The region is currently in a period of reconciliation after going through years of conflict and civil war and it is hoped that Just Play, which was launched in Bougainville last month, will play an important role in that process.
It certainly seems to be the case already as ten of the participants who took part in the workshop that coincided with the launch were ex-combatants.
Bruce Lendon, who represented the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade at the launch, was pleased to see the involvement of ex-combatants in the workshop and believes their participation will be of great benefit.
“They will be able to return to their communities, continue to promote peace through sport and encourage the next generation of young Bougainvilleans to get involved,” Lendon says.
One of the former combatants taking part was Cletus Noibio, who was a student before conflict broke out in the Konnou constituency on the northern tip of the island of Bougainville. As a result of the crisis, Cletus became part of the Bougainville Freedom Fighters group, which saw families fighting against each other and led to many being torn apart.
He was a commander in the group but realised he did not want a future of conflict and decided instead to devote his energies to the sporting activities organised as a reconciliation tool.
And Cletus is not the only ex-combatant to be taking such a stance. Christ Mota, a local village elder, has a similar story to Cletus but has now come forward to help his province and its people emerge from their dark past.
To help in that process, elders in the area proposed a cease fire ceremony in November of last year which soon eventuated and involved ex-combatants, community leaders and officials from the Autonomous Bougainville Government.
The United Nations Development Programme recognised the importance of the move and stepped in, proposing a sports competition, the Bougainville Games, to engage the region’s young people and promote peace.
The Pikinini Sports Programme, which aims to develop and increase sports participation opportunities for all primary and elementary age children, was introduced soon after.
The Just Play programme is the lastest in this growing list of sports initiatives contributing to the reconciliation process and OFC Head of Social Responsibility and International Relations Franck Castillo, who oversees the implementation of Just Play across the Pacific, is confident it will be a success.
“We can see that Just Play will be successful here due to the strong involvement of the Bougainville Soccer Federation President, Joseph Maineke, who is very passionate about the programme,” Castillo says.
Developed by the OFC social responsibility and technical departments, Just Play is designed for children aged six to 12 and promotes physical activity while encouraging community involvement, healthy living, gender equality and disability development.
OFC has worked closely with UEFA, the Australian Government – through its agencies the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) – and Football Federation Australia to implement the programme across the Pacific over a three-year period between 2009 and 2012. It was launched in Tonga and is now also running in American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tahiti and Vanuatu.
The confederation has also been working in New Zealand with Special Olympics on a Just Play programme for people with mental disabilities and has launched the same initiative in Samoa and Fiji.
Just Play has reached over 100,000 children – 43 per cent of whom are female – across the Pacific and trained over 2,000 teachers and volunteers.
For more on Papua New Guinea football go to www.pngfootball.com.pg

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