Filimoehala, who serves on the Pacific Region Advisory Council (PAC), highlighted the Council’s role in supporting the success and sustainability of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Safe Sport Hub initiative. The initiative is currently being assessed through a feasibility study led by the University of Queensland, Australia.

As part of the IOC’s broader mission to advance safeguarding in sport, this project particularly focuses on tackling interpersonal violence, abuse, and gender-based violence in the Pacific region.

Filimoehala shared practical examples from Tonga, illustrating how promoting healthy lifestyles and building safer communities can be achieved through sport. She pointed to the success of their outreach at Tonga’s Secondary Schools Athletics Competition, where sport was used not only to promote healthy living but also as a safe space for conversations about violence and abuse.

She emphasized the importance of leveraging culture and religion as effective platforms for community outreach and intervention, and advocated for a multisectoral approach to ensure all stakeholders are engaged and outcomes are achieved.

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The IOC has led efforts to address harassment and abuse in sport for over two decades, making safe sport a strategic priority across the Olympic Movement. In March 2023, the IOC established a USD 10 million fund per Olympiad to bolster safe sport initiatives at the local level. Building on this, in October 2023, regional safeguarding hubs were established in Southern Africa and the Pacific Islands, with plans underway for a European hub.

The session also featured remarks from David Huntsman, CEO of The Huntsman Family Foundation in the USA.

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