Media Release: Rugby Celebrates International Day of Sports for Development and Peace

Get into Rugby PLUS Fiji and Samoa celebrates International Day of Sport for Development and Peace recognising the positive and powerful role sport plays globally.

Get into Rugby PLUS is a flagship Sport for Development programme that embeds life skills learning with Rugby Union to promote positive behaviour, gender equality, and prevent violence against women, girls and boys.

The programme demonstrates gender equality in action with 50% male and female players and coaches, and engages young people in experiential activities and processes of critical thinking and reflection around issues of respectful relationships, gender stereotypes and ending violence against women and children.

Get into Rugby PLUS is jointly developed and implemented by Oceania Rugby, Fiji Rugby Union, Samoa Rugby Union, UN Women and ChildFund Rugby. The programme is co-funded by the Australian Government’s Team Up initiative through its partnership with Rugby Australia and Oceania Rugby; by UN Women Fiji Multi-Country Office, through the Pacific Partnership to End Violence Against Women and Girls (Pacific Partnership), funded primarily by the European Union, and the Governments of Australia and New Zealand, and UN Women; and ChildFund Rugby.

Many of the programme’s coaches and staff are passionate advocates for sport as a vehicle for social change and the #WhiteCard campaign, having experienced transformational change themselves and seeing it among their players as a result of their participation.

Fiji Get into Rugby Coach, Usaia Loki, acknowledges the impact of Get into Rugby PLUS. “It made me a better husband and father.”

“I had to change in order for this program to work. I get to teach my players something that was never taught to me growing up. As they will grow up they would be that positive change our Fiji needs right now,” Loki said.

“I now understand that girls have power like boys”, shares a female player. “Before I thought only boys are allowed to play rugby but now I know girls can play too. Before I was not confident to say no to my friends, now I am bold enough to say no. Before I was too shy to speak up but not anymore. Before I don’t like to share my problems but when I am in the programme I get to know that we need to share our problem and it has changed me. I love to play rugby now.”

Evaluation data shows that the program is working, changing both attitudes and behaviours.

Data released by the World Health Organization earlier this year noted that almost 1 in 3 women will experience violence in their lifetime and for women in the Oceania region this rate is even higher. Rugby, as the favourite sport of Fiji and Samoa, provides an ideal vehicle to engage community leaders and young people to genuinely shift the dial toward gender equality and preventing violence.

Since its establishment in Fiji in 2018, Get into Rugby PLUS has grown significantly with more than 700 boys and girls participating in 2021. Already embedded in schools and it is now starting in junior rugby clubs and community settings. The program is being introduced in Samoa this year.

Recently appointed to leaded this expansion in Fiji and Samoa are two outstanding and inspiring women, their leadership and experience will be invaluable in the new phases of the programme.

Lavenia Yolovi, the new Fiji Get into Rugby PLUS National Coordinator, brings in a wealth of experience as the former head of Footballs’ Sport for Development programme in Fiji. As a young girl growing up in her village, she was denied the opportunity to play and had to just sit and watch from the sideline. But this did not end her dream to play sport. Through determination and passion, Lavenia fulfilled this dream becoming a dual international representative for Fiji in both Rugby Union and Football. She has vowed to give young girls that chance to have an equal opportunity to play any sport they want to play.

The same story applies to Toluiva Keneti recently appointed to lead the program in Samoa. Having led creative initiatives between rugby in Samoa and UN Women over several years, she is full of anticipation for her new role and determined to see Get into Rugby PLUS create a safer, more inclusive rugby experience for all genders.

Leading Oceania Rugby’s in this space is Sport for Development, Erin Hatton,

“Sport has the power to change individuals and communities. Well-designed Sport for Development programmes are a proven way to achieve positive social outcomes and support targets within the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 - to educate, to instill values and behaviours, and provide a safe space to address challenging issues like relationships, gender equality and ending violence against women and children.

We are immensely proud of what Oceania Rugby and our exceptional partners have achieved in Fiji and can’t wait to see the program commence in Samoa” said Hatton.

Get into Rugby PLUS will be celebrating by sharing #WhiteCard posts throughout the day.

Editors Notes:

Get Into Rugby PLUS: Get Into Rugby PLUS is a flagship Sport for Development program that embeds life skills learning with rugby to promote positive behaviour, gender equality, and prevent violence. The program includes life skills learning components which build the confidence and resilience of young people, promote positive behaviour, and challenge gender stereotypes. Supporting regional initiatives to build gender equality and prevent violence, Get Into Rugby PLUS has been developed specifically for the Pacific region, it is jointly developed and implemented by Oceania Rugby, Fiji Rugby Union, Samoa Rugby Union, UN Women and ChildFund.

