The program will, for the first time, bring together female leaders from across the sports sector from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Samoa, Vanuatu and Tonga.
Cricket Australia, Netball Australia and the International Cricket Council, have joined forces to offer an exciting leadership opportunity for their female counterparts throughout the Pacific Islands.
The Pacific Women’s Sports Leadership Program will run from 5 – 9 December, in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
The program will, for the first time, bring together female leaders from across the sports sector from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Samoa, Vanuatu and Tonga.
20 women representing 13 different sporting organisations will come together to develop their leadership skills through sport, to directly impact on the lives of young women and girls in their communities.
The Program also aims to promote an increase in the number of women moving into leadership roles in sport and other sectors.
Applicants included women working in provincial governments, national sporting bodies, provincial sporting bodies, and women who are volunteers of their sport as well as paid employees.
For Netball Australia’s International Development Manager, Olivia Philpott, the program plays an integral part in providing positive female role models in the Pacific region.
“It’s important for us to see more women moving into leadership roles, to improve diversity in decision-making, investment in targeted programs for women’s sport, health and wellbeing, and to provide role models for young girls,’ said Olivia Philpott, International Development Manager at Netball Australia,” said Philpott.
“We wanted to expand the kind of development opportunities and networks that we can access in Australia to the women that we work with through our roles in sport for development in the Pacific.”
Supporting women’s leadership in the Pacific across all sectors is key to reducing poverty, promoting economic growth and democracy, and increasing the well-being of women, girls and their families.
The International Cricket Council’s Jane Livesey hopes that despite “this program being the first of its kind in the Pacific for women in sport it will continue in years to come.”
“There is research that clearly demonstrates and highlights the important role that sport plays in shaping and developing female leaders around the world, so programs such as this are vital in regions such as the Pacific, where female leaders are hard to find across all sectors,” said Livesey.
The Program will connect the participants with female leaders from Australia and across the region, including Amna Karra Hassan, the Founder and President of the Auburn Giants Australian Football Club and community liaison officer with the Australian Federal Police (AFP). Hassan has won numerous awards for her work with the Muslim community in Sydney.
The Pacific Women’s Sport Leadership program will provide a targeted, high quality professional development opportunity for women, through sessions designed to equip them to collectively address the challenges facing women in sport in the Pacific.
The Pacific Women’s Sports Leadership Program is a joint initiative of the International Cricket Council, Cricket Australia and Netball Australia, made possible through the Australian Government’s Pacific Sports Partnerships Innovation Funding. The Program has been designed and delivered in partnership with Conversant, a professional training and communications company.
Program Participants:
Mherina Ahmed (Fiji)
Berth Bade (PNG)
Filoi Eneliko (Samoa)
Lepa Fa’aiuaso (Samoa)
Susan Komang (PNG)
Grace Wilson Michael (PNG)
Maryann Moss (Fiji)
Cathy Neap (PNG)
Rutha Meu Omenefa (PNG)
Brenda Ribauw (Nauru)
Lua Rikis (PNG)
Nynette Sass (Samoa)
Ruta Schwalger (Samoa)
Salote Sisifa (Tonga)
Siteri Tadrau (Fiji)
Shareena Tanabi (PNG)
Sulueti Tarasomo (PNG)
Peti Tupouniua (Tonga)
Sarai Vaofauna-Stephens (Vanuatu)
Lavenia Yalovi (Fiji)