CNOSF Engages and Inspires Young People in Vanuatu through Innovative Sporting and Educational Project 'Playdagogie'

The French Olympic Committee (CNOSF), has overseen the expansion of its innovative educational programme "Playdagogie - values ​​of Olympism" in Vanuatu.

First launched in Paris in January 2017, the specially-designed Playdagogie programme aims to engage, educate and inspire youth through sport. The innovative project, developed in collaboration with Play International, UNICEF and the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic bid committee, uses sport, play and Olympic values as a learning tool to encourage social development in children. Easily replicable, this initiative is part of the CNOSF commitment to share the Paris 2024 project with the world.

This week, the initiative was shared with the Vanuatu Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (VASANOC), who will now integrate the training technique into their outreach programmes with national federations and schools. A two-day workshop was held in Port Vila by CNOSF and Play International trainers to provide teachers, educators, development leaders and facilitators with playful and dynamic pedagogical tools to enable them to promote education and reduce the risk of an unhealthy lifestyle in children aged 6 to 12 years of age. With malnutrition and obesity a prevalent issue in some Pacific Island nations, the Playdagogie approach will attempt to instil in the children the importance of self-respect, healthy eating and physical activity.

Participants in the workshop included teachers from three schools in Port Vila (St Jeanne d'Arc, Seaside and the Central Ville public school), national sports federations (basketball, archery, athletics, rugby, football, netball, beach volleyball, table tennis and tennis) as well as representatives from UNICEF Pacific. The workshop was supported by Paris 2024 Co-Chair Bernard Lapasset and three-time karate world champion and member of the Paris 2024 Sport and Society Committee, Laurence Fischer. Following the training session, children from a local school were invited to take part in a Playdagogie demonstration so that teachers involved in the workshop could put their new found skills to the test.

In April, a follow up session will be hosted by Play International to support of VASANOC’s preparations for Olympic Day on 23 June. The international expansion of the Playdagogie programme, which will also be rolled out in Haiti in the coming days, highlights the CNOSF’s commitment to reach and inspire children everywhere by sharing its positive, open and human vision of Olympism.

Denis Masseglia, President of CNOSF, said:

"The main mission of the National Olympic Committees is the diffusion of Olympic's values. It is thus naturally that the CNO collaborated with Paris 2024 to imagine the educational programme "Playdagogie - values of Olympism", an innovative pedagogical tool. We are more than happy to share it with other CNOs and to inaugurate it with our friends from Vanuatu."

Antoine Boudier, President of VASANOC, said:

"I already knew of the NGO Play International and their actions. I was sure that their methodology could be very effective in Vanuatu. Through the deployment of Playdagogie, and its innovative teaching technique, children acquire values ​​linked to Olympism, including leadership, respect for rules and, through this session today, the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. For VASANOC, sharing these values ​​is part of our daily mission and we are very proud to be the first to deploy this original pedagogical method. If we want to improve our society, it is important to relay these messages through the younger generation."

Bernard Lapasset, Paris 2024 Co-Chair, said:

"Education through sport is more than ever a necessity. Playdagogie is one example of the approach taken by Paris 2024 to ensure the Olympic and Paralympic Games bear meaning and purpose. The immediate involvement of the teaching and sports sector in Vanuatu is a sign of the strength that the values ​​of Olympism can bring to the educational tools of tomorrow's teaching. "

Laurence Fischer, three-time Karate World Champion and member of the Paris 2024 Sport and Society Committee, said:

"Throughout my career as a top athlete, I have ensured a balanced lifestyle to be successful. Today sharing this conviction with children is a real joy. Being on the ground in this beautiful country of Vanuatu, and teaching the values ​​of Olympism, allows me to give back a little of what sport has given me."

For more information, please contact:

Press department

Tel: +33140782903

Email: pressecnosf@cnosf.org

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