CANOC Commits to Regional Unity
The Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC), a regional sports organisation comprising National Olympic Committees (NOC) and Commonwealth Games Associations (CGA), at its XXI General Assembly committed itself to working through sport to build and sustain regional unity.
The General Assembly, held in Barbados on Sunday 8 October 2023, was the culmination of several activities held in the Caribbean Island, facilitated by CANOC, for its members.
Sport for Climate Action
On 4 and 5 October, CANOC teamed with the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Sustainability Department, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), to address the thorny issue of Climate Change with a two-day Workshop.
The workshop was an awareness-building exercise with appropriately qualified experts in the field, representing the different organisations involved.
There were also presentations on work being undertaken in Cayman Islands (crushed recycled glass re mangrove development and seagrass restoration, St Vincent and the Grenadines (Identification of mangrove typologies), US Virgin Islands (Dome construction for NOC Office, Indoor Sports and shelter in times of disaster) and Barbados (Eco-Tourism), respectively.
Members of CANOC were urged to sign on to the Sport for Climate Action Framework. Indeed, the resolutions emerging from the Workshop reads, “Be it resolved that the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC) signs and urges its’ membership to sign, on to and participate in the UN Sport For Climate Change (SFCA) Framework.
Be it resolved that the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC) agrees to play a leadership role, in collaboration with IOC, UNEP and IUCN, in the collective response to climate change in the Caribbean, assisting sporting organizations to reduce emissions caused by their operations and leverage the worldwide popularity of sports to engage millions of fans in the effort”.
CANOC appealed to is members to establish Sustainability Commissions which would carry out the requisite follow-up actions as per the Resolutions passed by the Assembly.
There was generally, much enthusiasm amongst the participants at the workshop, enough for the IOC representative, Ms Julie Duffus, to express her appreciation for what she believes would be a rather interesting, informative and exciting journey on Sport for Climate Action in the Caribbean.
X CANOC Workshop
The CANOC Workshop spent much time addressing social justice issues in sport, a most timely exercise.
Of course, there was the initial temerity in addressing the thorny matter of our historical past and the case for a discourse on reparative justice from a Caribbean perspective. The challenges of Caribbean peoples are as evident in sport as is all other spheres of life and it was agreed that these must be confronted by all of us as a community.
The meeting was reminded of the role of Caribbean cricketers playing Country Cricket in England in the 1950, Learie Constantine, George Headley, Frank Worrell and the like, who, with ideologically critical leadership and support from CLR James, were instrumental as a collective, through sport, in advocating and agitating for Independence for the islands of the Caribbean.
In the same vein, presentations for and discussions on social justice in sport featured in the workshop.
Incorporating Human Rights in Caribbean Value Generation
Sport is a human right and there must be advocacy from CANOC to embrace this reality and insist on its relevance to us and our athletes, coaches, technical officials, administrators and other stakeholders.
Taking on board Nelson Mandela’s profound comments on the power of sport to change lives and, by extension, societie4s and the world, the CANOC General Assembly discussed its commitment to work in and through sport to insist on the inclusion of human rights and social justice in the several sporting institutions with which relationships are being established.
Discussions addressed the sport eco-system and the importance of CANOC’s insertion of itself in the push to the creation of a world of responsible sport.
The realisation by an ever-increasing number of sport stakeholders that discriminatory practises in sport must not be tolerated, is an aggressively sustainable enabler of CANOC, propelling Caribbean sporting organisations to take their rightful place in the global sporting environment.
The work of CANOC must therefore allow for collaboration with regional and international institutions for the region’s collective benefit.
Yasmine Mickens, one of the presenters, articulated the CARICOM leaders’ 10-point plan for reparative justice. However, participants insisted that much like the experience of the West Indian Federation, 1958 – 1962, the region’s strategy in pursuit of reparative justice is being addressed, in large measure, by the leaders, leaving the people out of the decision-making processes being forged.
Mickens advocated for ensuring that we have an assured educational space in which we can have sport survive in the Caribbean.
CANOC can become the institution that, in collaboration with the University of the West Indies (UWI), one of several architects of the Caribbean’s future, but through sport.
The time has come, she noted, for our athletes to connect themselves to good causes.
We must be prepared to protest, if necessary, to protect our gains, in and through sport, a necessary requirement for advancement and the attainment of genuine developmental maturity.
It was not surprising therefore that at the Workshop, CANOC signed a letter of Engagement with the Centre for Sport and Human Rights (CSHR), in which CANOC stated, “We see the respect, protection and promotion of human rights as essential to achieving our goals in a way that leaves no one behind. CANOC fully supports the Centre’s mission to advance a world of responsible sport that fully respects and promotes human rights and is interested in joining your efforts as an Engaged Organisation”.
CANOC-UWI Agreement
At the XXI General Assembly, CANOC signed a Cooperation Agreement with the University of the West Indies.
The President of CANOC, Keith Joseph, and Vice Chancellor of UWI, Sir Hilary Beckles signed on behalf of their respective institutions.
The Objective of the Agreement reads, “The main objective of the Agreement is to establish a framework to facilitate and promote contact and co-operation between the Parties geared towards sport development through the execution of joint sport activities agreed upon by the Parties on the basis of reciprocity and mutual benefit in the interest of the development of sport and its stakeholders”.
The areas of cooperation covered by the Agreement reads, “In order to achieve the aforementioned objective in Article I, the Parties shall, in furtherance of their co-operation, undertake training, education and business activities in, but not limited to, the following areas or fields:
Sport Education, Action Research and data repository development.
Engage in the establishment of CANOC’s virtual Academy and the establishment of a high-performance centre in this region for sport, based on the Global Campus’ Hope Estate project scheduled to be executed in Grenada.
Engage Inter-regional organizations, committees and institutions towards the creation of structured development frameworks for Caribbean Sport. These include, without limitation, The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), The Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).
Establishment of a scholarship fund for both academic and professional courses targeting national/Olympic athletes.
Engagement of The UWI Faculty of Sport to deliver capacity building Continuing and Professional Education (CPE) courses, workshops and seminars.
Creation of an internship programme across CANOC for sport majors.
Olympic and Paralympic principles, values, programmes and initiatives of the respective movements.
Capacity building programmes and structures for the region.
Fair Play, Good Governance, Anti-doping and Safeguarding of athletes.
Engage in activities concerning High Performance, Community and Recreational Sport; women in sport; sport for All and for Global Peace and International Community.
Other areas which the Parties may consider necessary in promoting and realizing the said objectives”.
CANOC therefore, has now positioned itself such that there will be ample opportunities to build capacity in a systematic, scientific manner, under the ambit of one of the world’s outstanding education institutions.
We will produce from amongst successive current and future generations of Caribbean youth, the future leaders in administration, coaching, officiating, and the whole spectrum of career opportunities in the broader region-wide development of sport as an integral component of national building.
Conclusion
The sports personnel gathered in Barbados during the past week, left sated with an understanding of and commitment to the future role of sport and sport leaders in fostering and sustaining Caribbean solidarity and unity, in and through sport.
Sport is a life-long engagement and a valuable component of our social, economic, cultural and political fabric, weaving within and without, a most intricate, delightful and invigorating tapestry of Caribbean-ness.
Our region’s future can be even more secure if we genuinely commit to using all our historic gains to continue positioning and re-positioning ourselves in and through sport.
