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The Independent
8 hours ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Women in Sport charity founder says she and Anne discussed how sport has changed
The Princess Royal said 'it used to be a lot of old grey men' running sports but 'gradually it is changing', the founder of a women in sports charity said after Anne formally made her a Commander of the British Empire (CBE). Dr Anita White, founder of the Women in Sport charity, the International Working Group on Women and Sport, and the Anita White Foundation, was among those honoured at Windsor Castle on Tuesday. In the hallway of the royal residence she reconnected with the ParalympicsGB chef de mission, who two decades ago was selected for a leadership development course that Dr White was arranging. Penny Briscoe had also just been made a CBE and Dr White said they had not seen each other since the course. Describing her discussion with Anne, Dr White told the PA news agency: 'We spoke about how sport had changed, how it used to be a lot of old grey men running sport and how gradually it is changing.' The Princess Royal asked what sports the former captain of the England field hockey team had played. Dr White, who was left wing, told PA: 'I was captain of the England team and we won the World Cup in 1975 and we didn't get much recognition at the time – that made me aware of the kind of gender divide that there was, and I've been campaigning for women in sports ever since.' The 'huge change' she has witnessed in her career has been 'at the top level'. This can be seen in the attention garnered by the Lionesses squad, as well as the number of female sports presenters and women in leadership roles, she said. Dr White added: 'Inevitably there's still a certain amount of inequality in the way that girls are socialised. 'So they are terribly concerned with their appearance on social media, and not getting out there, maybe missing out on the pleasure and fun and good things that there are in sport.' 'There might be some regression of people thinking, well, because we see women in the media, we've cracked it – women in sport has been done and dusted – but of course that isn't the case,' she added. Ms Briscoe is the director of sport at the British Paralympic Association and has been selected as chef de mission for Los Angeles 2028. Dr White said people like Ms Briscoe 'ending up in a very senior position' is 'exactly one of the things that I continue to work for'. She added that, during their conversation at Windsor Castle, Ms Briscoe offered to help 'in any way she can with future work'. Dr White said she is particularly working on getting women into high-performance coaching. Anne said 'not you again' as Ms Briscoe collected her medal, the chef de mission told PA. ParalympicsGB last year finished second in the medal table for the third consecutive summer Games after winning 124 medals – 49 gold, 44 silver and 31 bronze – across 18 sports in Paris. LA 2028 will be Briscoe's 12th Paralympics and sixth as chef de mission – a role she first fulfilled at the 2014 winter Games in Sochi. Paralympic sport 'stepped out of the shadows' at the 2012 London Olympics, she said after collecting her honour for services to Paralympic sport. 'I definitely feel like I've been part of two eras of para sport, the pre-London era, where we had great athletes, we delivered great performances, but the media hadn't embraced para sport. 'It wasn't until our home Games, where every stadium was full – venues, the sport presentation, and the media, every kind of media, embraced para sport.' She added: 'I think the growth of the ParalympicsGB hasn't just been on the field of play, it's been what it's enabled off the field of play. 'So the platform that the Games provides for our athletes to have that voice, to demand changes in society.' Before joining ParalympicsGB in 2001, she was an athlete and then a coach in canoeing, which took her to the Olympics in 1996 and 2000.
Glasgow Times
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Glasgow Times
Women in Sport charity founder says she and Anne discussed how sport has changed
Dr Anita White, founder of the Women in Sport charity, the International Working Group on Women and Sport, and the Anita White Foundation, was among those honoured at Windsor Castle on Tuesday. In the hallway of the royal residence she reconnected with the ParalympicsGB chef de mission, who two decades ago was selected for a leadership development course that Dr White was arranging. Dr Anita White after being made a CBE (Andrew Matthews/PA) Penny Briscoe had also just been made a CBE and Dr White said they had not seen each other since the course. Describing her discussion with Anne, Dr White told the PA news agency: 'We spoke about how sport had changed, how it used to be a lot of old grey men running sport and how gradually it is changing.' The Princess Royal asked what sports the former captain of the England field hockey team had played. Dr White, who was left wing, told PA: 'I was captain of the England team and we won the World Cup in 1975 and we didn't get much recognition at the time – that made me aware of the kind of gender divide that there was, and I've been campaigning for women in sports ever since.' The 'huge change' she has witnessed in her career has been 'at the top level'. This can be seen in the attention garnered by the Lionesses squad, as well as the number of female sports presenters and women in leadership roles, she said. Dr Anita White is made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by the Princess Royal at Windsor Castle (Aaron Chown/PA) Dr White added: 'Inevitably there's still a certain amount of inequality in the way that girls are socialised. 'So they are terribly concerned with their appearance on social media, and not getting out there, maybe missing out on the pleasure and fun and good things that there are in sport.' 