An ocean and a 12-hour time difference won’t get in the way of the guest lecture I am giving tonight to students at Stanford University, California, one of the world’s leading research and teaching institutions. As part of the course entitled “Sporting Rhetoric: Power, Performance, Profit and Politics”, taught by the inspiring Dr. Cassie Wright, I’ve been invited to share our experience, learnings and challenges at the award-winning Girls & Football SA.
Narrowing down the topic of discussion with Dr. Wright wasn’t easy, but I’ve chosen to focus on South Africa’s complex, political history, ways in which the apartheid government affected the development of sport in the country, the story of South African female athletes, and, how, as a result, Girls & Football SA was founded.
What excites me about this opportunity is not only that it provides an opportunity to talk about South Africa, sport, and gender, but also that it really is an embodiment of Information Technology today; the ability to share the information we’ve gained access to on the ground with a group of students across the world really is what education is about.