Bangkok, Thailand, December 4, 2024: The OCA Safeguarding Workshop in Bangkok on Thursday, December 5 is coming at just the right time for the Maldives Olympic Committee.
The MOC is in the process of putting together a safeguarding policy for all athletes, so the Olympic Council of Asia workshop will provide plenty of food for thought for Secretary General Thamooh Ahmed Saeed and his three colleagues from the Maldives Olympic Committee in Bangkok.
The four-strong team will attend both the OCA Safeguarding Workshop on Thursday and the OCA Prevention of Manipulation of Competition (PMC) Workshop on Friday and Saturday to gain as much knowledge and information as possible on these two critical aspects of the modern Olympic movement.
“Through both sessions, what we would be hoping to learn is more about safeguarding,” Thamooh told the OCA on Wednesday.
“In fact, the Maldives Olympic Committee is in the process of putting together a safeguarding policy for all the athletes, so this would be very much a learning stage here…gathering information, how we should proceed, who we should ask questions of, who we should consult.
“During the PMC Workshop we are trying to work with everybody and anybody that could help us in putting together a programme. Previously we also had some communication with the IOC and that was very helpful.
“As soon as we are done with the safeguarding policy, we will definitely be attending to the PMC policy so that everybody will have an understanding. We will be actually conducting PMC national programmes with all the national federations. This is our idea,” he added.
As well as leading the Maldives team here in Bangkok, Thamooh will also be presenting the “Stakeholder Engagement in Safeguarding Athletes” session on Thursday afternoon.
Looking to the future, Thamooh, who is the IOC-accredited Safeguarding Officer in the Maldives Olympic Committee, added: “Talking and communicating with key stakeholders is one key way forward.”
Back home in the Maldives, the Olympic Committee will be looking to build on the success of their Child Safeguarding Policy, which was launched in 2022 and has gained widespread praise, when they take the next steps in safeguarding and PMC.