The Regional Workshop is hosted by the Oceania Sport, Equality and Inclusive Communities Impact Network – a collective of committed stakeholders who share a common vision of promoting gender equality, inclusion, and safety in and through sports in the Pacific region, and is initiated by the Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC), through its Equity Commission, the Australian Government’s sport for development program Team Up, the UN Women Fiji Multi-Country Office (MCO), and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) through Olympism365 and Olympic Solidarity.
The three-day workshop, held from 11-13 October, 
brought together participants from across the Pacific region who engaged in discussions, practical training sessions, and the sharing of best practices to create a safeguarding culture within sports organisations.
Team Up invited Hook in4 Health to send 4 participants. Gill Gemming as Program Manager, and also representing ONOC Education Commission, together with Lola Ilumpai (PNG), Esmie Belo (Solomon Islands) and Anna Bangalulu (Vanuatu).
There were several beneficial outcomes for hockey:
- Creating an environment at the Pacific Games where the hockey event could have a culture of safeguarding for all participants – the team is now working on how that will be presented,
- giving an opportunity for the 4 Oceania representatives to further discuss how safeguarding could be embedded within the programs delivered in each country,
- developing and understanding how other Oceania sporting codes approached safeguarding ,
- building working relationships with people from other Oceania sporting codes
A valuable tool from the workshop was the creation of an online centre to hold resources.
The Regional Safeguarding Skills Building Workshop has marked a transformative moment in the Pacific region’s sports landscape. It is a testament to the commitment of all stakeholders involved to go beyond talk and actively work towards a safer, more inclusive sporting environment.
