The conference will feature three keynote speakers who will share their perspectives on the varied roles, functions, and meanings of sport, exercise, and physical activity in society. Particular attention will be given to the responsibilities of sport organisations and to individually experienced forms of physical activity.
Professor Oscar Mwaanga
Professor Oscar Mwaanga is a Praxis Professor and a co-founder of the Sport for Development(SfD) movement in Sub-Saharan Africa. He directs the International Sports Management programme at the University of London and chairs the Zambian Institute of Sport, where he champions the professionalisation of sport and the decolonisation of education.
Renowned as one of the “fathers” of SfD, he pioneered Kicking AIDSOut, the EduSport Foundation, and the GoSisters programme—initiatives that harnessed sport to tackle HIV/AIDS, empower youth, and advance gender equality, impacting more than 30 countries.
As Visiting Professor at Kwame Nkrumah University, he leads Physically ActiveEducation(PAE), integrated into Zambia’s competency-based curriculum to promote play-based and inclusive learning. He has advised the African Union on its 2030 Sports Policy and serves on the UNESCO Chair’s Scientific Committee.
The first Zambian to earn a PhD in Sport, Professor Mwaanga has published widely and is the author of The Black Baton: Letters from a Father and the International Handbook of Physically Active Education (PAE).
Kaari Mattila
Kaari Mattila is Professor of Practice in Social Sciences at the University of Eastern Finland. Appointed in 2024, she brings extensive expertise from her career in human rights and democracy. Mattila previously served as Secretary General of the Finnish League for Human Rights and has also worked with Amnesty International Finland and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Internationally, she is a board member of the International Federation for Human Rights, the world’s oldest human rights organisation.
Her academic role focuses on strengthening students’ ability to recognise and address human rights and democratic issues in public administration, civil society, and the private sector. With deep professional networks in Finland and abroad, Mattila fosters collaboration across disciplines and connects students with real-world advocacy. She is particularly committed to highlighting the practical importance of human rights and the rule of law in shaping a fairer and more sustainable society.
Ramón Llopis-Goig
Prof. Ramon Llopis Goig received his Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Valencia in 1996. Between 1992 and 2001, he worked in technical and management roles within marketing research and food companies. He is currently Full Professor of Sociology at the University of Valencia, where he teaches Sociology of Sport and Social Research Methods.
He has served as Vice-Dean of Academic Planning at the Faculty of Social Sciences (2018–2024) and as both President and Vice-President of the Spanish Association of Social Research Applied to Sport (2012–2024). His research has been published in leading journals, including the International Journal of Consumer Studies, International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, International Review for the Sociology of Sport, and European Journal for Sport and Society.
Prof. Llopis Goig has completed research stays at the University of Leicester, the European University Institute in Florence, University College Cork, and the IOC Olympic Studies Centre in Lausanne. His main research interests include sport, consumption, health, and organizational issues, with extensive contributions to both national and international projects.
