Cwik isn’t the fastest, nor the strongest, but he is being groomed to become a leader.
On Monday, Commonwealth Games Canada appointed the 26-year-old St. Joseph Secondary School graduate to the Canadian Sport Leadership Corps’ international internship program.
Originally from Poland, Cwik has worked in Namibia, Cambodia and South Korea, and is now off to Trinidad and Tobago for seven months.
Cwik will work for the Trinidad and Tobago Alliance for Sport and Physical Education, monitoring and evaluating sport for development programs. He'll review the successes of its physical education programs, and look at ways to make improvements.
He will also organize workshops and programs related to sport, life skills and responsible sexuality.
“I’m really looking forward to indulging in a completely new culture, making new relationships, but most of all, taking the sport and development component of my internship and making it work,” said Cwik.
“I’ve played sport since I was a child. It guided me through school, introduced me to people, opened possibilities, and made me realize how important it is in my life. I feel sport should comprise a larger part of development and peace building worldwide.”
The CSLC internship program uses sport to address social issues such as HIV/AIDS education, gender equality, and creates opportunities for people with a disability, in developing Commonwealth countries in Africa and the Caribbean.
“The Canadian Sport Leadership Corps internship program provides a once in a lifetime opportunity to a handful of talented and passionate young Canadians each year,” said CSLC program officer Hannah Juneau. “These placements allow for tremendous growth both professionally and personally and our interns return to Canada stronger, more confident and extremely motivated to effect change in Canadian communities.
“The opportunity to live and work in communities throughout southern Africa and the Caribbean provides on-the-ground insight into the issues, challenges and barriers which the children and youth of these developing nations face every day,” added Juneau. “Our interns work with organizations to create change and inspire others to live a life that is happy and healthy.”
Cwik completed his master's in Peace and Conflict Transformation at the European University Center for Peace and Conflict Studies in Stadschlaning, Austria in 2007. His thesis on sports for development projects included those involving peace building between Cambodian and Vietnamese nationals near the Vietnamese border, which he had the privilege to participate in, as well as evaluate for his thesis.
It was while volunteering at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament in Switzerland that Cwik first realized the potential of sport and peace building.
“I was sitting stuck to a computer screen and realizing that there can be a more effective way to work for peace, mainly to work with the people on the ground using a powerful passionate tool like sport, usually soccer, in most developing nations,” he said.
An accomplished soccer player, Cwik played for U of T for four years, and also with several competitive teams, including Etobicoke Tigers, North York Azzuri, Woodbridge Strikers, Polonia 99, Serbian White Eagles and Toronto Croatia.
“My hope is to make life better through sport,” Cwik said. “It’s my dream to one day open an NGO (non-governmental organization) specializing in sport and development, and I am also now dreaming of a 2018 Israel/Palestine joint World Cup soccer bid, which would be a motivating factor for peace, a very powerful one indeed.”
dwiner@mississauga.net
