NOCZ HOLDS 2nd GENERAL SECRETARY’S SEMINAR

The National Olympic Committee of Zambia (NOCZ) held the second edition of the General Secretary’s seminar earlier today.

NOCZ President Alfred Foloko opened the seminar held virtually and with 22 General Secretaries/Representatives in attendance from affiliate National Federations (NF).

Speaking while giving his opening remarks, Mr. Foloko said that NOCZ is aware that initiatives like this are now a worldwide trend that provides a platform for chief executives from various sports organisations to convene and deliberate in bettering sports organizations under the auspices of the international Olympic movement.

NOCZ President Alfred Foloko

“It is vital that sports organizations continue to adapt, renew and develop themselves through creative and innovative ideas. Various strategies need to be applied for sports associations/organizations to change how we play, view, and organize sport amidst the COVID 19 pandemic,” He said.

“It has to be noted that this is the second time NOCZ is organizing such a gathering for General Secretaries, the first being in 2019 when we convened with the aim of fostering good governance within our affiliate sports organizations. It is of my best interest that engagements such as this seminar are held at various times with stakeholders in a bid to change how sports are managed in the country and acknowledging that athletes are a priority in the operations of sports bodies,” He added.

The President also informed the delegates that NOCZ wants to see sports organizations within the country excel in areas of proper planning hence the seminar was providing a platform for such including an understanding of the general operations of NOCZ and the Olympic movement especially for chief executives who recently occupied their positions in respective NFs.

NOCZ Secretary General Boniface Kambikambi moderated the seminar and was on hand to give an overview of how the day will be for delegates present.

NOCZ Secretary General Boniface Kambikambi

Mr Kambikambi and NOCZ Administration Officer Ms Gloria Makungu led the first session of the seminar with a particular focus on Olympic Solidarity Programmes that are available for NFs to take advantage of.

The second session was on Safe Sport presented by NOCZ Safe Sport Officer Ms Prudence Nswana who used the opportunity to share detailed information on the Safe Sport portfolio at NOCZ and what support the portfolio can extend to NFs.

National Paralympic Committee of Zambia (NPCZ) General Secretary led the third session which focused on sharing information about the Paralympic movement in Zambia and how federations with Para-sports can collaborate with NPCZ in a bid to develop and grow Para-sport in the Country.

Moving into the fourth session of the seminar, OYDC Zambia - Sports Development Centre Chief Executive Officer Dr Fredrick Chitangala gave a presentation on OYDC Zambia which included Centre operations, facilities available and what the centre management expects from Stakeholders such as NFs.

General Secretaries from NFs present were also given a platform to update and share the status on governance standards implementation in their respective federations. Federations such as Zambia Baseball and Softball, Badminton Zambia, Zambia Table Tennis, Zambia Judo Association, Zambia Swimming Union, Football Association of Zambia, Skate Zambia Association and Zambia University Sports Association shared updates regarding this.

The Seminar was concluded with a session on tenets of a good General Secretary led by Dr Chabuka J Kawesha from the Institute of Directors of Zambia. After his presentation, Dr Kawesha implored NFs to consider establishing Memorandums of Agreement (MOA) with the corporate world moving away from Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) to foster collaborations.

Dr. Chabuka Kawesha from Institute of Directors presenting during the seminar

NOCZ Secretary General Boniface Kambikambi thanked the delegates for taking their time to be available for the 2021 General Secretary’s Seminar and also shared the next action points from both NOCZ and Federations which included the following: Federations to conclude and finalize all pending governance issues in the respective NF’s, NOCZ to share details on Olympic Solidarity programmes available including the application process, NF’s to identify Safe Sport Single Point Of Contact (SPOC’s) in NF’s as soon as possible, NFs to develop a code of ethics and NOCZ Safe Sport portfolio will support the process, Creation of Athlete Commission before end of the year by all NF’s and hold a monthly catch up sessions, starting August where NFs will share updates relating to what was discussed today among other pointers.

The following NF's were represented: Zambia Baseball and Softball Association, Badminton Zambia, Zambia Table Tennis Association, Zambia Judo Association, Zambia Swimming Union, Football Association of Zambia, Skate Zambia Association and Zambia University Sports Association, Handball Association of Zambia, Zambia Hockey Association, Zambia Volleyball Association, Zambia Boxing Federation, Chess Federation of Zambia, Cycling Association of Zambia, Zambia Basketball Federation, Zambia Rowing and Canoeing Association, Zambia Bowling Association, Zambia National Equestrian Federation, Zambia Taekwondo Association, Zambia Tennis Association and Squash Association of Zambia.