The Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees -CANOC-, the University of the West Indies -UWI- and the Peruvian Olympic Committee -COP- officially launched the CANOC-UWI Advanced Governance and Leadership Training Course through an online orientation session held on 17 December 2025, marking the formal start of the programme.
The session outlined the overall structure of the course, participation requirements and the administrative processes of the UWI, with the aim of facilitating the enrolment of registered participants as students of the institution over the next four months. Of the more than 40 participants enrolled, 32 attended this initial session, conceived as the academic and institutional entry point of the programme.
Addressing a priority area
The course is aimed at leaders, executives and administrators from sports organisations linked to the national Olympic committees that are members of CANOC, with a focus on strengthening governance, leadership and strategic planning within sports structures across the Caribbean and the Americas.
The initiative responds to a need identified by CANOC members themselves in the 2024 Needs Assessment Survey, in which governance and leadership were highlighted as priority areas. These themes are also embedded within the organisation’s Strategic Plan, which recognises continuous education as a key tool for institutional development.
The role of CANOC, UWI and the Peruvian Olympic Committee
CANOC acts as the driving force behind the programme, aligning it with its strategic objectives and the priorities identified by its members. The UWI, through its specialised academic structures in sport, is responsible for the development of the course content and its certification, while the COP participates as an institutional partner within the framework of cooperation established between the organisations.
During the session, the president of the COP, Renzo Manyari, stated that the training initiative represents “the fulfilment of an important component of the Memorandum of Understanding with CANOC” and encouraged participants to fully engage with the programme “not only for their own development, but for the strengthening of the sporting movement in the region”. Meanwhile, CANOC president Keith Joseph thanked participants for their interest and highlighted the alignment of the course with the organisation’s strategic priorities.
The cooperation framework and the origin of the initiative
The programme forms part of a broader framework of institutional cooperation, supported by the cooperation agreements signed between CANOC and the UWI, focused on educational development, and by the Memorandum of Understanding signed between CANOC and the COP in 2024, which strengthens coordination on strategic projects related to sport and education.
The training programme will be delivered through eight sessions lasting three hours each, with two sessions per month, and full attendance will be a mandatory requirement to qualify for graduation. A team of lecturers from the UWI will support participants throughout the entire learning process, in line with the schedule established for the 2025/2026 period.
