IWG Opens Bid Applications for the 2026-2030 Secretariat

IWG has today opened the bid process to host the IWG Secretariat and Global Summit 2026-2030 and is inviting interested applicants to submit their Expressions of Interest.

Download the IWG Women and Sport Bid Pack

To ensure the IWG retains a global perspective and generates visibility and energy for its vision and mission around the world, the Secretariat moves country every four years. Since its inception in the UK back in 1994, the IWG Secretariat and Global Summit has been hosted in UK/Namibia (1994 – 1998), Canada (1998 – 2002), Japan (2002 – 2006), Australia (2006 – 2010), Finland (2010-2014), Botswana (2014-2018) and most recently New Zealand (2018-2022) before it returned to the UK for the 2022-2026 period.

The host country is responsible for the day-to-day running of the IWG, which includes but is not limited to strengthening the IWG’s global network, promoting the Brighton plus Helsinki Declaration, developing the IWG Insight Hub with the latest global insights, and delivering what will be the 10th IWG Global Summit in 2030.

Lisa O’Keefe MBE, Secretary General of the IWG, says: “Today, we are beginning the process of recruiting the next host of the IWG Secretariat. While we still have over two years to deliver against our own Strategic Plan, we wanted to appoint the next host in good time to ensure momentum is retained between Secretariats, and the new hosts have sufficient time to engage key stakeholders and put plans in place to hit the ground running, making the most of hosting the IWG.

“All the information is outlined in the IWG Bid Pack, and we look forward to receiving Expressions of Interest from potential hosts.”

The deadline for submissions for Expressions of Interest is 13:00 GMT on Thursday 5 December 2024, and the subsequent deadline for submissions for Bid Applications is 13:00 GMT on Thursday 5 June 2025.