The delegates represented nine Pacific nations – American Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, New Caledonia, Samoa, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Tahiti and Tonga – and used the first day of the two-day course to go over last year’s conference and provide feedback on what has happened in their countries since then.
“Some of the countries were awarded special projects after the conference so we needed to get some progress reports about how they will look to implement them,” says PYASC CEO and OFC head of social responsibility Franck Castillo, who facilitated the meeting with OFC social responsibility consultant Vania Kenning.
Sylvian Raffard-Artigue, Special Advisor of the Minister of Sport for the New Caledonia government, was also in attendance as a special guest.
A total of 14 projects were awarded funding at the 2010 PYASC, which took place at the TelstraClear Pacific Centre in Manukau, New Zealand from March 15 to 20.
“All the projects will start in March 2011 and the aim is for them to be completed by the end of December,” Castillo says. “They are all football-related but use the sport as a tool for social development. Some of them are focused on health, for example the fight against HIV and obesity, while others are about good citizenship, such as showing respect to and helping other people.”
The second day of the meeting was devoted to planning for the 2011 PYASC, set to take place at a yet-to-be determined venue in November.
A group brainstorming session was held for the purpose of discussing the objectives, format and content of the next PYASC.
Castillo says having the opportunity to plan the 2011 conference with the heads of delegations was invaluable.
“Last year’s conference was the first one and we weren’t able to involve the heads of delegations during the planning due to a lack of time. I think it is important for them to now be involved in that part of the process,” he says.
The 2010 PYASC was a huge success and brought together 1000 participants aged 16-25 from around the Pacific region.
Each day during the conference, participants attended seminars, workshops and roundtable sessions where action plans were drawn up based on the theme of the day.
A sports event was held in the middle of the week, where young people were able to burn off energy, make friends and show off their sporting talents. On Friday, participants had a chance to share their action plans with their respective Ministers of Sport, who arrived in time for the OFC-hosted minister’s meeting on Saturday.
Following the productive meeting, an awards ceremony was held where funding grants totaling more than $USD 100,000 were awarded to the best action plans drawn up during the week.
Five projects in New Zealand were awarded $NZD 4,000 while four projects in the wider Pacific region were allocated $USD 20,000 each. Another five Pacific region projects were given $USD 4,000 each.
Castillo believes giving the young people of the Pacific the chance to solve some of the problems facing them is a unique opportunity.
“I think it is important that they are able to get together and say, ‘Okay, we have some issues, but we can fight against these issues and this is how we’re going to do it’,” he says.