Oceania Rugby: Oceania Rugby is one of six regional associations of World Rugby, responsible for representing the interests of its 16 Members. Oceania Rugby works closely with Member Unions to promote the growth and performance of rugby throughout the Oceania region. Central to this is a series of tournaments, development programmes and institutional strengthening initiatives led and coordinated by Oceania Rugby. Oceania Rugby’s sport for development programmes contribute to achieving gender equality, reducing inequality, and ending violence against women and children, and are built around rugby values: respect, integrity, solidarity, discipline and passion.

UN Women: A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide. The UN Women Fiji Multi-Country Office (MCO) based in Fiji, covers 14 Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs): Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. The Fiji MCO works to progress gender equality and women’s empowerment in the Pacific through four key programmes: Women’s Economic Empowerment; Ending Violence Against Women and Girls; Women’s Political Empowerment, Leadership and Human Rights; and Gender and Protection in Humanitarian Action. Through the Pacific Partnership to End Violence Against Women and Girls (Pacific Partnership) programme, UN Women works with partners to promote gender equitable social norms at individual and community levels to prevent violence against women and girls. The EUR26.0 million programme is funded primarily by the European Union (EUR12.7m) with targeted support from the Governments of Australia (EUR9.5m) and New Zealand (EUR3.2m) and cost-sharing with UN Women (EUR0.6m), and is led by the Pacific Community (SPC), UN Women and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.

ChildFund Rugby: ChildFund Rugby’s partnerships provide children with opportunities to play, learn and grow. Using integrated rugby and life skills learning, young people from vulnerable communities are equipped to overcome challenges, inspire positive social change and take active leadership roles within their communities. Under ChildFund Australia’s guidance, all Rugby for Development programs contribute to achieving gender equality, reducing inequality, and ending violence against children, reflecting targets within the UN Sustainable Development Goals. ChildFund is recognised as a Pioneer Organisation within the International Safeguards for Children in Sport, which ensure that children are physically and emotionally safe across sport. Work is undertaken with sports partners around the globe to ensure that the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults in sport is a priority.

Fiji Rugby Union (FRU): Founded in 1913, FRU is the national governing body for the sport, a member of Oceania Rugby and World Rugby, and a member of the World Rugby Council. As Fiji’s national sport, rugby boasts over 60,000 registered junior players (male and female), and over 4500 coaches. Fiji’s national teams, Fijiana and the Flying Fijian’s and (XVs), and its women’s and men’s 7s, are respected globally, as regulars at Rugby World Cups, on the HSBC World Sevens Tour, and the Olympics. Fiji’s Men’s 7s became the pride of the nation after winning gold in Rio-2016 – the country’s first ever Olympic medal.

Samoa Rugby Union (Lakapi Samoa): Rugby Union is the national sport of Samoa, and Samoa enjoys a deep and rich history of producing some of the world’s best players. Lakapi Samoa is rugby’s national governing body (previously known as Samoa Rugby Union) and is a member of Oceania Rugby and World Rugby. Samoa’s national teams (Manu Samoa – men’s team, and Manu Sina – women’s teams) are national ambassadors and rugby events at all levels garner passion and patronage. Manu Samoa have been to every Rugby World Cup since 1991, and Manu Sina, growing increasingly competitive and look to compete in their fourth Rugby World Cup.

Rugby Australia: Rugby Australia is the sport's national governing body in Australia and is a member of World Rugby, Oceania Rugby. Australia is regarded as a world powerhouse in men’s and women’s rugby, represented nationally by the Wallabies, Wallaroos (VX-a side) and the AU 7s men and AU 7s women. Domestically, there are over 246,000 active male and female rugby players across nearly 1000 Clubs, with diversity supported through a range of innovative programs and community partnerships. Rugby Australia has enjoyed a long friendship with our Pacific Rugby neighbours and are proudly supporting Team-Up programs in Fiji, Samoa, PNG and Nauru in the region to promote the growth of Rugby throughout Oceania.

Team Up: Team Up is the Australian Government’s sport for development program comprising more than 30 partnerships across Asia-Pacific that are working towards three outcomes:
1. Sport programs attract and retain women, girls and people with a disability, as well as men and boys.
2. Sport organisations are safe, inclusive and accessible.
3. Australia and Asia-Pacific partners use sport to strengthen relationships and build closer collaboration.
These three outcomes all contribute to Team Up’s overall goal: Australia-Asia-Pacific sport partnerships support all people to realise their full potential through sport. Team Up is one of several programs and activities driving the Australian Government’s implementation of the Sports Diplomacy 2030 strategy that support sporting organisations, athletes and the Pacific community through sport. It delivers on one of the key priorities of the strategy by using sport as a tool to strengthen communities across Asia-Pacific. Team Up works closely with the Australian Government’s elite sports program, PacificAus Sports.