'There might be some regression of people thinking, well, because we see women in the media, we've cracked it – women in sport has been done and dusted – but of course that isn't the case,' she added. Ms Briscoe is the director of sport at the British Paralympic Association and has been selected as chef de mission for Los Angeles 2028. Dr White said people like Ms Briscoe 'ending up in a very senior position' is 'exactly one of the things that I continue to work for'. She added that, during their conversation at Windsor Castle, Ms Briscoe offered to help 'in any way she can with future work'. Dr White said she is particularly working on getting women into high-performance coaching. Anne said 'not you again' as Ms Briscoe collected her medal, the chef de mission told PA. Penny Briscoe is made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by the Princess Royal at Windsor Castle (Aaron Chown/PA) ParalympicsGB last year finished second in the medal table for the third consecutive summer Games after winning 124 medals – 49 gold, 44 silver and 31 bronze – across 18 sports in Paris. LA 2028 will be Briscoe's 12th Paralympics and sixth as chef de mission – a role she first fulfilled at the 2014 winter Games in Sochi. Paralympic sport 'stepped out of the shadows' at the 2012 London Olympics, she said after collecting her honour for services to Paralympic sport. 'I definitely feel like I've been part of two eras of para sport, the pre-London era, where we had great athletes, we delivered great performances, but the media hadn't embraced para sport. 'It wasn't until our home Games, where every stadium was full – venues, the sport presentation, and the media, every kind of media, embraced para sport.' She added: 'I think the growth of the ParalympicsGB hasn't just been on the field of play, it's been what it's enabled off the field of play. Penny Briscoe after being made a CBE at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle, Berkshire (Andrew Matthews/PA) 'So the platform that the Games provides for our athletes to have that voice, to demand changes in society.' Before joining ParalympicsGB in 2001, she was an athlete and then a coach in canoeing, which took her to the Olympics in 1996 and 2000.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Women in Sport charity founder says she and Anne discussed how sport has changed
The Princess Royal said 'it used to be a lot of old grey men' running sports but 'gradually it is changing', the founder of a women in sports charity said after Anne formally made her a Commander of the British Empire (CBE). Dr Anita White, founder of the Women in Sport charity, the International Working Group on Women and Sport, and the Anita White Foundation, was among those honoured at Windsor Castle on Tuesday. In the hallway of the royal residence she reconnected with the ParalympicsGB chef de mission, who two decades ago was selected for a leadership development course that Dr White was arranging. Penny Briscoe had also just been made a CBE and Dr White said they had not seen each other since the course. Describing her discussion with Anne, Dr White told the PA news agency: 'We spoke about how sport had changed, how it used to be a lot of old grey men running sport and how gradually it is changing.' The Princess Royal asked what sports the former captain of the England field hockey team had played. Dr White, who was left wing, told PA: 'I was captain of the England team and we won the World Cup in 1975 and we didn't get much recognition at the time – that made me aware of the kind of gender divide that there was, and I've been campaigning for women in sports ever since.' The 'huge change' she has witnessed in her career has been 'at the top level'. This can be seen in the attention garnered by the Lionesses squad, as well as the number of female sports presenters and women in leadership roles, she said. Dr White added: 'Inevitably there's still a certain amount of inequality in the way that girls are socialised. 'So they are terribly concerned with their appearance on social media, and not getting out there, maybe missing out on the pleasure and fun and good things that there are in sport.' 'There might be some regression of people thinking, well, because we see women in the media, we've cracked it – women in sport has been done and dusted – but of course that isn't the case,' she added. Ms Briscoe is the director of sport at the British Paralympic Association and has been selected as chef de mission for Los Angeles 2028. Dr White said people like Ms Briscoe 'ending up in a very senior position' is 'exactly one of the things that I continue to work for'. She added that, during their conversation at Windsor Castle, Ms Briscoe offered to help 'in any way she can with future work'. Dr White said she is particularly working on getting women into high-performance coaching. Anne said 'not you again' as Ms Briscoe collected her medal, the chef de mission told PA. ParalympicsGB last year finished second in the medal table for the third consecutive summer Games after winning 124 medals – 49 gold, 44 silver and 31 bronze – across 18 sports in Paris. LA 2028 will be Briscoe's 12th Paralympics and sixth as chef de mission – a role she first fulfilled at the 2014 winter Games in Sochi. Paralympic sport 'stepped out of the shadows' at the 2012 London Olympics, she said after collecting her honour for services to Paralympic sport. 'I definitely feel like I've been part of two eras of para sport, the pre-London era, where we had great athletes, we delivered great performances, but the media hadn't embraced para sport. 'It wasn't until our home Games, where every stadium was full – venues, the sport presentation, and the media, every kind of media, embraced para sport.' She added: 'I think the growth of the ParalympicsGB hasn't just been on the field of play, it's been what it's enabled off the field of play. 'So the platform that the Games provides for our athletes to have that voice, to demand changes in society.' Before joining ParalympicsGB in 2001, she was an athlete and then a coach in canoeing, which took her to the Olympics in 1996 and 2000.
