The President of the Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC) Kevan Gosper, today announced the formation of...
The President of the Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC) Kevan Gosper, today announced the formation of its Oceania Foundation, aimed at raising money to help the Pacific Islands region.
The Foundation plans to tap into charitable and philanthropic sources within Australia, New Zealand and across the Oceania region to provide community activities at grass roots level in sport, education, health and the participation of women.
The Victorian Government has made the first major contribution, committing $500,000 thanks to budget savings from the Commonwealth Games.
“Significant funds raised by the Foundation will be a benefit to sports and institutions in Australia and throughout the seventeen other Pacific Island Nations linked with the Olympic Movement” Gosper said.
Melbourne has been chosen as the centre for the Foundation with a view to commemorating the 25th Anniversary of ONOC which had its origins in Melbourne.
It coincides with the 50th Anniversary of the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games and comes in the wake of the recently highly successful Melbourne Commonwealth Games.
Today’s announcement at PricewaterhouseCoopers Edwin Flack room in Melbourne , saw the unveiling of the Oceania Foundation’s logo, “The Wave”, featuring a blue ‘O’ shaped wave that has an element of movement reflecting a sporting theme designed and provided generously by M&C Saatchi.
Also in attendance were representatives of PricewaterhouseCoopers and Minter Ellison Group, who will provide ongoing support to the Foundation’s activities.
The Foundation has the support of International Olympic Committee’s Solidarity finance programme.
“This initiative is the first of its kind, having the endorsement of the International Olympic Committee and has the potential to stand as a model for the other four regions of the globe, to improve grass roots sport and community programmes. The Olympic Movement is more than just sport, it is also about improving the social fabric of communities” Gosper said.
The Member Nations to benefit from the Oceania Foundation are: American Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Fiji, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Associate Member New Caledonia.