4ALL 2021 REPORT Celebrating & sharing our PASSION for TABLE TENNIS! EVENT REPORT Intro message

April 6, 2021, marked the seventh World Table Tennis Day (WTTD) and the second one in times of Covid-19 and its forcing measures and restrictions all around the globe. Nonetheless, the Table Tennis family did not lack determination, flexibility and creativity to organise memorable physical, digital or blended WTTD events.

The originality of the events had no limits: from Russia, where a Table Tennis table was set up on top of a fortress, to a two-hour event with dance, music with adapted lyrics to promote FEMpowerment and a generational Table Tennis game with female-only participants in Argentina, to a drawing contest in the Slovak Republic, to first WTTD also proved its popularity and universality Together we are stronger. Together we can time events ever held in Cambodia and Korea DPR. through the ITTF Foundation’s very first online move forward. Gender equality and inclusion, main event: A 24-hour stream with live and are we there yet? In a nutshell: No. But we With female empowerment being the focus of pre-recorded sessions offered a variety of are proud of every step we’ve taken. We will WTTD 2021, inclusion was also shown by the fun-filled, sweat-inducing and educational continue and deepen our work towards specific topics of the events. There were a lot of possibilities for everyone, everywhere. achieving this goal and we are happy to events seeking to make Table Tennis more My sincere gratitude goes out to all WTTD 2021 count you in. accessible to women and girls and raising Promoters, organisers and passionate table tennis awareness of gender inequalities such as in Tahiti players, as well as to the three entities of the ITTF “Engage, speak up, step up, be focused, or Nigeria. Iran went one step further by helping Group: This year went down in history as a be strong, be determined and be you. Let’s #FEMpower all year long, not only children in a child labour context and those coming significant milestone since gender balance and on the March 8 or April 6.” from a background of illegal immigration, to find a female empowerment in Table Tennis have way out of their situations using our sport. been addressed comprehensively and Leandro Olvech holistically for the first time across the ITTF ITTF Foundation Director As a novelty in 2021, we piloted our first ever Group by introducing various activities, events, [email protected] WTTD Promoters Initiative in order to support and actions, always shining the spotlight on dedicated people around the world, thus creating women in Table Tennis. an impact on gender equality through Table Tennis in their local communities.

2 2021 WTTD Celebrations Map

GREENLAND

USA Watch the WTTD 2021 Celebrations video here!