Western Telegraph
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Western Telegraph
Women in Sport charity founder says she and Anne discussed how sport has changed
Dr Anita White, founder of the Women in Sport charity, the International Working Group on Women and Sport, and the Anita White Foundation, was among those honoured at Windsor Castle on Tuesday. In the hallway of the royal residence she reconnected with the ParalympicsGB chef de mission, who two decades ago was selected for a leadership development course that Dr White was arranging. Dr Anita White after being made a CBE (Andrew Matthews/PA) Penny Briscoe had also just been made a CBE and Dr White said they had not seen each other since the course. Describing her discussion with Anne, Dr White told the PA news agency: 'We spoke about how sport had changed, how it used to be a lot of old grey men running sport and how gradually it is changing.' The Princess Royal asked what sports the former captain of the England field hockey team had played. Dr White, who was left wing, told PA: 'I was captain of the England team and we won the World Cup in 1975 and we didn't get much recognition at the time – that made me aware of the kind of gender divide that there was, and I've been campaigning for women in sports ever since.' The 'huge change' she has witnessed in her career has been 'at the top level'. This can be seen in the attention garnered by the Lionesses squad, as well as the number of female sports presenters and women in leadership roles, she said. Dr Anita White is made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by the Princess Royal at Windsor Castle (Aaron Chown/PA) Dr White added: 'Inevitably there's still a certain amount of inequality in the way that girls are socialised. 'So they are terribly concerned with their appearance on social media, and not getting out there, maybe missing out on the pleasure and fun and good things that there are in sport.' 'There might be some regression of people thinking, well, because we see women in the media, we've cracked it – women in sport has been done and dusted – but of course that isn't the case,' she added. Ms Briscoe is the director of sport at the British Paralympic Association and has been selected as chef de mission for Los Angeles 2028. Dr White said people like Ms Briscoe 'ending up in a very senior position' is 'exactly one of the things that I continue to work for'. She added that, during their conversation at Windsor Castle, Ms Briscoe offered to help 'in any way she can with future work'. Dr White said she is particularly working on getting women into high-performance coaching. Anne said 'not you again' as Ms Briscoe collected her medal, the chef de mission told PA. Penny Briscoe is made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by the Princess Royal at Windsor Castle (Aaron Chown/PA) ParalympicsGB last year finished second in the medal table for the third consecutive summer Games after winning 124 medals – 49 gold, 44 silver and 31 bronze – across 18 sports in Paris. LA 2028 will be Briscoe's 12th Paralympics and sixth as chef de mission – a role she first fulfilled at the 2014 winter Games in Sochi. Paralympic sport 'stepped out of the shadows' at the 2012 London Olympics, she said after collecting her honour for services to Paralympic sport. 'I definitely feel like I've been part of two eras of para sport, the pre-London era, where we had great athletes, we delivered great performances, but the media hadn't embraced para sport. 'It wasn't until our home Games, where every stadium was full – venues, the sport presentation, and the media, every kind of media, embraced para sport.' She added: 'I think the growth of the ParalympicsGB hasn't just been on the field of play, it's been what it's enabled off the field of play. Penny Briscoe after being made a CBE at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle, Berkshire (Andrew Matthews/PA) 'So the platform that the Games provides for our athletes to have that voice, to demand changes in society.' Before joining ParalympicsGB in 2001, she was an athlete and then a coach in canoeing, which took her to the Olympics in 1996 and 2000.
