The Organizing Committee for the Central American and Caribbean Games San Salvador 2023 (COSSAN2023) held today the conference “Current challenges of women in national and international sports”, with the participation of Irene Aguiar, a legal advisor and sports consultant from Spain, as well as different national sports figures.
The president of COSSAN2023 and ad honorem president of INDES, Yamil Bukele, highlighted the capacity and participation of women in sports with important positions in the leadership and administrative structure.
“We at INDES and the Organizing Committee will always look for a special way for women to occupy a privileged place within the sports structure, not only as athletes but also in the decision-making position, which is the most important thing there is,” Yamil Bukele emphasized.
“I have said it many times: women have greater capacities; they are more responsible and caring, and if we take advantage of their tenacity, sports can improve. From the National Sports Institute of El Salvador, we are here to help, to promote, and to make profound changes where women can take up these great positions to continue transforming our country,” reinforced the president of COSSAN 2023.
For her part, the Spaniard expert discussed the different challenges for women with Dinora Acevedo and Lucrecia Mónico, general director and secretary general of COSSAN2023, respectively, while sports journalist Diana Escobar acted as moderator.
“If we sum it up in one word, the first challenge would be equality. It is too high a goal that we set for ourselves, but we have to pursue it. From there, there are different challenges we may encounter: the salary gap and some stereotypes,” commented Aguiar.
“Women came late to sport; that’s a fact, and that already puts us a little later at the starting block and generates inequality because there are fewer resources for women in sport, and there are some obstacles and potholes that we have to correct to achieve true equality,” said the Spaniard.
Roberto Hernández, a top figure in compound archery; Rebeca Duarte, a Salvadoran para-athlete; and karateka Fanny Izaguirre, all athletes in our Effort and Glory Program, were some of the athletes who participated in the discussion.
“Today, with this administration, there are many women in sports, and it is important to have these meetings so that actions can begin to be taken to train leaders and mentors. This is going to transcend, and it is good to continue projecting that we are a country with equality and equity for all,” said Hernandez.
For Rebeca Duarte, the conference was a motivational activity.
“I have been a person who has suffered and struggled; I can say that, today, I represent women with disabilities I tell all women not to give up because I have lived it myself in the flesh and know that it is possible to get through,” said Duarte, who recently won a gold medal and is currently number one in the Americas and number two in the world ranking of the International Federation of Boccia Sports.
Also attending the conference were the deputies of Nuevas Ideas, Alexia Rivas, and Lorena Fuentes. In addition to members of the Board of Directors of INDES and the Executive Committee of the Olympic Committee of El Salvador and sports leaders.
“I am very satisfied. These types of spaces are very important to visualize not only the achievements that women athletes are making in our country, but also the challenges that we still face. I want to congratulate President Yamil Bukele for taking this kind of initiative and supporting women,” said Fuentes.
The activity will continue this Friday in the auditorium of the National Museum of Anthropology with the master lecture “Women’s Sports and Their Challenges,”, which will also be given by Irene Aguiar from Spain, starting at 10:30 in the morning.
“It is a starting point for those who are here and for those who can influence; from here we are going to start the real work, to seek that transformation, to seek that equality,” said Dinora Acevedo.