A gold medal standard in gender equality needed says Dr Robin Mitchell

April 26, 2023
ONOC
ONOC President, Dr Robin Mitchell was invited as a panelist at the Pacific Prevention Summit at the InterContinental Resort in Natadola, Fiji I Photo: UN Women Pacific

“Sport in the Pacific Islands will prosper further and positively impact more people and communities if it is gender equal, inclusive and safe,” said Dr Robin Mitchell, President of the Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC) at the Pacific Prevention Summit currently underway in Natadola, Fiji.

He said we have the chance to set the gold medal global standard that shows the change we can make when all sectors work together.

“Governing bodies like ONOC and like those my colleagues who represent regional and national federations, have the responsibility to not only set the standard but invest in ensuring, that standard is realised.

“ONOC’s work is framed by the ambitions for strengthening gender equality 'in’ and ‘through’ sport set out by our Equity Commission which are aligned with the IOC’s Olympic Agenda 2020+5, Gender Equality and Inclusion Objectives and our Olympism365 strategy and, closer to home the Pacific Leader’s Gender Equality declaration.

“I am pleased to be able to say that when we do prioritise inclusion, change can happen,” Dr Mitchell said.

“The Oceania National Olympic Committee is leading the way.

“Regional sports that have adopted targets and taken specific actions to address gender inequality in leadership have reported positive results.

“For example, the Oceania National Olympic Committee which achieved 100%. gender balance in executive board membership and Oceania IOC Membership in the ONOC 2021 Gender Balance Scorecard.

“ONOC will always be only as good as, and inclusive as, and dynamic as its Members and Executive body make it – in terms of Gender Balance and the score is very positive.

“However, Gender Balance alone is not enough,” Dr Mitchell stressed.

He said, “this is why we will pay attention to the details that will ensure that women in sport leadership have their perspectives heard and that this is also applied to every decision made and issue discussed”.

“While we celebrate our small wins through our scorecard, we are not complacent.

“We recognise the enormous work still required to change the cultural, economic and social barriers needed to improve the participation and experience of women in sport in Oceania and fully mobilise the returns that investing in safe, inclusive and sustainable sport can make to advancing gender equality.

“We know in our region, the greatest, most sustained impact comes when we take a joined-up approach to shifting conditions that hold a problem in place.

“In our region, we know not any one organisation has all the resources to create the changes ‘in’ and ‘through’ sport that we need for individuals, organisations and society.

ONOC President, Dr Robin Mitchell during a panel discussion at the Pacific Prevention Summit at the InterContinental Resort in Natadola, Fiji I Photo: UN Women Pacific

“We need to build on the structures and ideas that already exist. We need a way of coming together to convene, share resources and support each other to mainstream sport across sectors, but also mainstreaming sustainable development and localised approaches across sport, and strengthen links across the sport pathway from the grassroots to elite,” Dr Mitchell added.

ONOC has been exploring this potential with the Australian Government’s sport for development programme Team Up and UN Women.

“I am pleased to update as a result of a sport and SDG Strategic Partners Forum hosted as part of the ONOC General Assembly in Brisbane last week that other local, regional and global partners are interested in joining or supporting this Oceania led and seeded network.

“There is much to learn about working in a cross-sector way and we look forward to hearing more ideas about how we can all work together to set the gold medal standard in gender equality and preventing violence against women and girls and supporting young people, athletes and women and girls to be key agents of change,” Dr Mitchell said.

With the theme, “What Works: Preventing Violence Where We Play, Pray, Learn and Engage Together”, the 5-day summit is supported by the Pacific Partnership to End Violence Against Women and Girls funded by the European Union, and Governments of Australia and New Zealand, and UN Women, and is implemented by the Pacific Community, UN Women, and the Pacific Islands Forum.

Over 100 diverse participants from around the region and the globe are in attendance including practitioners, researchers, policymakers, activists, and community members.

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About ONOC 
Established in 1981, the Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC) is one of five Continental Associations. It looks after the interests of 17 member nations in the Oceania Region, including Australia and New Zealand as well as seven associate members. 

ONOC has an office in Guam where Secretary General Mr. Ricardo Blas is based and the Secretariat in Suva, Fiji, where the Office of the President Dr Robin Mitchell is located.

All services and-programmes are based on the ONOC Strategic Plan for 2018-2021, and its 4 Core Functions of (1) Building and Strengthening NOCs Capacity (2) Cultivating Strategic Partnerships (3) Contributing towards Sporting Excellence and (4) Leading by Example.

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For more information, please contact;

Shivneel Narayan
Chief Communications Officer (Acting)
shivneel@oceanianoc.org

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