NRL continues to deliver programmes in PNG

THE National Rugby League (NRL) is continuing its Pacific programmes with the league now using social media to run its activities in Papua New Guinea during the Covid-19 pandemic.
NRL government and community relations head Jaymes Boland-Rudder said key programmes such as “League Bilong Laif” (league for life) were now delivered to participants through online videos.
“The majority of our programmes are based around face-to-face sessions with large groups of people in schools and communities,” he said.
“As Covid-19 restrictions started to take effect, we realised our mode of delivery would not be possible.
“We needed to get creative about how we share our key messages on health, wellbeing, social cohesion and gender-based violence, rather than relying on face-to-face.
“We quickly moved our programmes onto Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
“We produced short videos to help kids and families stay active at home, filmed our regular in-school lessons, partnered with local TV broadcasters to share our messaging and provided resources to parents on how keep themselves and their children safe during the pandemic.”
Despite the shift from face-to-face delivery to online sharing being a challenge, Boland-Rudder said the NRL had noted some positives on how far the game had travelled throughout PNG and the Pacific.
“Traditionally, our messages reach the schoolchildren,” he said.
“But during the restrictions, we have managed to reach into people’s homes.
“It has been really refreshing to see how far our content has been shared on social media.”
The programmes use rugby league to create positive social change in PNG, Fijian, Samoan and Tongan communities.