Organisers of the inaugural Pacific Women's Sports Leadership Program believe there is a strong appetite for the event to expand.
The Program is a joint initiative by Cricket Australia, Netball Australia and the International Cricket Council, funded through the Australian Government's Pacific Sports Partnerships Innovation Funding.
Twenty women representing 12 different sporting organisations in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Samoa, Vanuatu and Tonga have spent this week in Port Moresby involved in in-depth professional development and networking.
Pacific Women's Sports Leadership Program participants at the Australian High Commission in Papua New Guinea. Photo: Supplied
One of the organisers of the event, Jane Livesey from the International Cricket Council, said interest has been huge.
"It was far bigger than I even anticipated. So we had over 40 applications across six countries and about 15 or 16 sports so there was far more interests than places available, unfortunately," she said.
"Even speaking to people while we've been up here there's definitely more interest again and so we're really hopeful that this is the first of many programmes such as this for women in sport across the Pacific."
"A week of training is quite a long time for everyone but it's that energy and networking and community we've got that is keeping us going," said Livesey.
"So we are really excited to be able to share the outcomes from the program with the wider community, with the funding bodies, so that we can pitch that programs like this make a difference and are really important for the people in the room and their communities, so we can have more programs like this available to more countries and more people."
The General Manager of Tonga Netball, Salote Sisifa, was among the participants. Photo: Supplied.
The General Manager of Tonga Netball, Salote Sisifa, said coming into the week she didn't know what to expect but believed the discussions have had a lasting effect on the participants.
"It's not just about my workplace and my organisation, (it's) going deep down into the individual and finding that soft spot in you that's holding you back from being that great leader," she said.
"There's 20-plus women here and we're all here carrying that weakness and being able to help each to say, "it's ok, we're all facing the same problems," and we can overcome this just (by) one person sharing their experience: what may be an issue for me can be (a struggle) for another person, so it's been a great feeling being a part of this training."
Susan Komang from Cricket PNG said the program has helped her "to learn something new about myself and to better my leadership skills and also meet other women like me in the Pacific who are administrators and managers coming from the Pacific."
"For myself, the highlight was getting to meet all of these people. Networking, to have a relationship with them and build it."
"Going back to my organisation, if I stumble or if I face an obstacle, there's always someone I can talk to for help or for advice," she said.
"I've learnt a lot from today's program because it says what is the one thing that you can make a change to when you go back home? It's about confidence," said Filoi Eneliko from the Samoa Rugby Union.
Program participants will now be encouraged to return home to apply their new-found knowledge to motivate more women into sport and sports leadership.
They will be provided with ongoing support through follow up Program activities and an alumni group.
