Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
World Athletics and World Rugby collaborated at the Safe Sport Global Conference at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, from 25 to 27 May, coinciding with Africa Day. The conference brought together over 400 delegates from international safeguarding organizations to share expertise and strengthen connections across Africa. Hosted by Safe Sport International, the event aimed to turn safeguarding commitments into practical systems and leadership decisions in sport.
The conference featured daily themes: emerging research and knowledge exchange between researchers, practitioners, and policymakers; safeguarding leadership, policy development, and collaboration within African sport systems; and enhancing international cooperation for safeguarding progress. World Athletics and World Rugby jointly enabled participation for delegates from their African member federations to foster networking and idea sharing.
Representatives from World Athletics and the Athletics Integrity Unit, including Senior Counsel Catherine Pitre, AIU Investigator and Analyst Hayley Gibbons, and AIU Deputy Head of Investigations Kyle Barber, contributed through panel discussions such as “Building a Continental Safeguarding Network” and “Trauma-informed Case Management.” They also co-delivered a session with Swiss Sports Integrity titled “Two Sides of the Same Coin? Integrity and Safeguarding Approaches.”
Additionally, 15 safeguarding leads from World Athletics’ African member federations met to enhance regional knowledge networks and discuss the successes and challenges of implementing safeguarding policies nationally. Delegates from World Athletics were paired with rugby safeguarding leads in the same regions to encourage collaboration and idea exchange.