The Executive Board of the Cyprus Olympic Committee (EESC), in its last online session, decided as it proposes for the upcoming awards of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) "Women and Sports", Ms. Anastasia Papadopoulou. The IOC encourages the Olympic Committees to promote projects to promote women's gender equality in sport, actively support and promote gender equality. The final selection will be made by the IOC Executive Committee and the award will be awarded at a special ceremony.
The Executive Board of the EESC, taking into account the action and involvement of Mrs Papadopoulou in various Committees and Organisations, considers that her candidacy brings together all the guarantees to promote the above. In particular, Ms Papadopoulou supported and assisted the draft national legislation ratifying the Council of Europe Convention in 2011 on the protection of children from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. In addition, Ms Papadopoulou was appointed by the Council of Ministers as Special Adviser to the Commission in which she was responsible for the drafting of the National Strategy to Combat Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children for Child Pornography. It was therefore responsible for consulting all relevant government agencies and NGOs, as well as with social groups on any issues and actions included in the strategy. In this context, Ms. Papadopoulou has concluded agreements with the Cyprus Sports Organization and the Cyprus Olympic Committee for the inclusion of both bodies in a National Strategy. Actions include writing and disseminating to coaches, trainers, physiotherapists, doctors and in general in the world of sport a manual on sexual harassment/abuse, designing new procedures for reporting and handling any incidents of harassment and abuse, planning and organizing training seminars aimed at professional and athlete parents, conducting awareness campaigns. Finally, Ms. Papadopoulou served as a Volunteer at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004 from the position of IOC Protocol Assistant.