Attendees at CONCACAF's first diversity training session for coach-educators at a Grassroots development course being held in St Lucia on January 24, 2014.
VIEUX FORT, St. Lucia -- CONCACAF on Friday held its first diversity training session for coach-educators as a part of the Confederation’s Grassroots development course being held in St Lucia.
The first event in the Embrace Diversity campaign’s educational activities for 2014 involved 21 coaches, teachers and community sports workers. Internationally recognized best practices in the area of inclusivity and non-discrimination were introduced.
Attendees actively addressed issues such as stereotyping, discrimination, access to the sport for all and the need for sensitivity in dealing with diverse communities.
“I found the segment on embracing diversity to be very useful and helpful and it brought home that it is not just about racism but that people should be aware of how easy it is to prejudge people, maybe because of their community or their religion,” said attendee Claudia Lamontagne. “It highlighted that it is good to be mindful of just how diverse communities are in the Caribbean.
“It was clear that CONCACAF is all about inclusion and not exclusion and it was a really good session and we learnt a lot from it.”
CONCACAF’s grassroots course is focused on developing coaching and organizational skills for those working in football with children aged six to twelve years old and participants at the three-day event spent time in classroom lectures and out on the field putting theory into practice.
From this year, grassroots courses, which will be held across the CONCACAF region, will also feature sessions on diversity as the Confederation delivers on its commitment to grow football among all communities.
“It is important to have sessions like these because our youth have to be educated, have to understand the situation so they can adjust to it,” said coach Alvin Corsinie.
The grassroots course will conclude on Saturday with a Football Festival for over 100 local children.
