OSLO 2025
SPEAKERS
Silje Opseth
Professional Athlete
Norwegian ski jumper and world record holder, a member of the national team since 2016 and a two-time Olympian. With 20 individual World Cup podium finishes, including 7 wins, I’m passionate about growth and unafraid to forge my own path.
Founder of Project Optimize—a self-education initiative aimed at fine-tuning every aspect of an athlete’s life. The project focuses on harnessing experience and knowledge to optimise performance, accounting for factors like the menstrual cycle and the unique challenges of being a female athlete. The goal? To minimise fluctuations throughout the cycle and train smarter to reach peak performance.
Júlia Pimenta
Head of Delegations & Programmes
Júlia is a passionate leader in the sport for the development sector, recognised for her work with global organisations to support marginalised youth. As the head of delegations and programmes at Street Child United (SCU), she leads initiatives that leverage sports – notably football and cricket – to promote child rights and social inclusion, including the Street Child World Cup, SCU’s flagship event.
Recently, Júlia led the development and implementation of a football-based, human rights curriculum, piloted in the DRC. The curriculum combines education with sports to empower children to understand their rights and opportunities.
With an academic background in Sports Science and Management, Júlia secured a Chevening Scholarship to fund her Master’s in Sports Business and Innovation from Loughborough University.
Júlia combines technical expertise with a passion for social change. Her commitment to advancing equality, education, and opportunity for young people worldwide is at the core of her work, continually driving impactful, sustainable change through the power of sport.
Dr Bieke Gils
Associate Professor
Júlia is a passionate leader in the sport for the development sector, recognised for her work with global organisations to support marginalised youth. As the head of delegations and programmes at Street Child United (SCU), she leads initiatives that leverage sports – notably football and cricket – to promote child rights and social inclusion, including the Street Child World Cup, SCU’s flagship event.
Recently, Júlia led the development and implementation of a football-based, human rights curriculum, piloted in the DRC. The curriculum combines education with sports to empower children to understand their rights and opportunities.
With an academic background in Sports Science and Management, Júlia secured a Chevening Scholarship to fund her Master’s in Sports Business and Innovation from Loughborough University.
Júlia combines technical expertise with a passion for social change. Her commitment to advancing equality, education, and opportunity for young people worldwide is at the core of her work, continually driving impactful, sustainable change through the power of sport.
Norwegian ski jumper and world record holder, a member of the national team since 2016 and a two-time Olympian. With 20 individual World Cup podium finishes, including 7 wins, I’m passionate about growth and unafraid to forge my own path.
Founder of Project Optimize—a self-education initiative aimed at fine-tuning every aspect of an athlete’s life. The project focuses on harnessing experience and knowledge to optimise performance, accounting for factors like the menstrual cycle and the unique challenges of being a female athlete. The goal? To minimise fluctuations throughout the cycle and train smarter to reach peak performance.
Norwegian ski jumper and world record holder, a member of the national team since 2016 and a two-time Olympian. With 20 individual World Cup podium finishes, including 7 wins, I’m passionate about growth and unafraid to forge my own path.
Founder of Project Optimize—a self-education initiative aimed at fine-tuning every aspect of an athlete’s life. The project focuses on harnessing experience and knowledge to optimise performance, accounting for factors like the menstrual cycle and the unique challenges of being a female athlete. The goal? To minimise fluctuations throughout the cycle and train smarter to reach peak performance.
Bieke Gils is an Associate Professor at the Department of Sports, Physical Education, and Outdoor Studies at the University of South-Eastern Norway. Bieke grew up in a small village in Flanders, Belgium, and travelled to Canada in 2007 for a master’s degree in sport management at the University of Windsor, Ontario (2009), followed by a PhD in kinesiology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver (2014).
Bieke’s research interests and past projects span a variety of topics, maintaining a steady focus on female leading figures in various contexts. These include North American entertainment industries around 1900, aviation in the United States and Europe between 1920 and 1940, physical education in Canada during the 1960s and 1970s, as well as elite coaching in Norway. Currently, Bieke is leading a three-year research project investigating diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the elite sports and arts fields in Norway.
Júlia is a passionate leader in the sport for the development sector, recognised for her work with global organisations to support marginalised youth. As the head of delegations and programmes at Street Child United (SCU), she leads initiatives that leverage sports – notably football and cricket – to promote child rights and social inclusion, including the Street Child World Cup, SCU’s flagship event.
Recently, Júlia led the development and implementation of a football-based, human rights curriculum, piloted in the DRC. The curriculum combines education with sports to empower children to understand their rights and opportunities.
With an academic background in Sports Science and Management, Júlia secured a Chevening Scholarship to fund her Master’s in Sports Business and Innovation from Loughborough University.
Júlia combines technical expertise with a passion for social change. Her commitment to advancing equality, education, and opportunity for young people worldwide is at the core of her work, continually driving impactful, sustainable change through the power of sport.