well as to explain the role and duties associated with my current position at the CEV,” Maja explains. She joined the European Volleyball Confederation in late 2017, only a few months after completing her last competitive season with Dinamo MOSCOW of Russia. “It was especially interesting to share experiences and advices with other former athletes and analyse the different paths we have taken.”
“When it comes to women’s participation, Volleyball is truly unique since in many countries the number of female players exceeds the males. The CEV leadership has been a strong advocate of gender equality in many ways, for example by aligning the prize money at stake in major competitions such as EuroVolley or the CEV Champions League,” Maja continues. “We are running special programmes to promote the role of female referees and coaches, will establish a close cooperation with the University of Luxembourg with a focus on athletes and the female members of our Board of Administration are involved in ASOIF programmes aimed at improving the women’s role in sports administration. The panel was certainly a great opportunity to know more about the plans and actions of other federations and made us realise that we all share the same key values and strive for gender equality for the good and further growth of the sports industry,” she concludes.
Co-funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ Sport programme, the TIME-OUT 2.0 project aims at promoting education in and through sport by developing skills that athletes can utilise in their future careers away from the court.
WiLEAD helps identify, educate, motivate and develop the next generation of female leaders in (sports) management and administration, whilst also increasing gender diversity by creating new pathways and support networks.
This week’s WiLEAD webinar, which features 31 female participants selected by 28 European National Federations, focuses on providing opportunities for talented and motivated women working in such organisations to develop their careers even further and work together to increase the growth and visibility of the women’s basketball game across Europe and the world.
The programme includes two 3-day webinars with leading female speakers from the world of sport, business and politics delivering impactful keynote speeches to the selected participants, and sharing their individual experiences and pathway to the top of their careers.
Poljak joined a panel discussion hosted by former Finnish basketball star and TIME-OUT graduate, Tiina Sten. The discussions revolved around women in leadership roles and equality, will Maja joining Veronika Muehlhofer (CEO, Swiss Rugby Union), Elisabeth Egnell, (Development Director, Swedish Skiing Association) and Carlota Castrejana (Secretary General, Royal Spanish Athletics Federation).
“I was honoured to share and review my transition from professional Volleyball player to sports administrator, a process that is especially important and not always that easy for elite athletes, as well as to explain the role and duties associated with my current position at the CEV,” Maja explains. She joined the European Volleyball Confederation in late 2017, only a few months after completing her last competitive season with Dinamo MOSCOW of Russia. “It was especially interesting to share experiences and advices with other former athletes and analyse the different paths we have taken.”
“When it comes to women’s participation, Volleyball is truly unique since in many countries the number of female players exceeds the males. The CEV leadership has been a strong advocate of gender equality in many ways, for example by aligning the prize money at stake in major competitions such as EuroVolley or the CEV Champions League,” Maja continues. “We are running special programmes to promote the role of female referees and coaches, will establish a close cooperation with the University of Luxembourg with a focus on athletes and the female members of our Board of Administration are involved in ASOIF programmes aimed at improving the women’s role in sports administration. The panel was certainly a great opportunity to know more about the plans and actions of other federations and made us realise that we all share the same key values and strive for gender equality for the good and further growth of the sports industry,” she concludes.