the royal commonwealth society Assembly Plan 2

ASSEMBLY 2PAGE 1 OF 5

Assembly 2: Diversity & the Commonwealth GamesAssembly 1: Democratic Schools & Commonwealth Day

Note: These materials can be used as a script for students to enact or as a starting point for their research, after which they could write their own assembly. The existing script can be amended to suit the needs of your particular school. More information about Diversity and the Commonwealth Games can be found by investigating the ‘Useful Websites’ - page 131.

»Plot: A group of Commonwealth Games athletes has come to the school to share their experiences as participants. They discuss the meaning of diversity and describe their countries. The play finishes with students being asked to consider how they might employ Commonwealth values in their own lives.

»Characters, Timings and Props: Names can be changed and the script can be split among a smaller or larger group of students (for example, by giving a number of students the different ‘narrator’ paragraphs). The script should take between 10 and 15 minutes to enact, but might be more depending on the audience responses. Each actor could also dress up for the part: for example, Queen Elizabeth II could wear a crown and carry a sceptre and the athletes could wear appropriate sporting gear. You will also need some swimming trunks and a baton.

»The Cast:

Narrator(s)

Queen Elizabeth II

Adine Wilson(New Zealand, Netball Captain, Gold Medal in 2006 Commonwealth Games)

Ryan Pini(Papua New Guinea, Swimmer, Gold Medal in 2006 Commonwealth Games)

Damian Brown(Australia, Weightlifter, Gold Medal in 2002 Commonwealth Games)

Prasanta Karmakar(India, Swimmer (disability events), Bronze Medal in 2010 Commonwealth Games)

10-15m

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»The Play:Narrator: I’d like to introduce you to some friends. OK, they’re quite famous but they’re still my friends. Well, we have a message for you all, so please listen up. We want you to get involved too. You all know how to clap and cheer… so let’s give them a big round of applause for coming to visit our school! [start clapping… then wait for applause to die down] You can do better than that… give them a big cheer! [clap again and after a few seconds put hands up to stop the applause]

Queen: Hello, I am Queen Elizabeth the Second. I am the Head of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth, as you probably know, is a group of 54 countries that have agreed to work together for their common good, promoting ideas such as diversity, development and democracy. Every four years, athletes, supporters and sports fans from the Commonwealth countries come together in a celebration of sport and culture, which is called the Commonwealth Games. There are special events for disabled sportsmen and women, and for young people. I am glad to have this opportunity to offer my best wishes to every athleteandofficialwhotakespartintheCommonwealthGames.

Adine: As you may have guessed, we are athletes and we’ll be talking to you about our experiences of competing in the Commonwealth Games. I’m Adine Wilson and I grew up in New Zealand. I am a lawyer, which is quite a competitive job, so it was natural to me to follow my competitive streak into the world of sports. I play Netball and was the captain of the team that won a Gold Medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2006.

Queen: ThefirstCommonwealthGameswereheldin1930inHamilton,Canada.Iwas only4yearsoldthen,andmygrandfatherwasKing.ThatfirsttimeinCanada 11countriessent400athletestotakepartin6sportsand59events.TheCity of Hamilton provided thirty thousand dollars towards the travelling costs of the participating nations – a lot of money in those days.

Adine: It still is a lot of money now but it must have been a fortune then! How many bus journeys can thirty thousand dollars buy you now in our country? [ask for responses if time allows] Since then, the Games have been conducted every fouryears,exceptfor1942and1946duetoWorldWarTwo.Theyhavebeen held all around the world, from India to Australia to Jamaica to Wales. I hope you all have good imaginations because we want you to be there with us, sharing the occasions down the years, hearing the roar of the crowd.

