Australia and Samoa Sport for Development Partners Advance Safe Sport

In the lead-up to Safe Sport Day on 8 August, and as part of the close partnership between Australian and Samoan sports organisations, staff from the six sport for development programs supported by Australia through Team Up as well as recipients of the Play for Equity fund recently took part in a three-day workshop in Samoa focused on transforming gender norms and advancing disability inclusion across the sporting sector.

Held from 30 July to 1 August, the workshop covered important topics such as gender norms, masculinity, unconscious bias, disability inclusion, and practical strategies to challenge harmful gender norms and include people with disabilities.

The sessions were led by Team Up and supported by local partners including the Samoa Victim Support Group, Special Olympics Samoa, and Nuanua O Le Alofa.

Roshika Deo, Team Up’s GEDSI and Safeguarding Advisor, said, “This training builds on from previous trainings on gender and disability, with this workshop focused on how masculinity and gender norms manifest in the different sports, and how sport can be used to challenge harmful gender norms. The space provided an opportunity for the partners to share and reflect on their own work in Team Up programs and explore different ways they can work with the Samoa Victim Support Group. The sessions on disability inclusion focused on looking at the inclusion spectrum in sports and doing a practical session where they used a design tool to look at how they can adapt and modify sport activities to include people with different disabilities.”

Jordan Lameta, a participant from Samoa Netball who also helps deliver the One Netball program, shared:

 "This training was incredibly important and valuable to me, especially the discussions around different gender identities, expressions, and inclusion in sport. Personally, this has been a challenging area due to cultural and religious beliefs, but it was inspiring to see how sport can be a truly inclusive space for everyone. I also wasn’t very familiar with how to engage with people with disabilities but learning the appropriate language and participating in the sessions facilitated by Nuanua O Le Alofa (NOLA) has made me feel more confident and motivated."

The workshop equipped participants with the tools and confidence to further ensure sport in Samoa are inclusive for women, girls, gender-diverse individuals, and people with disabilities. The participants from each program worked together to develop strategies to challenge gender norms and promote greater inclusion, tailored to their organisation, helping embed long-term inclusive practices across their activities.

Tusitina Nu’uvali, Director of Special Olympics Samoa, added:

“It is great to work closely with Team Up to share with their Samoa partners about the work we do and how we use different modifications in various sport to include people on the neurodiverse spectrum and people with development or cognitive disabilities. We currently work with the Just Play program and hope to work with other Team Up partners to support disability inclusion.”

In Samoa, the Australian Government’s Team Up program supports five sport for development programs, including One Netball, Just Play, League for Life, Get Into Rugby PLUS, and Healthy Nanas and Disability Cricket. 

Additional trainings are scheduled for later this year, reflecting Australia’s ongoing commitment to supporting the five sport for development programs that are effectively using the power of sport to transform lives across schools and communities