In March 2023, I was lucky to be invited as a speaker to the Return Leg of the Australia/UK Sport for Diplomacy Conference which took place in Edinburgh, Scotland. Wearing many hats, as someone working in the foreign diplomacy space, with international development and inclusion experience, with experience as a former Paralympic swimmer and sitting previously on the board of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Legacy charity, Spirit of 2012, I covered a lot of topics! Firstly, the role sport plays in soft power work between countries, but equally the challenges faced when countries are involved in conflict around the world. I spoke about my role as an athlete and what led me to a career in foreign diplomacy and international development, as well as my work in climate action and disability inclusion. Finally, I looked at the importance of the legacy of large-scale sporting events such as the Olympic and Paralympic Games and once again called for a stronger sustainability and legacy focus of bids for any future host countries, ensuring not only that the athletes and audiences benefit from the field of play, but more importantly, that these events are used to further social impact and positive change in the host cities and countries where they take place. London 2012 has some excellent learning on how the Games infrastructure has been used since those Games, but equally through Spirit of 2012, over a decade since, we have funded grantees throughout the UK to support arts, physical activity, music, volunteering and cultural projects. These have all been underpinned with a strong sense of inclusion, accessibility and social cohesion.