Ryan: Thank you for that bit of history Adine! Let’s hear it for Adine Wilson everyone! [clap and then wait for applause to die down] I’m Ryan Pini and in 2006 I swam tovictoryintheMen’s100metreButterflyeventoftheCommonwealthGames Swimming competition. I actually won Papua New Guinea’s second CommonwealthGamesgoldmedalin16years!Mytimetoswim100metres was 52.64 seconds. I wonder what the fastest time is for some of the students at [insert the name of your school here]. Does anyone here like swimming? Give me a wave if you do! [pause] You guys can borrow my spare trunks if you want! [wave swimming trunks around head, then throw to Queen Elizabeth II!]

Assembly 2: Diversity & the Commonwealth Games

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Damian: It is so exciting winning a medal. It makes you so proud to have everyone inyourcountrysupportingyouandcheeringyouon.IamDamianBrown and I’m from Australia. I am a weightlifter and at the 2002 Commonwealth GamesIwastheFlagBearerforAustraliaattheopeningceremony.Therewas no prouder person in the Commonwealth than me when my name was read out andIknewIwouldbecarryingtheflaginfrontofsomanypeople.Iwonagold medal as well!

Ryan: Taking part is unbelievable and I felt so good in the competition. The crowd were amazing. Just like all of you. They cheered for everyone. That’s why taking part in the Commonwealth Games is so special – it brings together and unites people of very different backgrounds, beliefs and nations around the world. It’s incredible. And there are so many different sports. [You could try to act the following sports out while you are saying them] There are always athleticsandswimming,rugbysevens,netballandlawnbowls.Butthere can be lots of other things too, such as boxing, cycling, gymnastics, tennis, triathlon and wrestling.

Damian: All the countries of the Commonwealth are very different but we have our similarities too that can bring us together… such as our love of sports! Ryan, what’s it like in your country? I’ve never been to Papua New Guinea.

Ryan: Well, it’s quite close to your country, Australia, so you should pay us a visit! The amazing thing about Papua New Guinea is that it has so much diversity – for example,wehaveover820differentlanguages.Butwestillmanageto communicate with each other – there are at least six universities in the country and lots of schools just like this one. Papua New Guinea does suffer from some major problems though, like most countries – in our case it is earthquakes, poverty and diseases such as HIV/AIDS. The Millennium Development Goals set in the year 2000 have been a useful way of bringing these problems to the world’s attention. There is a lot we can all do to improve people’s lives in these areas!

Damian: You’re right. We should all think about what we can do to help. What about writing to the government to see what they are doing about global poverty and to give them your own suggestions?

Narrator: Great idea… and it’s something everyone can do. Ryan, what do you mean when you say that Papua New Guinea has so much diversity? What’s diversity? Isn’t that a dance group?

Ryan: Yes, but the word diversity really means differences or variations, in this case between people in communities and societies. For example, the Commonwealth countries are spread across every continent and ocean in the world.2billionpeopleliveinCommonwealthcountries–that’s30percentof the world’s population – and they are of many faiths, races, languages, cultures and traditions. The Commonwealth is very diverse. Just like schools are diverse. Put your hands up if there is something different about you than everyone else in this room! [everyone should have their hands up!]



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Adine: My country, New Zealand, also has a diverse population. We can trace our familyhistoriesbacktoawholerangeofdifferentcountries,includingPacific Islands such as Samoa, the Cook Islands and Tonga, China, India and Europe. Our country is also home to many Maori people, who are the indigenous population which means they have lived there for thousands of years. [pause to think] You know, even though we are all diverse, we can all work together to achieve amazing things. A big thing with the Commonwealth Games is friendliness – we’re all in it together. It’s a celebration of difference and of what we share in common. The same rules work for the Commonwealth Games as for school. We respect each other and value everyone’s achievements. It’s shouldn’t be so important how we look or where we come from. We can learn a lot from each other. We may be competitors but really we’re one big team, one community.

Narrator: The competition is actually nicknamed ‘the Friendly Games’ and there is a great atmosphere. There are also inclusive events for athletes with a disability. PrasantaKarmakarwonIndia’sfirsteverCommonwealthGamesmedalina swimmingevent,in2010.HowdidyougetinvolvedintheGames,Prasanta?

