SWIRE Shipping Fijian Drua CEO Mark Evans highlighted the importance of sports and unstructured play in child development during the launch of the Kimaya Foundation and Brighter Minds Trust in Nadi yesterday.
Evans highlighted that play is a natural part of human life, starting from infancy.
“Sport in any society, in any culture, is almost universal. We do it naturally. From when we have babies, they want to play, just on their own or with little things that catch their eye,” he said.
He stressed the need for children to engage in unstructured, unsupervised play, which he believes is crucial for cognitive growth.
“The evidence of how important that is for their development is extraordinary. What we’ve done in the West and I see a little bit of it happening here, is we are supervising our children way more than we used to, organizing their time way more, and not allowing them to interact freely.”
As a former educator, Evans strongly advocated for early childhood education, stressing that the foundation for learning is built in the first few years.
“The importance of educating and developing people cognitively very early at ages 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 cannot be over stressed. By the time they are 15 or 16, it’s almost too late,” he added.
Evans also spoke about the power of sports in uniting people.
“There are so few things in the modern world where we all come together with a common purpose, a common interest, and a love for the same thing. That’s what sport does. It’s about togetherness.”
The Brighter Minds program, based on neuroplasticity, aims to enhance cognitive development in children aged 5 to 15 through interactive tools and brain stimulation techniques.
Evans expressed his pride in Drua’s support for the initiative, saying, “I’m very pleased and proud to be here supporting this initiative.”
