In March, a first-of-its-kind workshop funded by Olympic Solidarity was facilitated to support strategic reviews, collaboration and the creation of High Performance Strategies for sport leaders across the Micronesian islands, marking an important step in advancing a more connected, sustainable and impactful high performance system across the North Pacific, with strong leadership and partnership at its core.

Hosted by the NOC of Palau, the unique networking opportunities and international relations provided by MEMOS shone through. Current MEMOS XXVIII student, Kenny Reklai, the Communications and Programs Coordinator at the Palau National Olympic Committee, managed the planning and logistics of the international workshop, while also taking part as a participant, sharing his perspective as NOC staff and having just recently hosted the Palau 2025 Pacific Mini Games. Graduate of the MEMOS XXVII cohort, Desmond Kaviagu, CEO and Secretary General of the Papua New Guinea National Olympic Committee, co-facilitated the workshop alongside Jackie Lauff of Sport Matters Australia, sharing best practices learned through the creation of the PNGOC High Performance Strategy, through his day-to-day work as a sport leader, as well as the strategic planning, governance and sport administrative concepts learned through MEMOS. Fellow graduate of the MEMOX XXVII cohort, Tara MacBournie, Program Manager of Sport Communications at the Canadian Olympic Committee, joined the final session while on holiday in Palau, and shared insights from her MEMOS project, focusing on adapting communications processes for NOCs with limited communications resources to facilitate Olympic storytelling in an ever-changing sport media landscape.

Three MEMOS participants from three different NOCs, sharing unique experiences to further enhance development and collaboration for the betterment of the Olympic Movement. Thank you Olympic Solidarity for supporting this workshop, and we hope that other regions and other Memosians can find similar opportunities for knowledge sharing and capacity building moving forward.