Cardiff Metropolitan University has this week hosted a conference for over 35 delegates from Zambian government and NGO Sport in Action (SiA), as well as universities across the UK and Zambia as part of ongoing programme that aims to empower communities and enrich the lives of young Zambian's through the power of sport.
Cardiff Met form part of a small group of universities, known as the Wallace Group. The Wallace Group partnership, developed an international volunteering programme - Volunteer Zambia. As part of the programme, the universities send students and staff out to Zambia and come together on an annual basis at universities around the world. The Wallace Group is a grouping of eight of the best sporting universities in the UK that have a shared vision to use sport as a tool to engage, educate and empower young people in Zambia.
The conference was held at the Cardiff School of Sport and Health Science (Cyncoed) between Tuesday 2nd July and Thursday 4th July, Zambian delegates included Frank Mushindu, Executive Director of Sport in Action, Dr Hakabwa Chipande, Lecturer (UNZA), and Bessie Chelemu Director of Sport, Zambian Government.
Directors of Sport and academic staff from Edinburgh, Durham, Stirling, St Andrews, Northumbria, Loughborough and Bath were also present for the conference. Representatives from Cardiff Met included Ben O'Connell, Christa Haworth, Prof. Diane Crone, Dr. Nicola Bolton, Dr. Mikel Mellick, Sara Nichols and Melanie Golding.
Director of Sport, Ben O'Connell, Cardiff Met, said: "It was an absolute pleasure to host this year's conference and welcome so many delegates from Zambia as well as our partner universities, England Netball and UKSport as part of the Wallace Group. It was a perfect opportunity, for the Directors to sign a new agreement.
"Our ambition as a group is to work with Sport in Action and its partners to make a significant contribution to the long term, sustainable development of young people in Zambia.
Bessie Chelemu, Zambian Government, said: "The two days were inspiring, and I was impressed by the commitment and ambition of the group to continue the work with Sport in Action and partners. These partnerships make a significant contribution to the long term, sustainable development of sport participation in Zambia. It was reassuring that the key priorities moving forward, will be to enhance the opportunities for young women and girls, in sport, leadership and education. It was also exciting to hear about opportunities for key academics, from across the 8 UK Universities and University of Zambia (UNZA), to collaborate in research, curriculum development and teaching and learning activities."
To read this story in Welsh, click here.
