Helping to link the two organisations through that programme is Sport for Development specialist Melissa Palombi, one of the key members of the UNICEF team collaborating with OFC on Just Play across 11 Pacific Island countries.
Those countries are Solomon Islands, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Tahiti, New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji, Cook Islands and American Samoa.
“We are working closely with OFC to help integrate key messages, from UNICEF Pacific’s main programmatic focal areas, into the Just Play programming format,” Palombi says.
“Our goal is to assist with the dissemination of a broader range of messages to young people across the Pacific.”
Palombi’s work has seen her travel from her home country of Canada, to Zambia, South Africa, Namibia and now to the Pacific.
Having recently taken up the role of “Sports for Development Consultant” with UNICEF Pacific, Palombi was recently on-hand in Auckland, New Zealand as Just Play Project Managers and instructors from around the region gathered for the Just Play Instructors Course.
She says it was an excellent opportunity to familiarise herself not only with the content, but with the people running the programme in Auckland and around the Pacific.
“I think for me the most significant thing was the passion and commitment demonstrated by both the instructors and the programme managers within the Just Play programme,” she says.
“Although the integration of key messages is new this year, the team really values the addition and understands the benefit of messaging to children involved in the programme structure.”
The key messages Palombi refers to seek to promote child protection, good nutrition, healthy lifestyles, gender equality and the inclusion of children with disabilities.
As well as praise for the instructors and programme managers, Palombi speaks highly of the programme and the content itself.
“I think the content is very strong,” she says. “One of the key components will be to structure the delivery of each session to support the integration of the key messages. It will be important to ensure that the message integrates directly into session, but is also clear, easy and relevant for children to understand.”
Further to that, Palombi says seeing the activities in action during the workshops painted a picture of how the programme works and how it will be delivered in the first three countries UNICEF Pacific will focus on this year: Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
“Having the programme spread out across the Pacific is geographically quite challenging,” she explains. “This workshop has really helped me to better understand the realities of the three focal countries and how the programme will be delivered in each location.”
OFC and UNICEF signed a Programme Cooperation Agreement in January that will see them collaborate on the award-winning Just Play Programme, complementing the work that is being done throughout the region with fellow partners the Australian Government through the Australian Sports Commission, Football Federation Australia and UEFA.

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