LAHORE
US Consul General in Lahore Kristin Hawkins has said women become a source of positive change in societies through the life transforming skills and confidence gained from sports.
Speaking at a four-day US funded sports workshop for women at University of Education (UoE) Township here on Friday, she said sports contribute to character-building and help women become positive agents of change and reminded the workshop participants of their unique role as educators, coaches, and mentors in helping young women develop their leadership skills.
With the sole purpose of empowering young women, the workshop was conducted by coaches, trainers, and educators from Baylor University and University of North Carolina, Wilmington, in partnership with the UoE, Township. Female sports educators, trainers, and coaches from 10 schools and four universities across Punjab attended the workshop.
“Not everyone, who participates in sports, will go on to play professionally, but the confidence, teamwork, and skills that we learn from sports can help us become a force for positive change, no matter what we do in life,” Hawkins said.
The consul general further said the initiative would impart sports educators in Pakistan tools, experience, knowledge, and support to encourage more young women to participate in sports, adding that sports has physical and health benefits besides enhancing ability to empower, build confidence, and inspire. “Through sports, students learn teamwork, discipline, cooperation, and leadership,” she added.
UoE Vice Chancellor (VC) Prof. Dr. Muhammad Alam Saeed said: “65 per cent of Pakistan’s population consists of youth, of which women are the major part and education and training of women and promoting positive trends among them is a need of the hour,” He said without empowered women, the country could not face challenges of today.
He said the sports workshop would yield positive results as the participants would return to their home universities and implement policies, coaching practices, and sports curricula to improve girls’ access to athletics at their institutions.
