PACIFIC SPORTS PARTNERSHIPS LAUNCH WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
June 14, 2019
With the FIFA Women’s World Cup sharpening the focus on opportunities for women in football, four pioneering women from across the Pacific are speaking out about their experiences in a part of the world where men tend to occupy key roles in both sport and society.
The women, from Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Tonga, are participants in the Pacific Women’s Sports Leadership Program (PWSLP) funded by the Australian Government and bringing together women in sports leadership roles across the Pacific. Combining professional development workshops, knowledge sharing, networking and career planning, its long-term goal is to equip women to be leaders, not just in sport, but in their communities and countries.
In a short film about the program released on the eve of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the women reflect on the challenges of being a female leader in sport, how the program has helped them to develop personally and how its helping them guide others around them.
“We need more women leaders within sports within our own country. So many times, they’re all just men,” observed Maria Rarawa, who works for the Solomon Islands Football Federation as the program manager for Just Play, a program that uses football activities to deliver key health and social messages in the community.
She was joined by football colleagues Lia Batirerega (Just Play coordinator, Fiji Football Association), Lynetta Laumea-Edward (Just Play program manager, Football Federation Samoa) and Palu Uhatahi Tu’amoheloa (Just Play program manager, Tonga Football Assocation).
Just Play, funded by the Australian Government through the Pacific Sports Partnerships, the New Zealand Government, the Football Federation of Australia, the UEFA Foundation for Children and UNICEF, has blazed a trail for women in sports leadership in the Pacific, employing female program managers in each of the eight countries in which it runs.
Rarawa is one of 22 women who took part in the most recent phase of the PWSLP in Samoa in late 2018 alongside participants working across seven countries, nine sports and four cross-sector sporting organisations. Through the week-long PWSLP workshop, participants were encouraged to explore their purpose, values, personal leadership journey and map out the next steps in that journey.
The session was part of a range of initiatives under the Australian Government’s Pacific Sports Partnerships (PSP) program, designed to create inclusive sport participation opportunities that promote health and social outcomes. PSP is delivered through partnerships between Australian, regional and Pacific island sports organisations to encourage shared learning and capacity building.
“The program has motivated me to keep going strong,” revealed Laumea-Edward. “I believe that I have a purpose in life and, coming here is one of my purposes…to learn from everyone and to share my experiences with all the women leaders in sports. We don’t talk about our lives most of the time, but sharing our lives with our fellow sisters is really inspiring. At the end of the day, (I want to) become an influential leader.”