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EDITORIAL
DR NATALIE GALEA OLY Natalie Galea is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Australian Human Rights Institute at the University of New South Wales. Her research is focused on human rights and gender justice in the construction sector and elite sport. She is currently studying the impact of a 5 day working on the wellbeing of construction workers and their families. Natalie completed a major industry and government funded research project focused on policy, practice and gender equity in the Australian construction sector. She works closely with the construction sector and is a prominent voice for change. Prior to commencing her career in academia, Natalie worked for almost two decades as construction project manager in Australia and the Middle East. Natalie is also an Australian Olympian competing in the 1996 Olympic Games. She was the Australian judo team section manager in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Natalie currently sits on the International Judo Federation Athletes Commission. Natalie tweets @galeainvegas.
ROUEIN MOMEN Rouein Momen is a final year student in the Bachelor of Laws and Arts (Honours) at UNSW Sydney and was the Student Editor for the Human Rights Defender magazine, Term 1, 2020.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER | VOLUME 29: ISSUE 2 – AUGUST 2020
Olympic dreams are seeded young. I was eleven years old when Glynis Nunn seeded mine. In the glitz and glamour of the LA Olympic Games, Glynis soared over the high jump bar and I knew then that I wanted to be an Olympian. I was hooked. The Olympic dream was so intoxicating that it became my single focus, and I went on to live that dream, competing for Australia. But it would be many years until I understood what being an Olympian truly meant. It was only as a retired athlete that I stepped back and recognised that the Olympics are not the dream we are sold. Olympism, as detailed in the Olympic Charter.1 “seeks to create a way of life based on social responsibility and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles” and its “goal is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of humankind, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity”. All entities involved in the Olympic movement including the International Olympic Committee (IOC), National Olympic Committees (NOC) and International Sports Federations (IFs) must comply with the Olympic Charter.