ICELAND SWEDEN RUSSIA FINLAND CANADA FAROE ISLANDS NORWAY

ESTONIA SCOTLAND LATVIA DENMARK LITHUANIA IRELAND

ISLE ENGLAND OF BELARUS MAN NETHERLANDS POLAND WALES GERMANY GUERNSEY C.I. BELGIUM UKRAINE JERSEY LUXEMBOURG CZECH REP. KAZAKHSTAN MONGOLIA FRANCE AUSTRIA SLOVAK REP. LIECHTENSTEIN MOLDOVA SWITZERLAND HUNGARY SLOVENIA CROATIA ROMANIA SERBIA MONACO BOSNIA- KOREA DPR HERZEGOVINA BULGARIA UZBEKISTAN KYRGYZSTAN ANDORRA MONTENEGRO KOSOVO SAN MARINO NORTH PORTUGAL ITALY ALBANIA MACEDONIA GEORGIA KOREA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA SPAIN ARMENIA TURKMENISTAN TAJIKISTAN REPUBLIC JAPAN GREECE TURKEY AZERBAIJAN GIBRALTAR MALTA CHINA BERMUDA CYPRUS SYRIA TUNISIA LEBANON I R A N AFGHANISTAN MOROCCO PALESTINE IRAQ ISRAEL JORDAN KUWAIT PAKISTAN NEPAL BHUTAN ALGERIA LIBYA BAHRAIN HONG CHINESE TAIPEI MEXICO QATAR KONG BAHAMAS EGYPT UNITED ARAB BANGLADESH CUBA SAUDI MACAO DOMINICAN REPUBLIC ARABIA EMIRATES MYANMAR CAYMAN PUERTO ANGUILLA ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA INDIA LAOS ISLANDS HAITI RICO BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS MAURITANIA JAMAICA US VIRGIN ISLANDS ST. MAARTEN OMAN ST. KITTS AND NEVIS MALI BELIZE CAYMAN ISLAND DOMINICA W.I. NIGER NORTHERN GUATEMALA BONAIRE CAPE VERDE SENEGAL ERITREA THAILAND HONDURAS ARUBA CURAÇAO ST. LUCIA CHAD YEMEN VIETNAM MARIANA BARBADOS GAMBIA SUDAN ST. VINCENT BURKINA FASO PHILIPPINES ISLANDS MARSHALL EL SALVADOR NICARAGUA GRENADA GUINEA-BISSAU CAMBODIA GUINEA BENIN DJIBOUTI ISLANDS TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO GUAM COSTA RICA SIERRA LEONE TOGO NIGERIA VENEZUELA SOUTH ETHIOPIA SRI PANAMA GUYANA GHANA CENTRAL SUDAN LANKA LIBERIA AFRICA PALAU MICRONESIA SURINAME CÔTE MALAYSIA BRUNEI COLOMBIA D'IVOIRE CAMEROON SOMALIA UGANDA EQUATORIAL GUINEA MALDIVES SÃO TOMÉ AND PRINCIPE GABON KENYA SINGAPORE ECUADOR RWANDA NAURU KIRIBATI CONGO BRAZZAVILLE CONGO BURUNDI SEYCHELLES DEMOCRATIC PAPUA TANZANIA INDONESIA NEW GUINEA SOLOMON COOK ISLANDS ISLANDS TUVALU BRAZIL ANGOLA MALAWI COMOROS EAST TOKELAU TAHITI PERU WALLIS AND ZAMBIA MOZAMBIQUE TIMOR SAMOA FUTUNA BOLIVIA VANUATU AMERICAN NAMIBIA ZIMBABWE MADAGASCAR FIJI SAMOA MAURITIUS ISLANDS NIUE BOTSWANA NEW PARAGUAY CALEDONIA TONGA CHILE SWAZILAND AUSTRALIA LESOTHO SOUTH AFRICA NORFOLK ISLAND URUGUAY

ARGENTINA

EVENTS and HOME COUNTRIES * NEW 313 CELEBRATIONS in 98 and TERRITORIES ZEALAND *This number includes the 24-hour live stream.

3 Organisers Top Continental the 24-hour livestream. 24-hour the include not do numbers These

Latin America North & the Caribbean America 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 9 47 3 4 Paraguay Mexico Honduras Haiti Guatemala Grenada Brazil Bonaire Barbados Antigua andBarbuda Peru Guyana Costa Rica Argentina El Salvador Ecuador Colombia Venezuela Jamaica 7 Canada USA

Africa Europe 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 5 5 6 13 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 4 7 47 56 Ukraine Sweden Spain Slovak Republic Montenegro Malta Latvia Ireland Hungary Greece Denmark Croatia Andorra Scotland Netherlands Germany Estonia Bulgaria Austria Turkey Kosovo France England Albania Russia Belgium Italy Tunisia Tanzania Sierra Leone Senegal Rwanda Comoros Algeria Togo South Africa Lesotho Kenya Burundi Uganda Botswana Ghana Nigeria Ethiopia CONTINENT & the Caribbean & the America Latin Oceania America North Europe Asia Africa COMPARATIVE TABLE 2015 13 12 36 50 35 14 0621 2018 2017 2016 17 29 68 61 13 7

