SG's Speech - Launch of Fiji OSEP
SPEECH BY GREG URWIN, SECRETARY GENERAL
PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM SECRETARIAT AT THE LAUNCH OF THE FIJI OCEANIA SPORT EDUCATION PROGRAMME SYMPOSIUM SUVA, FIJI, 6 DECEMBER 2007 Distinguished Guests Participants Ladies and Gentlemen I would like to thank the coordinators of this symposium for inviting me to launch this Fiji Oceania Sport Education Programme. 2. The Oceania Sport Education Programme is a collaborative project involving the Australian Sports Commission, the Oceania National Olympic Committees and the Olympic Sports Federations of Oceania, seeking to develop a regional approach to sport education by developing flexible, relevant and modern competency based curricula to be delivered throughout the Pacific. The Forum welcomes this initiative very much as it reinforces, very appropriately the work being undertaken through a project being guided by the Forum, that is the Pacific Plan. 3. In adopting the Pacific Plan in 2005, Forum Leaders launched a new era of Pacific Partnership, as a means of strengthening and deepening regional cooperation and integration. That overall concept of partnership is meant to convey that it is the region itself which is actively setting the agenda, rather than waiting for others to do things for us or to us. To work of course, it implies the setting up of a whole series of specific partnerships and alliances across the range of priority regional activities. This initiative we have gathered here to launch today is an excellent example of the type of partnerships Forum Leaders have anticipated. 4. In February this year, I also launched a similar partnership, made up of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, UNAIDS, the Asia Pacific Leadership Forum on HIV/AIDS and Development, PIAF, ONOC and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) to develop an HIV and AIDS programme for the Pacific sports community. 5. The aim of the Pacific Plan, which is a focus of much of our work at the Secretariat these days, is to achieve the vision of our Leaders that ALL of our people should be able to live free and worthwhile lives. And sport is, manifestly, a critical part, actually and potentially of the lives of Pacific people, something which does and should bear directly on the quality of those lives. 6. Initiative 10.1 of the Pacific Plan stipulates the enhancement of regional sporting networks to support the developmental role of sport. To that end, the University of the South Pacific, our regional university is establishing a set of sports programmes with majors in Sports Science, Sports Medicine, Drugs and Law, Sports Management and Sports Psychology. USP is also developing related short courses in personal welfare, including Nutrition and Health through Exercise. 7. Initiative 10.2 of the Pacific Plan calls for the creation of a regional sporting institute. USP is working with ONOC on proposals in pursuit of this. A preliminary report has been prepared by ONOC and further work is now being undertaken. In the meantime, USP has put in place a number of programmes and activities which may eventually be part of such a body. 8. These include: • 44 All Rounders Scholarships each worth $30,000 (over 3 years) which have been made available to enable sports people to attend courses and programmes at USP while furthering their sporting excellence. • USP’s Faculty of Science and Technology is overseeing the development of a framework for sport related programmes which will include majors in Sport Science, Sport Management, Sport Medicine and post graduate studies in Sport Psychology • Through its non-formal continuing education and community programmes, USP is already offering courses in level one coaching for a number of sports. • Rugby – The establishment of high performance units in Samoa, Tonga and Fiji is being pursued. Discussions with the International Rugby Board (IRB) and rugby unions in the region on facilities, sites, structure are already underway. 9. I also note that other sports and education stakeholders have seen the importance sport education plays in the development of sports in Fiji by setting up various sport programmes. Sports Academies, for example at Marist Brothers High and Nabua Secondary School and the Fiji Institute of Technology have introduced certificates and diplomas in sports science. 10. And I hope that at the end of the two days, you as key players in sports will feel able to consolidate your programmes, develop linkages and work with the Oceania Sport Education Programme in creating a platform to formalise and strengthen the sport education structure in Fiji. 11. In noting the importance of sports in the social, cultural and economic life of Pacific Island Countries, Leaders have encouraged their National Sports and Olympic Federations to work together in the region to develop and implement regional programmes and projects that would optimally employ the limited resources available to Pacific Island Countries. 12. Forum Leaders have also recognised the important role of sport as a potential tool for development and peace, within the broader social, political, cultural and economic wellbeing of the people of the Pacific, and the particular contribution it could make to the achievement of healthy lifestyles, to which appropriate donor funding should be targeted. 13. The sports community is a major contributor to Pacific economies through the employment opportunities it creates and it is an effective way of giving young people purpose and providing structure in their lives. Sport does promote regional cooperation and a Pacific identity. An increasing number of our sports people are being employed overseas, are excelling and taking with them a distinct Pacific brand. Many are providing support for their families and their earnings have become a significant source of remittances. Many have become positive role models for our younger people. Through this programme, administrators, officials and coaches will have the opportunity to build on all of this. They, in turn, will have the opportunity to up-skill themselves. The region certainly has an abundance of natural talent, but it importantly needs the expertise to develop this to elite levels. OSEP is aimed at assisting sporting organisations reach that goal. I hope that by the end of the next Olympic Quadrennial (2012), a more concrete regional sport education framework will be in place and the region will begin to reap the benefits of the Oceania Sport Education Programme. This will only happen through the partnership of you as sports and education stakeholders in Fiji and the region. 14. In summary, the importance of sport to Forum Leaders cannot be over emphasized. I hope that this two-day meeting will provide the materials and framework by which individual Pacific Island Countries can establish a sports education programme specific to their needs and that is based on established and regionally recognised standards. And I hope that, as a result of your participation here, some of you who are here today will be able to conduct similar meetings for your colleagues around the region. 15. I hope that you will have a fruitful talanoa and it is now my honor to launch it. Thank you. |
2007