New constitution has basketball leading the way in PNG

The Basketball Federation of Papua New Guinea (BFPNG) have successfully adopted a

new Constitution, following its Annual General Meeting held in Port Moresby last Saturday.

Under the new Constitution, BFPNG will set a benchmark for athlete voices in the country,

with members set to appoint two Athlete Representatives, (1-male & 1-female) for each of the

nation’s four regions.

The newly adopted constitution will also see thirty-percent of BFPNG executives being female.

At the Federation’s 2016 AGM held last November, BFPNG members voted in three female

executives, representing seventy-five percent of the Board overall, reflecting the sports positive

attitude towards gender empowerment and opportunity.

BFPNG President Mr. Nick Daroa was pleased to share the positive news following the meeting.

“We are very proud to be a leading National Federation that encourages gender equality. We’ve

been promoting our theme of ‘changing the game’ and this Constitution is certainly another step

forward for us to showcase that.”

The architect behind the drafting of the new Constitution, BFPNG Vice-President Ms. Karo Lelai,

said it was great for the Federation to be pioneering the code at an executive level in Papua

New Guinea.

“Our Constitution had not been updated since 2003, so we felt the time was right to make things

current and relevant with our governance,” Ms. Lelai said.

“We spent over six-months working on the draft document, consulting with our major

stakeholders, while also reviewing many other Constitutions from sporting bodies all over the

world.”

“We felt the Constitution presented to members aligned our priorities and best-suited what the

Federation aims to achieve. We’re excited that it was passed by our affiliates at Saturday’s

AGM.”

“It is also fantastic that we’ll have eight athlete representatives from across the country in a

position to have their voices heard at an executive level.”

For more information please contact Chief Executive Officer Joel Khalu on

khalujoel@gmail.com