04 September 2007

Apia, Samoa: Planting trees may not be an official sport but it has become a vital part of the XIII South Pacific Games 2007, now underway in Samoa.

UNV volunteer Dr. Willy Morrell is among those who have been helping to plant trees as part of a carbon-offsetting initiative at the South Pacific Games. The project is helping to green the local environment and also offset the carbon emissions of the thousands of spectators, competitors and officials who have traveled from more than 22 countries to attend the Games.

The carbon-offset project is one of many tasks for Dr. Morrell and the UN coalition that is helping to raise awareness among Games participants and viewers about progress towards the Millennium Development Goals in the Pacific.

The campaign focuses on promoting the MDGs together with key messages about smoking, drug abuse, environmental sustainability and safe sex. The campaign uses TV commercials, banners, peer group education and promotional giveaways, and the sale of collectibles and other merchandise.

The programme brings the UN Country Team (UNCT) in Samoa together with Fiji-based UN agencies including UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDP Pacific Centre and UNAIDS, plus several Samoan Government Ministries, NGOs, and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program (SPREP) to help promote the MDGs and a socially and environmentally responsible Games.

Dr. Morrell is one of two new international UNV volunteers who recently joined the UNCT in Samoa and he is the team’s Sports for MDGs Coordinator. He is working with the UNCT Communications Group to help develop messaging and promotional MDG materials. He has also helped to train some of the 3000 volunteers that are involved in the Games.

Dr. Morrell’s tasks have ranged from helping to design MDG t-shirts, to helping insert promotional items into athlete’s bags including an MDG-themed pocket calendar and safe-sex materials such as pamphlets, HIV/AIDS playing cards and condoms.

Along with the MDGs, one of the key messages being promoted during the Games is the importance of volunteerism. “We know from past Games that the success of the 2007 South Pacific Games in Samoa will depend heavily on the thousands of national and international volunteers who will be involved in various aspects of its organization,” said Dr. Morrell. “Volunteers at this year’s South Pacific Games are making important contributions both economically and socially to Samoa and the greater Oceania region.”

One of Dr. Morrell’s activities has been to liaise with Games organizers to initiate an ongoing Volunteer Award that will see two Games volunteers (one male and one female) presented with a trophy and a gift pack during the high-profile closing ceremony. Funding for the volunteer awards and for initiatives focusing on volunteer training and MDG promotion was provided by UN Volunteers.

The South Pacific Games are held every four years and this year they involve over 5,000 athletes from 22 countries competing in 33 sports. The Games run until 8 September.