Oceania Asia 108 146 215 126 12 1 1 1 1 2 6 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 5 8 15 20 35 39 Tonga Tahiti Solomon Islands New Zealand Fiji Islands Australia Uzbekistan Singapore Qatar Philippines Maldives Lebanon DPR Korea Jordan Indonesia Afghanistan Tajikistan Malaysia Iran United ArabEmirates Thailand Bhutan Nepal Pakistan India 288 140 11 13 63 64 0922 2021 2020 2019 470 275 19 15 74 69 1075 766 562 198 74 95 146 47 12 47 56 7 4 24h stream

On the day, where we all share and spread the love for our sport, we did not let anything dampen our WTTD-spirits. Instead, we were bringing the event to everyone, everywhere who could not organise an event themselves or who wanted to go beyond their own event to celebrate April 6. Top 5 Countries and Territories watching

Together with the whole ITTF Group, we organised a 24-hour online stream on 1 Philippines April 6 from12:00am to 11:59 (UTC+1), which included seminars and India presentations on gender equality in and through Table tennis, iconic Table 2 Tennis matches and various live sessions: 3 Pakistan • Meet-and-greets with Table Tennis idols Liam Pitchford and Clarence Chew; • Workouts to stay physically active with Elke Schall and Rachael Milligan; 4 Cambodia • Coaching sessions to improve skills with Paulina Vega & Andy Pereira, United States of America Emeric Martin, Rashid Omar & Majd Ablooshi, Sarah de Nutte, and Segun 5 Toriola in Spanish, French, Arabic and English respectively; • And entertaining sessions with Adrian Leigh and Adam Bobrov.

The online stream was shared on all ITTF Groups’ Facebook accounts and the ITTF Foundation’s YouTube account with a total reach of 381,898 people making the ITTF Foundation’s first online main event popular and universal, but also showing the long way to go towards achieving gender balance and equity.

Gender of Viewers

95.75 % male

4.25 % female

5 WTTD Promoters Initiative Introduction

In order to achieve a more profound and lasting initiative to spread the spirit of the WTTD even impact on gender equality, the Promoters further and to contribute to the empowerment Where are the Promoters from? Initiative has been established for the first time of girls and women in their home countries and since the WTTD's creation. The idea behind it was territories through their events. Africa to have people worldwide, who are passionate Asia In total, the initiative counted on 47 Promoters about Table Tennis and social issues such as Europe gender inequality. Because ultimately, the people across 34 different countries and territories. who are there know best where the problem From dedicated young female student players Latin America points lie, what barriers exist in their federation, to workers from sports-related NGOs or North America club, culture and community, and perhaps how presidents of clubs and associations, the Oceania best to overcome them. With the support and initiative offered us a diverse range of people guidance of the ITTF Foundation, almost 50 and backgrounds eager to make a positive and 0 3 6 9 12 15 UZBEKISTAN dedicated women and men took part in this lasting change in their communities. 6 One aim of the initiative was to create an WTTD opportunity for involved women to host a WTTD Promoters event to feel empowered by assuming the Overview responsibilities of organising and running a WTTD, while also being a role model for younger girls and women in the club or community. At the same time, the Promoters were expected to contribute to spread awareness of gender inequality through their ideas for the WTTD, to raise awareness in the community and to find approaches to solve the problem. One of these points is, for example, the overall low participation of girls and women in Table Tennis (this applies to players, coaches, umpires and administrative positions). Many Promoters have made it their goal to encourage more female players to join a club through their campaigns and events, but also to make boys and men aware of why and how they can get involved in order to contribute to gender equality.

We would like to thank all our Promoters who have contributed to raising awareness of girls' and women's disadvantage and gender inequality. We thank all female Promoters for their commitment and passion, and for being an inspiration to other girls and women in their community. We thank all male Promoters for their commitment to FEMpowerment, because only together we can overcome such barriers and see positive social change in the long term.

Gender of Promoters

68 % female

32 % male RUSSIA 7 WTTD Promoters' Situational Analysis

REPORTS Through a series of reports, the Promoters have provided information on their starting point and what female participation looks like in their clubs or organisations. They also provided details of their events for WTTD and an evaluation of their own reach and impact through their own female empowerment projects for April 6.

