In a national first, Australia’s leading baseball players and officials are heading to Jakarta to establish a multifaceted sports diplomacy project featuring baseball, anti-domestic violence and mentoring programs for Indonesian women and girls.
The new sports diplomacy program is called Diamonds in the Rough and is funded by the Australian Government through the Asian Sports Partnerships small grants fund.
Diamonds in the Rough aims to foster and promote both sport and social development in targeted Indonesian communities as part of the Australian Sports Diplomacy Strategy.
The project will be conducted by 15 leading Australian female baseball players and officials who will teach Indonesian women and girls how to play baseball while mentoring them on leadership and self reliance and exposing them to a culture of confidence and team work.
The Australian contingent will also play exhibition games against men’s and boys’ teams and host cultural events as part of the NOMORE campaign, which underpins the project.
The NOMORE campaign, founded by esteemed Northern Territory sports presenter Charlie King, has been instrumental in changing the culture of domestic violence in the Northern Territory through sport. Originally targeted at indigenous men, the NOMORE campaign has spread across sporting codes, States and countries.
Diamonds in the Rough is multi-partner collaboration and will be led by project manager Simone Wearne, one of Australia’s leading and most capped national baseball players, a World Series champion and coach of the national team, the Emeralds.
Wearne said she is very proud to be leading such a ground-breaking project. “Diamonds in the Rough will allow Australia’s leading female baseball to share their sporting and social skills with Indonesian women and girls and have fun doing. The project will promote health, well-being and leadership, respect for women and cultural tolerance. And we get the opportunity to do this while creating a women’s baseball base in Indonesia. It’s a win-win.”
Diamonds in the Rough’s highly-skilled consortium includes:
· Baseball Australia, the lead organisation providing financial and governance oversight;
· Aussie Hearts International Women’s Baseball, concept creators and project managers, undertaking participant management, logistics and promotion;
· The Hit Factory (THF), in-country partner identifying, promoting and recruiting girls and women to participate and to provide the facilities and coaching services
· CAUSINDY (Conference of Australian and Indonesian Youth) alumni, connecting with Jakarta schools, politicians, community members, participants and Indonesian domestic violence organisations
· NOMORE, delivering anti-domestic violence engagement and promotion strategy
Below is the final list of those who will be travelling to Jakarta in May to deliver the sports diplomacy program Diamonds in the Rough:
Olivia Bannon (NSW)
Kaila Borgomastro (WA)
Tabitha Callander (WA)
Amy Collins (NT)
Bronwyn Gell (VIC)
Narelle Gosstray (NT)
Brittany Hepburn (NSW)
Shae Lillywhite (VIC)
Kim McMillan (NSW)
Tammy McMillan (QLD)
Sharon Moss (QLD)
Laura Neads (NSW)
Lisa Norrie (QLD)
Simone Wearne (VIC)
Kate West (QLD)
Grace Zylstra (QLD)
In a national first, Australia’s leading baseball players and officials are heading to Jakarta to establish a multifaceted sports diplomacy project featuring baseball, anti-domestic violence and mentoring programs for Indonesian women and girls.
The new sports diplomacy program is called Diamonds in the Rough and is funded by the Australian Government through the Asian Sports Partnerships small grants fund.
Diamonds in the Rough aims to foster and promote both sport and social development in targeted Indonesian communities as part of the Australian Sports Diplomacy Strategy.
The project will be conducted by 15 leading Australian female baseball players and officials who will teach Indonesian women and girls how to play baseball while mentoring them on leadership and self reliance and exposing them to a culture of confidence and team work.
The Australian contingent will also play exhibition games against men’s and boys’ teams and host cultural events as part of the NOMORE campaign, which underpins the project.
The NOMORE campaign, founded by esteemed Northern Territory sports presenter Charlie King, has been instrumental in changing the culture of domestic violence in the Northern Territory through sport. Originally targeted at indigenous men, the NOMORE campaign has spread across sporting codes, States and countries.
Diamonds in the Rough is multi-partner collaboration and will be led by project manager Simone Wearne, one of Australia’s leading and most capped national baseball players, a World Series champion and coach of the national team, the Emeralds.
Wearne said she is very proud to be leading such a ground-breaking project. “Diamonds in the Rough will allow Australia’s leading female baseball to share their sporting and social skills with Indonesian women and girls and have fun doing. The project will promote health, well-being and leadership, respect for women and cultural tolerance. And we get the opportunity to do this while creating a women’s baseball base in Indonesia. It’s a win-win.”
Diamonds in the Rough’s highly-skilled consortium includes:
· Baseball Australia, the lead organisation providing financial and governance oversight;
· Aussie Hearts International Women’s Baseball, concept creators and project managers, undertaking participant management, logistics and promotion;
· The Hit Factory (THF), in-country partner identifying, promoting and recruiting girls and women to participate and to provide the facilities and coaching services
· CAUSINDY (Conference of Australian and Indonesian Youth) alumni, connecting with Jakarta schools, politicians, community members, participants and Indonesian domestic violence organisations
· NOMORE, delivering anti-domestic violence engagement and promotion strategy
Below is the final list of those who will be travelling to Jakarta in May to deliver the sports diplomacy program Diamonds in the Rough:
Olivia Bannon (NSW)
Kaila Borgomastro (WA)
Tabitha Callander (WA)
Amy Collins (NT)
Bronwyn Gell (VIC)
Narelle Gosstray (NT)
Brittany Hepburn (NSW)
Shae Lillywhite (VIC)
Kim McMillan (NSW)
Tammy McMillan (QLD)
Sharon Moss (QLD)
Laura Neads (NSW)
Lisa Norrie (QLD)
Simone Wearne (VIC)
Kate West (QLD)
Grace Zylstra (QLD)