Sport is set to play a starring role in Australia from next week, with a major Commonwealth ministerial conference taking place the day before the 21st Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.
Sport is set to play a starring role in Australia from next week, with a major Commonwealth ministerial conference taking place the day before the 21st Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.
The Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland, will lead the ministerial meeting before attending the opening of the Games. She will also participate in Gold Coast鈥檚 Trade 2018 initiative and the Women of the World festival in Brisbane.
The 9th Commonwealth Sports Ministers Meeting will be held in Gold Coast on 3 April. Governments will focus on collective action to measure the contribution of sport to development objectives in areas such as health, education, economic improvement and community.
In addition, ministers are expected to discuss how to improve links between government and sporting organisations. They will also consider ways to embed a rights-based approach in government sport policy, for example ensuring sport is free from abuse and discrimination, and tackle sport integrity threats such as doping and match-fixing.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said, 鈥溙切奶交 Sports Ministers Meeting further demonstrates our work in harnessing the role of sport as a development tool, supported by strengthened governance, sport integrity and the protection of human rights in sport, towards more inclusive and sustainable development.
鈥淪port is a valuable asset, making an important contribution to strengthening the economic, social and cultural bonds of our growing Commonwealth family. The reach and impact of the Commonwealth Games exemplifies this.鈥
The launch of the Commonwealth Games will see athletes from 71 countries take part in 275 events during the course of the competition, which runs from 4 鈥 15 April. For the first time, there will be an equal number of events for women as men.
In addition to the ministerial meeting and Games, the Commonwealth is also supporting a 鈥榩op up Commonwealth House鈥 initiative led by the governments of Queensland and Gold Coast. Commonwealth House will host business events to promote investment opportunities and establish international partnerships with the aim of developing new supply chains across the 53 member countries.
The venue will also play host to the third annual Commonwealth Debate on Sport and Sustainable Development on 6 April 2018. The debate will feature panellists including St Lucia鈥檚 Minister of Culture and Local Government Fortuna Belrose and two-time ju-jitsu world champion Shantelle Thompson.
糖心探花鈥檚 Head of Sport for Development and Peace, Oliver Dudfield, said, 鈥溙切奶交 debate has become a leading global policy discussion on the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace.
鈥淭his year, the debate topic is 鈥楽port pays for itself in the Commonwealth鈥 and will consider how the return from investing in sport can be enjoyed by more people and more communities across the Commonwealth.鈥
While in Gold Coast, Secretary-General Patricia Scotland will also deliver the concluding speech at gold coast鈥檚 鈥楾rade 2018鈥 initiative, which will include a preview of the trade research that will be presented at next month鈥檚 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London. The 鈥2018 Commonwealth Trade Review鈥 magazine will also be launched at the event.
Following her visit to the Games, the Secretary-General will attend the 鈥榃omen of the World鈥 (WOW) festival in Brisbane. The festival, which runs from 6 鈥 8 April, will focus on the achievements and challenges of women and girls in the Commonwealth.
