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Curating the Future of Sport for People and Planet Wellbeing
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On 8th June, Collective Social Futures was delighted to host Professor Fiona Chambers' inaugural lecture.
Fiona Chambers is Professor of Education, Sport and Innovation at UCC, with over 30 years of international pracademic experience. A founder, researcher, teacher educator, design thinking coach, and two-time TEDx speaker, she serves as President of AIESEP (Association Internationale des Écoles Supérieures d'Éducation Physique), Vice President of CEREPS (European Research Council for Physical Education and School Sport), Senior Advisor to the UNESCO Global Observatory in Gender Equality and Sport, UNESCO CIGEPS Observer (Intergovernmental Committee for Physical Education and Sport), and is the co-Founder of the European Educational Research Association Network 18 Research in Sport Pedagogy. In 2025, she co-founded #PE4PISA, a global movement advocating for the inclusion of physical education in OECD PISA. In 2023, she received the inaugural Federation of Irish Sport ‘Women in Business in Sport’ award and has been named among Sport for Business '50 Women of Influence in Irish Sport' (2023–2025). She is a government-appointed Sport Ireland board member.
Professor Chambers' inaugural lecture explored how, in an era of polycrisis, the flourishing of people and planet depends on our willingness to drive transformational change. She argues that few domains are better positioned to lead such change than sport - a $2.3 trillion global economy, projected to grow to $8.8 trillion by 2050 (World Economic Forum, 2026) - and one of humanity's most powerful forces in shaping societal values. The lecture introduced eco-sociopreneurship as a framework to help reimagine sport for the wellbeing of both people and planet.
Respondents. The lecture was followed by thought-provoking responses from Dr Rachel Sandford, Reader in Physical Education, Youth and Social Justice in the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences at Loughborough ÉîÒ¹ÑÇÖÞ¸£Àû¾Ã¾Ã, UK and Lucy Mills Founder & Chief Catalyst, Ready Sport Global (READY), a digital innovation consultancy at the intersection of sport, technology, and social impact.
Professor Stephen Graham, Head of UCC College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences, provided the opening address, while Professor Maggie O'Neill, Director of Collective Social Futures and ISS21, chaired the event.