October 8th 2015. Coaches Across Continents (CAC) announced its Commitment to Action at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting held in New York, 26th-29th September. In partnership with Hogan Lovells, CAC will expand its recently piloted female empowerment curriculum into a new community intervention, ‘ASK for Choice’, which will use sport for social impact to bring gender policies to life.

‘ASK for Choice’ will enhance personal and community responsibility and produce locally owned and relevant gender equity initiatives. CAC’s strategic year-round mentorship on curriculum and policy development will bring gender policies to life throughout communities by generating pathways to advance women’s and girls’ participation, leadership and rights in and through sport.

“While there are many policies and campaigns regarding women in sport, Coaches Across Continents has identified that these policies are not effective and have little impact at the community level,” says CAC’s founder, Nick Gates. “This is the optimal time to launch ASK for Choice because the FIFA Women’s World Cup captured the world’s attention and we can harness this global visibility to activate the voices of and increase the opportunities for women and girls.”

Women’s and girls’ rights are violated daily. Cultural norms and traditional stereotypes restrict their choices. Violence and harmful practices against them continue despite international treaties and protective legal documents. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has not yet been ratified by every country or globally implemented. Where laws exist, they are frequently not enforced or brought to life. Global conflict is exacerbating the situation as refugee women and girls are particularly vulnerable to violence, exploitation and denial of their human rights.

Gender inequity in sport mirrors societal discrimination. Women and girls face multiple social and cultural barriers in sport, including gender stereotypes, restrictions on clothing and lack of safe spaces. In many communities, sports activities for girls are considered immoral or shameful and they risk violence for simply taking part. This creates huge obstacles to equal participation.

‘ASK for Choice’ will be implemented in 30 countries spanning five continents. 9,000 local leaders will be educated and certified and 1,000,000 children, including at least 250,000 girls, will play games from the ‘ASK for Choice’ curriculum. Through ‘ASK for Choice’, Coaches Across Continents will create an environment for the progression of Attitudes towards optimism and gender equity; the development of Skills for female leadership and participation; and the increase in Knowledge of rights and resources. This will lead to girls’ and women’s rights, educational, employment, entrepreneurial, financial, and health choices.

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About Coaches Across Continents

Coaches Across Continents is a global leader in the sport for social impact movement. Our award-winning corporate partnerships and ‘Hat-Trick Initiative’ consist of comprehensive, year-round organizational development and sport for social impact education that focuses on local issues such as: female empowerment, including gender equity; conflict resolution, including social inclusion; health and wellness, including HIV/AIDS behavior change; child rights; vital life skills; and fun.

Our key to success is a unique Self-Directed Learning model that educates people to identify, address, and solve problems specific to their communities. We mentor organizations and empower communities to question harmful traditional, cultural, and religious practices; responsibly choose their own futures; and create sustainable change.

https://coachesacrosscontinents.org

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About the Clinton Global Initiative

Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), an initiative of the Clinton Foundation, convenes global leaders to create and implement solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. CGI Annual Meetings have brought together 190 sitting and former heads of state, more than 20 Nobel Prize laureates, and hundreds of leading CEO’s, heads of foundations and NGOs, major philanthropists, and members of the media. To date, members of the CGI community have made more than 3,200 Commitments to Action, which have improved the lives of over 430 million people in more than 180 countries.

In addition to the Annual Meeting, CGI convenes CGI America, a meeting focused on collaborative solutions to economic recovery in the United States; and CGI University (CGI U), which brings together undergraduate and graduate students to address pressing challenges in their community or around the world. This year, CGI also convened CGI Middle East & Africa, which brought together leaders across sectors to take action on pressing social, economic, and environmental challenges.

For more information, visit clintonglobalinitiative.org and follow us on Twitter @ClintonGlobal and Facebook at facebook.com/clintonglobalinitiative.