The Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Sport have launched a new strategy to take advantage of Australia’s international sporting reputation to strengthen the country’s relationships with other nations around the world.
The Sports Diplomacy 2030 strategy aims to provide a clear plan on how Australia can capitalise on its sporting excellence on and off the field, for the benefit of local athletes, sports codes, and regional partners.
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Marise Payne said sport was one of Australia’s great strengths and an important diplomatic asset.
“It provides a platform for projecting our values, building people-to-people connections and strengthening communities,” Senator Payne said.
“The strategy prioritises four main objectives: Empowering Australian athletes and sports codes to represent us globally, including Asia and the Indo-Pacific; encouraging Australian sports codes to build links with our neighbours in the region; maximising the tourism and investment opportunities from sport; and using sport to strengthen communities in the Indo-Pacific.”
Minister for Sport, Senator Bridget McKenzie said the sports links were already being built with the Pacific through the recently announced Australian-Pacific Sports Linkages Program and the revitalised Australian Sports Partnerships Program, two of the strategy’s flagship programs.
Senator McKenzie said Sports Diplomacy 2030 was informed by national consultations with representatives from all the major Australian sports codes and other key sports stakeholders.
Meanwhile, the Senator has signed the Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions – the Macolin Convention.
“The Macolin Convention is the only multilateral treaty specifically aimed at combating match-fixing and other related corruption in sport,” Senator McKenzie said.
“By engaging formally with the parties to the Macolin Convention, Australia is now empowered to create a fully effective national platform to enhance detection of, and nationally coordinate responses to, match-fixing and related corruption of Australian sport and sports competitions,” she said.
The 22-page Sports Diplomacy 2030 strategy can be accessed at this PS News link and the full text of the Macolin Convention at this link.
