14 Jun The GSIC powered by Microsoft presents a report “Sport and Innovation: global social accelerators in the post-COVID world”
- 11 international public entities from Spain, France, Singapore, Australia, among others, participated together with the GSIC in the Intergovernmental Working Group.
- The presentation was made during a special meeting between the members of the GSIC with the Higher Sports Council, one of the members of the working group, with whom they also spoke about the Plan to promote the sports sector.
During a special meeting of the GSIC partners at its headquarters in Madrid, the report “Sport and Innovation: Global Social Accelerators in the Post-COVID World” was presented, based on the results of the sessions of its working group with governments of countries such as Spain, France, Italy, Singapore, Australia, Andorra, with the participation of UNESCO, the World Health Organization and the European Commission. The objective of this working group, which took place between the end of 2020 and March 2021, was to monitor, explore and innovate the status quo, providing the government and non-governmental organizations with a neutral platform to share, exchange and update their ideas. , in particular focusing on:
1. Putting sport on the map and in post-COVID recovery strategies.
2. To develop the role of innovation for solving problems in the formation of the future.
3. Make a global reflection on innovation and sport in the post-COVID landscape.
The working group had met in three sessions. The first meeting was attended by Professor Michael Spence (Nobel Prize in Economics) who focused on the relationship between innovation and the pandemic, on concept maps for the future and on the renewed commitment to the sustainability agenda. As well as Professor Gabriela Ramos,
Deputy Director General of Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO, who stressed the importance of public entities being better promoters of sport and the voice of the sector.
The second meeting focused on recovery strategies and the future, where David Dallea, Head of PwC Sports Business Advisory on professional sports, Fiona Bull, Head of the Physical Activity Unit of the World Health Organization and Marisa Esteban Fernandez , Deputy Head of the Sports Unit of the European Commission, spoke from the perspective of their respective organizations.
At the third meeting, the Working Group participants discussed the next steps and how they see the future of the sports industry affected by the pandemic. Jean Baptiste Alliot, Advisor to the UEFA Innovation Hub, was the special guest of this session to speak about Digital Transformation in the Sports Industry.
The General Director of the GSIC, Iris Córdoba, highlighted that “at GSIC, we believe that multilateralism, international cooperation and a revitalized dialogue between stakeholders in the sport ecosystem is necessary: now it is a question of survival, to face the crisis and fighting the consequences of confinement, confinement and social distancing, but it is also about creating a new paradigm together.
We hope that this report goes in this direction and helps to illuminate the way for the future. ” During the same event, the members of the GSIC have met with Daniel Martín, the Adviser to the Cabinet of the President of the Superior Sports Council, the entity that was part of the aforementioned Working Group. With this meeting, the GSIC will create a space for direct dialogue between its partners and the highest body of Spanish sport to express their support for the CSD in view of the new Plan to promote the sports sector. During the meeting, both the GSIC and its partners shared with the CSD presidency what kind of initiatives and projects could add value to the execution of the Plan, especially in the part that deals with the Digitalization of the Sports Sector.
