PRESS RELEASE
Government is investing massively to transform the country in a sports hub and provide adequate sports facilities across Mauritius to offer the opportunity to everyone to practice a discipline of his choice, observed the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Yogida Sawmynaden, this morning at the Hennessy Park Hotel, in Ebène.
The Minister was speaking at the opening of a Consultative Meeting and Workshop on the Development of a National Sport for All Strategy and Action Plan with the aim to maximise the contribution of Sport to national development priorities. The workshop is being organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat.
In his address, the Minister stated that at a time when everything we do is performance-based we have to face growing health-related challenges and issues affecting our population and this workshop comes at a right time and deserves to be highlighted.
Mauritius, Mr Sawmynaden pointed out, is among the top countries in the world whose population has a high incidence of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases associated with physical inactivity. It is therefore imperative to combat these ills of modern life in order to tackle health issues which have a negative, social and economic impact on the population as a whole, but also, on our youth, he stressed.
The Minister highlighted the need for collaborative efforts both by public and private stakeholders in the sports sector to build a fitter and a healthier nation in line with Government's policy. Sports is an activity which thrives on discipline and team spirit and these are the values that we are looking for in building and guiding future generations, he added.
For his part, the Head of Sport for Development and Peace, Commonwealth Secretariat, Mr Oliver Dudfield, stated that people under the age of 30 constitute 60% of the Commonwealth countries' population and there is a strong interlink between young people and the potential of sports and physical activity.
He called for reflection on the role that sport plays in enhancing sustainable development and national development, and in the case of Mauritius, in enhancing health, promoting education, strengthening community cohesion and in enhanced sport for all and mass sports across the country.
The workshop
The one-day workshop has as main objectives to: reflect on the contribution of sport to improving health, social cohesion and the inclusion of marginalised groups in Mauritius; and, consider strategies to increase participation in sport and physical activity in Mauritius and maximise the contribution of sport to sustainable development in Mauritius.
Discussions are focusing on: Sport, the Sustainable Development Goals and Mauritius Vision 2030; Sport for Development Programme Theories; Enhancing Sport and Physical Activity Participation in Mauritius; and, Developing National Sport for All and Sport for Development Strategy and Action Plans.