25th SEA Games, Laos

Photo: Volunteers and liaison officers attend the training course at National University of Laos.

More than 1,200 students from the National University of Laos (NUOL) are currently attending a training course to prepare for the duties they will perform at the 25th SEA Games in Vientiane in December.

The 807 volunteers and 411 liaison officers were selected for the training course after been interviewed by teachers from the university's Department of English in February and March.

An opening ceremony for the training course was held on Wednesday at the university and was attended by Vice President of the Lao National Sports committee (LNSC), Mr Somphou Phongsa, and senior teachers from NUOL.

NUOL President Dr Soukkongseng Saignaleuth said the course aimed to make sure the students would be able to do their work at the games efficiently and be of help to visitors and athletes .

He said the students would study the cultures and customs of other Asean member countries.

Topics for the training course include the history of the SEA Games, tourism in the region, Lao culture, English language, geography, history, and the roles and responsibilities of volunteers and liaison officers.

The course will run until March 31 and is being taught by Mr Somphou and teachers from NUOL.

The volunteers will be divided into four groups of about 200 each, while the liaison officers will be split into two groups.

A further 2,000 volunteers are needed for the games and the NUOL is currently in the process of going through more than 6,000 applications from students wanting to be a part of the games. Teachers will select a further 2,000 students, who will then take a similar training course.

The university is seeking more than one billion kip in funding for the training courses from the government.

The LNSC will delegate responsibilities and duties to a total of 3,000 volunteers and liaison officers in June.

By working at the SEA Games, the students will gain valuable experience and be able to help tighten the bonds of friendship between Laos and other countries in the reg ion.

Volunteers will take care of official guests and dignitaries during the games, while liaison officers will accompany athletes as they travel between venues, and help with public security.

By Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong
Vientianetimes

The 2009 Southeast Asian Games Village Project, which is under construction in the Lao capital of Vientiane, is now 45% completed.

Work on the 25th SEA Games athletes’ village, which is being built by Vietnam’s Hoang Anh Gia Lai Joint-Stock Company (HAGL), began on August 1, using almost 700 workers, 95% of whom are from Vietnam.

HAGL is sponsoring the US$19 million 25th SEA Games Village Project with $4 million in nonrefundable aid and an interest free loan of $15 million, which will be repaid within three years.



The project, which will be handed over to Laos’ National University after the sports event, will have 992 rooms in eight four-story blocks, a 1,200-seat dining room, a central hall and functional rooms. The site will also have football fields and basketball facilities.

The athletes' village is on a 42,000sqm site at the Dongdok campus, National University of Laos. The village comprises 10 buildings and other auxiliary facilities. Eight four-storey buildings with international standard facilities will contain 1,000 rooms and accommodate 4,000 athletes. A single-storey building will house a canteen and a three-storey building will contain multi-purpose management offices.

Teachers from the Physical Education Teacher Training School and the National University of Laos met on Thursday to discuss how best to improve schools for participation in the 25 th South East Asian Games, which will be hosted by Laos in 2009.

Teacher Training School Director Intong Leusinsay said the school planned to allow staff with expertise in badminton, boxing, football, judo, karatedo, petanque, basketball, sepak takraw, wushu, shuttlecock and table tennis to assist at the SEA Games.

Mr Intong said for the Ministry of Education to achieve its Millennium Development Goals it would upgrade the training school to a college by 2012. This would enable it to have better resources for the teaching of physical education.

There are more than 1,000 graduates of the school since it was established in 1978, with most of them using their skills to teach in both public and private schools.

Mr Intong said in a bid to combat drug use in schools many teachers would continue with sports programmes that had been initiated, hoping to encourage better behaviour among students.

He said the aim of these programmes was to improve students' skills, develop their capacity and instil a greater sense of morality, so they would grow up to become strong athletes.

Another objective of the programmes was to teach children about the country's socio-economic development goals, and the importance of a clean school environment, a healthy society and good hygiene practices.

Mr Intong said the project also aimed to produce resources that would show schoolchildren the path to community and school leadership, give them the opportunity to protect traditions and culture, and achieve the standards set by the ministry's national education reform programme.

He said the ministry was developing education in keeping with the government's continuing strategic vision for the next 12 years.

“At present education is not well integrated between schools and families, and society contributes little to the stimulation of teachers, parents and children in regard to learning,” Mr Intong said.

He said teachers would set up groups of volunteer children to run activities in schools, including sports, game playing and art competitions.

By PHAISYTHONG CHANDARA
Vientianetimes