Prasanta: When I was a child I lost part of my right arm in a car accident. I always loved swimming and I made myself train really hard while I was working at a swimming pool.ButIdidn’tearnenoughmoneytosustainmydiet,rentandotherbasic needs so I nearly stopped training. Many a time I thought of calling it a day but then there was this urge to do something for my country… sheer grit carried me through. Luckily, some organizations and individuals came forward and helped me out, so I was able to start competing internationally! I am hoping that by winning a medal I have raised awareness in India about para-sports.

Narrator: Wow, can we have a round of applause for Prasanta Karmakar please! Can I just ask one question - how do you stay so focused and achieve your goals, even with your disability?

Prasanta: I don’t like the world disabled at all… see, everyone is disabled in one sense or another: we all have certain shortcomings. It’s just that my shortcoming is that I have one hand missing. All I would like to say is work hard and never lose hope. These are the two main ingredients for achieving your dreams.

Narrator: That is a really important point, thank you! We do have to remember that underneath, we are all human beings so we should value each other. The Commonwealth Games is a great example of how people from very diverse countries can get together and be friendly, even though they are competing against each other. This happens for young people in the Commonwealth YouthGames.Theseareopentoathletesunder18yearsofageandunder,our age in fact. The Youth Games provide an excellent opportunity for aspiring young athletes from the Commonwealth with a taste of what the Commonwealth Games has in store for us in the future. Think about it… you could be [insert your country’s name] next star athlete!




Adine: The thing is, it’s not just about winning sports medals. We can also make a difference through loads of different careers… for example, I’m a lawyer and there are lots of lawyers all over the world working to promote human rights and international justice. There is so much work to do - most people in my country,NewZealand,areabletolivelong,healthylives,and99%ofchildren gotoprimaryschoolwhentheyareoldenough.Butsadlythat’snottrue throughouttheCommonwealth.Forexample,inMalawi,over1in10people livewithHIVandonly42%ofpeoplehaveaccesstosafedrinkingwater.Put up your hand if you have easy access to clean water. It’s really unfair that there is so much inequality in the world!

Narrator: Thereisdefinitelystillalongwaytogo.TheCommonwealthcountriesneed to work together to help to solve these global problems. Despite the diversity of the people living around the Commonwealth, we are all similar in many ways too and together we can make a difference. That unity in diversity issymbolisedintheCommonwealthGamesbytheQueen’sBatonRelay,in which a baton is carried around the world by different athletes and presented by the last relay runner to the Queen, the Head of the Commonwealth, at the start of the Games.

Ryan: One day I would like the Commonwealth Games to be held in Papua New Guinea and then maybe I would get to hand over the baton to the Queen. The Queen’sBatonhasagreathistoryanditisareminderoftheunityindiversity which is what the Relay is about. [Handing the baton to the Queen] Your Majesty.

Queen: Thank you, Mr Pini. And thank you too, to our wonderful athletes, without whom there would be no Commonwealth Games. I hope in future years, some of you will be joining them. The Games are for everyone and the Commonwealth works towards the development of all its countries so that people’s lives change for the better. Your school is like the Commonwealth and I would like you to think about ways in which you can apply the Commonwealth values of respect, diversity, tolerance and justice to make it an even better place for everyone than it already is.

»Useful websites

What is the Commonwealth? www.youngcommonwealth.org/what-is-the-commonwealth www.thecommonwealth.org

Facts about the Commonwealth Games www.youngcommonwealth.org/the-commonwealth-games www.thecgf.com (Commonwealth Games Federation) www.thecommonwealth.org/Internal/143537/145351/commonwealth_games www.thecgf.com/cyg (Commonwealth Youth Games)

Facts about Diversity and the Commonwealth www.youngcommonwealth.org/diversity-and-unity

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