THE BEFORE Through those reports, we discovered that prior to WTTD 2021, female players made up on average 19 % of all players in the organisations or clubs. Regarding the distribution among coaches, about 25 % of coaches were women. This data highlights once more the existing gender inequal- ities in sport. The discrepancies are even more evident in the leadership positions in the respec- tive sports institutions; only 16.5 % of executive or other leading positions are held by women. Fewer women in decision-making positions can have a direct impact on lower percentages of women in other positions such as coaches, umpires, admin- istrators or the players themselves. LEBANON 8 WTTD Promoters' Analysis of Barriers

BARRIERS The first step to successfully tackling not play sport to begin with. In third each culture's and community's place is the fact that Table Tennis individual challenges is to analyse the continues to be a male-dominated sport. existing issues and barriers. This can be particularly frightening for The biggest perceived problem young girls, as many are afraid that male described by 41 % of the Promoters counterparts will be favoured anyway. was the lack of infrastructure for This results in a lack of self-confidence women within Table Tennis. In many and the fear of being discriminated. This places, there are not enough aspect directly relates to the insufficient opportunities and longer-term career structural support and promotion of prospects for females in Table Tennis. women in Table Tennis. The last Furthermore, getting access to the significant barrier is the lack of role sport is often challenging. This aspect models. As it is the case in many other also includes imbalanced structures in sports, women are underrepresented in clubs, such as insufficiently developed the media and news coverage, which girls' training or programmes. The leaves many young girls and women no second major challenge is that of space to dream. The lack of women in enduring stereotypes. Such leadership positions in clubs and stereotypes include traditional role associations is also related barrier. On the expectations (women are responsible one hand, women leaders are a role for the household and children) as well model and inspiration for others, on the as prejudices about women and sport – other hand, they can also push more for for instance, that Table Tennis is not a the development of female players and "feminine" sport or that women should related opportunities.

Factors that affect female participation according to the WTTD 2021 Promoters Culture and religion Parents Covid-19 Stereotypes Transportation Weak TT infrastructure Lack of awarenessfor females Male dominance in sport Lack of role models Money ECUADOR 9 WTTD Promoters' Outcomes

GOALS AND SATISFACTION In addition to the overall theme of contributing to UN SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empow- er all women and girls and the WTTD spirit of being Popular, Universal and Inclusive, we asked each Promoter to set themselves a personal goal for their event. The goals they chose were tailored to the conditions and needs in their respective communities. Looking back on their own progress, 55 % of the Promoters reported having successfully achieved their own goal, 4 % were partially successful. Out of the feedback, 10 % stated that they were unfortunately not able to achieve their goal because local Covid-19 measures simply did not allow for the execution and celebration of the WTTD they had envisioned. Despite this, Promoters rated the impact they had on the community through their events in terms of FEMpowerment on a scale of 1 (not at all satisfactory) to 10 (very satisfactory) with an average of 8. UGANDA 10 WTTD DIGITAL CELEBRATION AND REACH Many WTTD organisers were forced to postpone Promoters' or adjust their events due to the pandemic and its Outcomes respective health guidelines. Hybrid celebrations were one way to still reach many participants while staying physically distanced. For April 6, 32 % of the Promoters included digital activities or campaigns in their WTTD event, including broadcast on national television, social media campaigns, online Table Tennis master classes or interactive online forums on gender equality. Thanks to the great work and ideas of the 47 Promoters they reached more than 6,000 people directly through their events – 59 % of the participants were female!

