Women Sport for All Leaders Trained in 9 African Union Region 5 Countries

TAFISA and the African Union Sport Council (AUSC) Region 5 successfully launched their cooperation with the organisation of the “Women Leadership Mentorship Through Sport for All” seminar on March 20 – 23 in Johannesburg, South Africa, in partnership with the Foundation for Sport and Development and Peace and with the support of the UNESCO Participation Programme.

In total, 17 young women were selected to attend the event, from 9 of the 10 Region 5 countries according to their experience and facilitation skills. They were trained to act as Sport for All multipliers and themselves lead the “Women Leadership Through Sport for All Programme” in their respective countries. They will be responsible, back in their homeland, to further train 20 more Sport for All leaders each, and organise TAFISA Certified Leadership Courses in the 10 countries.

This seminar was part of TAFISA’s and AUSC Region 5’s strategy to develop and promote Sport for all in the Region. Dr. Vetumbuavi Veii, Chairperson of the AUSC Region 5, announced that “as a region we are elated to be implementing programmes such as the Women Leadership Programme (WLP), which are cardinal in our 2018 – 2028 Strategic Plan. This is in line with our mandate, that of increasing participation by women and girls in sport at all levels by 40% by 2028. As such, the introduction of the WLP is a giant step towards attainment of that ambitious target for the region. […] I sincerely appreciate the support and partnership of the region with TAFISA which has seen us collaborate in hosting this very important workshop. It is our hope that such strategic alliances will grow stronger by the year and that we will be able to explore other avenues to channel more resources into the sustenance of this programme at country level.”

As for TAFISA Vice President for Africa, Mr. Leonard Thadeo, he underlined that “this event marks the first step in the WLP which aims to promote gender equality and provide opportunities for Sport for All and physical activity across the ten countries of Region 5 by training sport managers to deliver Sport for All trainings and programmes in their communities. Our end goal is to empower female leaders to spearhead and sustainably develop the Sport for All Movement in the region. These objectives align with the goals of TAFISA’s Mission 2030 to maximise the contribution of Sport for All to society for a better world. We thank UNESCO for their support of this seminar through the Participation Programme.”

During the seminar, the participants learnt about the concept, contents and curriculum of the WLP, the Sport for All movement, strategy making, programmes and events in Sport for All, as well as leadership, management and facilitation skills that will enable them to lead the programme back in their countries.
The seminar also provided a platform for TAFISA and AUSC Region 5 to formally acknowledge and thank TAFISA’s partner Nassau for their donation of sport balls for an amount worth USD 10,000 to the region, as Nassau’s General Manager Mr. Ho-Cheol Lee joined the party.

TAFISA also thanks Nike Inc. Global Community Impact’s Claire Richter and Foundation For Development and Peace’s Marion Keim-Lees for their partnership, joining the event and sharing their experience.
2018 marks the beginning of a 10-year programme where it is hoped that 2000 women leaders will be trained to lead the Sport for All movement in the region by 2028. The cooperation between TAFISA and the AUSC Region 5 includes three main pillars:

• Advocacy: Streamline the inclusion of Sport for All and physical activity as part of the policies, strategies and processes of AUSC Region 5 and its member countries (Ministries of sport and National Sport Commissions).  Each AUSC Region 5 country will nominate a Sport for All referent.
• Education: Sport leaders from the ten Region 5 countries will be trained to develop and lead the Sport for All Movement including Gender empowerment through the Women Leadership Programme (WLP) and TAFISA Certified Leadership Countries.
• Promotion:  Organize the African World Walking Day, or “Walk for Life” in all ten countries.

Congratulations to the following leaders for their successful participation in the seminar, and all the best for the next steps!

TAFISA thanks the AUSC Region 5 office for their incredible work and partnership.