Zawya
2 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
The State of Agriculture in Zimbabwe
Droughts are frequent and in winter temperatures can drop to minus 5 degrees Celsius. In 1896 when the first foreign settlers came here, they anticipated to find gold and diamonds like South Africa, but found little evidence of both and turned to farming. They carved out of virgin bushveld several thousand farms ranging from a couple of hundred hectares to half a million. They experimented with crops eventually settling down with maize, cotton, vegetables, cattle, pigs and poultry. The country was a part of the global British Empire and in the Sterling Zone of free trade in a common currency. Beef and crop products were exported to the UK and a considerable citrus industry was established. Flue cured tobacco – a pale yellow, low nicotine filler tobacco, created a niche for itself which continues today. By the time of Independence in 1980, the industry was split into two – 30 000 large- and small-scale commercial farms and the communal or tribal sector with 700 000 farmers – both sectors managing about 16 million hectares each. They employed 350 000 workers, produced half of all exports and generated about 20 per cent of the national GDP. There were 5 world class research stations which developed crop varieties that used the harsh environment to best advantage and created record yielding varieties; they learned how to manage the many pests and diseases of Africa. The tobacco industry produced the second or third largest crop in the world, ran its own research and marketing organisations that were recognised as among the best in the world. 4 large marketing organisations – the CSC, the DMB, CMB and the GMB, employed 25 000 workers and managed purchases and sales of US$3 billion a year. Farmers were paid in 24 hours at prices negotiated each year and related to global markets. Any year end surplus was paid out to growers as an after-season payment. The 30 000 large and small scale farmers owned their land and ploughed their profits back into their farms, creating some of the most outstanding farm properties in the world. They maintained their roads, built 10 000 dams, put 500 000 hectares of land under irrigation. They managed nearly 3 million head of cattle, and we were self-sufficient in everything except petroleum fuels. Every Bank had a farm department and any farmer with equity, could go into his or her bank in March each year, negotiate a loan to cover costs, often including school fees, a new vehicle and a holiday for the family and pay for it when they sold their crops. In the Cattle industry all you needed was a lease on land for 5 years and the CSC would fund your cattle and expenses. If you wanted to invest in irrigation you went to the 'Farm Irrigation Fund' at a State owned bank for a long term loan at a reasonable rate. If you tell a farmer in Zimbabwe today that their predecessors' operated under such conditions, they will say that was impossible. But it is true, and I was a small player in that system. Today no farmer has equity unless he has equity off the farm elsewhere, he must have his own resources unless he grows a crop under contract to a firm that wants the output. When the collapse came in 2000, the international tobacco industry recognised that it could not manufacture their traditional brands without some tobacco from Zimbabwe. They came into the country with their own resources, employed many of the former tobacco growers and financed small scale and large scale production. In this way they maintained the industry. But they were the exception, everything else, except sugar, collapsed. Today we import 70 per cent of our food needs. The pig and poultry industries meet domestic demand and are 100 per cent private Agri industrial operations. The list of failed state and private sector institutions is endless – no research stations function effectively, no research or new technologies emerge. The CSC and the CMB are dead. The DMB is a shadow of its former self. Farmers are not paid on time and sometimes not at all. A third of all our timber forests are burned and not being replanted. And on top of all that we are lumbered with a compensation bill of US$3 500 000 000 for the farmers whom we robbed between 2000 and 2005. A burden for the generation that played no part in creating this mess. So, what do we do to fix this situation and why is that even important? Its important because the majority of our population depends on agriculture for subsistence and even survival. Its important because if we brought it back, we would not only be able to export our surpluses, but the cost of food would be lower for the entire population. We are a nation of extremes – extreme poverty, extreme wealth for a minority with the associated threat of instability. Part of the solution is to raise the incomes of the rural poor and that means farming. The decision to grant all the settlers on the commercial farm land that was acquired by the State between 2000 and 2005 – about 8 million hectares and to restore the title rights on the rest would create the equity needed to underwrite the recovery. In the compensation negotiations the value of the movable assets and land of the dispossessed farmers was settled at US$6,7 billion dollars of which the State took responsibility for US$3,5 billion, excluding the value of land. This suggests that the commercial valuation of the land was US$3,2 billion. For 8 million hectares of land that looks reasonable. However, no sooner had this decision been made than the vultures in our society imposed impossible costs on those applying for title. The process has stopped and if this proposal is pursued by the State, it will incite real violence and with justification. Instead, what we should do is the following: restore title rights on all land still being occupied and farmed productively by those with their original title deeds, without charge. Then grant title rights to all other settlers with a small bond over the property reflecting its value in the region. If this was set at US$3,2 billion it would amount to US$400 per hectare. This would need to be reduced substantially in the arid and semi-arid non cropping areas without irrigation and increased in the better cropping areas. The bond to be paid to the State over 20 years at a low interest rate. Annual payments on this basis would be US$240 million a year or US$30 a hectare. Adjusted for region this should be very affordable, even for cattle ranching. The bonds over all 8 million hectares should be registered by a State-owned bank with responsibility to finance agricultural recovery. This would immediately give such a bank a major capital asset base in the form of titled land and US$240 million a year in revenue. In the Communal farm areas, we should adopt the recommendations of the Rukuni Commission and give some form of title to Villages in Communal Areas. In fact lets put Rukuni in charge of the whole thing. The task of rebuilding marketing institutions and support infrastructure such as research stations should begin immediately. Road and water infrastructure restored, and a million hectares of land brought under irrigation. Then, and only then can we expect a recovery of our farming sector. © Copyright The Zimbabwean. All rights reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