Reached Participants

0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000

Male Female

NEPAL 11 NEW SIGN-UPS WTTD This positive impact also translated into average 21 new female athletes in Promoters other areas. As many of the Promoters their clubs. However, it should be noted Initiative complained about the that in many places the clubs and training facilities are fully closed due to Introduction underrepresentation of female players in 614 their clubs prior to WTTD, recruiting new lockdowns, making the signing-up of girls or 21 female players was a priority for many interested girls and women not possible women average number Promoters. Based on the feedback at the moment. signed up of new female received, they were able to recruit on players per Promoter's club

ALBANIA 12 Female Promoters feeling empowered 25

20 WTTD Promoters 15 Initiative

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EMPOWERMENT OF AND 5 THROUGH PROMOTERS The goal of this initiative was not only to increase the number of 0 female players, coaches and other Yes, Yes, to N/A important positions within Table definitely some Tennis, but also to provide an extent opportunity for men and especially women to take the opportunity to organise and run an event. Out of Male Promoters the 32 female Promoters, 72 % empowering others said they felt empowered by the 12 responsibility of being a WTTD Promoter. Among the male Promoters, 14 out of a total of 15 10 reported that they felt like they empowered women and girls in 8 their community at the moment.

6

4

2

0 Yes, Yes, to I don´t definitely some Know extent FIJI ISLANDS 13 BULGARIA ETHIOPIA NEPAL

HONDURAS NIGERIA HONDURAS

14 KOSOVO FIJI ISLANDS UGANDA Gender equality is an important and critical issue in no matter how big or small they might be. Starting in today's world and one that matters a lot to the ITTF December 2020, every three weeks an interview was Women’s Foundation. As a result, it has become the focus of the shared, changing to a weekly article during March. History 2021 edition of the WTTD, which included the Additionally, we started two social media campaigns celebration of not only the International Women’s from March 1 leading up to April 6 highlighting Month Day on March 8, but the whole Women’s History FEMpowerment and increasing female media Month of March. presence: 1. Inspiring quotes from female (Para) Table Tennis First of all, we re-activated the Inspirational Women players; Series – a collection of interviews that spotlights 2. A call for FEMpose pictures to show either how women from our Table Tennis community to inspire strong and fierce girls and women are or how people others to not only make their dreams come true, but from other gender identities support the UGANDA to help other girls and women to follow their dreams FEMpowerment movement. 15 Anolyn Elisabeth Lulu Ildal Maira Vanuatu Denmark Ranzeiro Brazil

Aida Dahlen Norway

Sarah Hanffou Funke Cameroon Oshonaike Nigeria

Carole Grundisch FEMpower France Galia THROUGH TABLE TENNIS Dvorak Spain

Camila Adriana Argüelles Diaz Argentina Puerto Rico

Offiong Rita & Edem Mayssa Bsaibes 16 Nigeria Lebanon However, the highlight of the Women’s History Month truly was the Conference on gender equality and FEMpowerment in Table Tennis on March 8 organised by the ITTF Foundation and ITTF High Performance and Development. The live panel discussion welcomed 86 participants – not only from different continents, backgrounds or Ingmar De Vos positions, but also from other International Federations and sport organisations – listening to five prominent guests sharing their wisdom:

Ingmar De Vos: IOC Member & IOC Women in Sports Commission Member & FEI President

Rita van Driel: IPC executive & Agitos Foundation President & IPC Rita van Driel Women in Sport Committee Chair

Petra Sörling: ITTF EC Vice President of Finance & BoT Chair at ITTF Foundation

Funke Oshonaike: Founder of NGO "Funke Oshonaike Foundation" & 6x Olympic Table Tennis Player

Mónica Liyau: Founder of NGO "Impactando Vidas" & 2020 TT Petra Sörling Dream Building Fund project winners & 1x Olympic Table Tennis Player

The panellists provided the audience with interesting insights, advice, thoughts and know-how, including personal experience with gender (in)equality that is unfortunately still very much present on different https://youtu.be/-FfA5n7ewGY levels and also within different areas across sports.

Funke Oshonaike 53 % female participants

Mónica Liyau Watch the recording of the Conference here!

17 18 Join World Table Tennis Day 2022

It’s been exciting for us here at the ITTF Foundation and we look forward to seeing what ideas our community has in stock for next year. www.ittffoundation.org www.ittffoundation.org/programmes/tt4all/world-table-tennis-day

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