Melissa Palombi OFC Social Responsibility Programme Manager conducted a capacity building workshop for Just Play Solomon Islands coordinators in Honiara over the past few days.
The week-long training was a capacity building for coordinators of the Just Play Solomon Islands to enhance their knowledge in delivering the programme in their respective provinces.
“It’s very impressive because when we started in the Solomon Islands it was a very small group,” he said.
“We spent a lot of time to build the group and grow their capacity. They were very quiet in the workshop that I gave four years ago but now they are participating, they are understanding their roles, they are very enthusiastic and passionate about the program so I think once they go back you will see great things that they’ll be able to do.
“They know their roles to support the teachers, volunteers to really deliver the programme in their different regions”.
Melissa was pleased with how the participants took part in the workshop which was held at the Pacific Casina hotel and ended on Friday 25 October 2019.
“So the content of this workshop is basically these, we are looking at what is meant to be a coordinator, what the roles and responsibilities of a just player coordinator are, we are looking at how we monitor the programme because it’s a large part of the coordinator’s job, how we are collecting data and what is their role in that data collection and how we also use the data it helps them understand how they are part of a big machine.
“Their role allows Maria and the team in Honiara to do their job and paint the picture of the impact of the just play programme in the Solomon Islands and they give the information to OFC we can paint the picture of the just play programme across the Pacific it helps us to communicate with our partners and your government, stakeholders and also to communicate with teachers, communities that are delivering the program so they can understand and how it’s helping the children,” Melissa explained.
The OFC Just Play programme is a social development and grassroots programme initially developed to target children aged 6-12 years old.
Aimed at providing an environment where children learn, grow and explore football in a positive and meaningful way, the early success of Just Play was evident and soon saw the programme expand across the majority of OFC Member Associations.
Delivered by teachers, in primary schools during school hours, and by community volunteers as an extra-curricular programme, Just Play engages children through active participation in an organized series of interactive football sessions.
What sets the Just Play programme apart from other grassroots programmes is the integration of social messages into all sessions and activities. It is through these messages that children learn to develop healthy lifestyle habits, include persons with disabilities, support and encourage gender equality and increase their school and community engagement.
While developed and managed by the Oceania Football Confederation, the OFC Just Play Programme would not have been possible without the support of the Australian Government, the Football Federation of Australia, the New Zealand Government, UNICEF and the Union of European Football Association, through the UEFA Foundation for Children.
