This collective philosophy is shared by the Equity Commission of Oceania in its purpose and activities to empower the women and girls of Oceania to lead full and productive lives, to be healthy and contribute to their communities in meaningful ways in and through sport, and in safe, inclusive and welcoming environments.

And, in keeping with this, our current work programme for the next two years of the Olympiad and which we started in 2023, is centred on three main themes:

1. Developing awareness and understanding of safeguarding in sport - for women, for girls and boys, contributing to the building of a safeguarding community of practice in Oceania, and encouraging all NOC leaders to support and be responsible for safeguarding initiatives in their sporting communities.
2. Secondly, providing opportunities for young sports leaders, both male and female, to come together in learning environments to build their confidence, knowledge and experience in sports leadership, safeguarding, male allyship, gender equity and inclusion in and through sport.
3. And our third theme is to support and increase the visibility of women and girls in and through sport, as they participate in sport, having fun and enjoyment, and as they develop their skills and techniques to potentially represent their villages, their provinces, their countries and their region - bringing pride and inspiration to their families, friends and communities.

We are demonstrating this in action through our collaboration and connection with the Oceania Impact Network - ONOC through the Equity Commission, UN Women (the Fiji MCO), Australian Pacific Aid through Team Up, and the IOC through Olympic Solidarity and Olympism 365 - this Network is an active and practical example of an inclusive and welcoming group, where we share ideas, we collaborate to develop and implement programmes and we welcome each other’s contribution, and in essence developed and implemented ‘by the Pacific, for the Pacific’.

International Women’s Day is the time to shine the light on and to celebrate equity in gender, diversity and inclusion - and every day is the opportunity to ensure we are embracing, participating and being true to our philosophy.

Liz Dawson
Chair
ONOC Equity Commission