UNICEF Pacific’s Isabelle Austin, New Zealand High Commissioner Mark Ramsden, Australian High Commissioner Margaret Twomey and FASANOC representative Cathy Wong all attended the presentation which gave further insight into the programme their organisations have partnered with ahead of the Capacity Building, and Train the Trainers workshops that will run with volunteers and instructors this week.
Fiji FA CEO Bob Kumar opened the event, remarking on the expanding reach the programme is having in his country.
“Fiji FA has been associated with the implementation of the Just Play Programme in Fiji and we’ve adapted it to suit the conditions and culture here,” he explained.
“We now run the programme in Ba, Suva, Lautoka and Nadi and there are plans to extend that even further.
“This workshop is excellent as I believe it will help you all discern the power of this programme as a social tool for bettering the lives of children.”
OFC Head of Social Responsibility and International Relations Franck Castillo spoke next, sharing the ins-and-outs of a programme he has helped develop over the past seven years.
“It’s a pleasure to have our current, and hopefully some future, partners here learning more about the Just Play Programme,” Castillo said.
Yesterday’s event was the lead-in to the Capacity Building workshop which aims to give Just Play instructors in Fiji a complete understanding of the programme they are delivering to children around the country.
“We try very hard to build the capacity of our people and this workshop is one way of doing that,” he says.
“OFC offers generic content in the Just Play Programme but with each country in Oceania having different needs, it is important for the Just Play Project Managers and their staff to develop and adapt the content to the culture and country it is being delivered in.”
After explaining the key social issues, the regional coordinators role came under the spotlight with the focus very much on how to manage a team to deliver this programme in different, sometimes very isolated, regions of the country.
Castillo says equipping coordinators with the skills to create work plans, set and follow schedules as well as monitor results and create reports is an important aspect of the programme.
“We aren’t just trying to change children’s lives by feeding them messages through Just Play, we’re giving them real life examples of people whose lives have improved through involvement in this programme.”
“The skills the coordinators will learn over the next week are all transferrable. And what is particularly notable about the second part of the course – the Train the Trainers section – is they can return to their communities and instantly start sharing what they’ve learned, exactly as we intended.”
The Just Play Capacity Building Workshop and Train the Trainers is being run with the support of OFC partners UNICEF, and will continue over the next four days.
About Just Play
The Just Play programme is a sport for development programme that helps children to grow, learn and explore through sport. Just Play gives a child a ball, a coach and a safe place to play. The programme shows children how to have fun with other children, be physically active and become confident in their abilities. Through the integration of social messages, Just Play helps children to develop healthy lifestyles habits, encourages gender equality and leaders in the community, promotes social inclusion and insists on sport for all. For more information on the programme please visit: justplayofc.org

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