A/HRC/61/49/Add.2 may take the form of providing financial, material and in-kind support for organizations and groups that foster and encourage cultural practices, as well as support for events featuring cultural expressions. Ideally, initiatives should come from inhabitants, should be facilitated or supported by federal, state and local authorities and should encourage the development of collaborations and partnerships with civil society actors. 61. The Special Rapporteur was informed of various positive examples where the public authorities had supported local initiatives, such as funding oral history projects in Pohnpei, sponsoring cultural festivals featuring prominently Chuukese storytelling and performances; supporting community radio broadcasts in Yapese and elder-led language workshops; and funding cultural events emphasizing Kosraean songs and stories. In providing support, the authorities need to avoid any undue discrimination and ensure respect for diversity, so that opportunities exist for various voices to be represented, not only the dominant ones. 62. The authorities also have a responsibility to give value to the participation of all. The Special Rapporteur was glad to hear about the involvement of youth cultural groups in celebration days and to learn that young dancers, after practice, could use the codes of traditional dances to tell their own stories, becoming active contributors. She was also impressed with the recognition of the critical role of elders in teaching languages and oral traditions informally and how their community-led storytelling helped maintain fluency in the Ulithian and Woleaian languages. However, she was also informed that the youth felt excluded from discussions about the present and future of the country, that, to date, persons with disabilities did not have a guaranteed access to Pohnpei Public Library and that senior citizens had few public programmes and activities specifically for them. 63. Many of the 500 civil society organizations registered with the Government at the time of the visit were not active. Organizations seem to be created to respond to specific projects and dissolved when the grants run out. This is a pity, as sustainability over time is necessary to build trust and social capital and for new habits to form.8 The authorities should consider alternative systems to support the continuity of civil society engagement. There should be ways for organizations and communities to apply directly for public funding to conduct cultural activities. 64. The right to participate in sports is an integral part of the right to take part in cultural life. The Special Rapporteur commends the individual commitment of some of the men and women with whom she spoke to making sports activities part of everyday life. However, she regrets that the authorities are not taking a more active role in fulfilling this right for all. This could be done by encouraging more sports activities in public schools, including Indigenous sports and games disciplines, to ensure continuity and equality in opportunities to participate. Whereas trainers might partly be able to ensure their salaries through the costs of memberships, the public authorities, starting at the local and municipality level but with the support of the state and federal authorities, should take more responsibility in developing and maintaining sports facilities and infrastructures and ensuring that they are accessible to all who wish to practise. Participation of women in cultural life 65. Traditional systems across the Federated States of Micronesia recognize the various roles of women that have an impact on their ability to take part fully in cultural life. Some women are reportedly very involved in making decisions, including because of their traditional ownership of the land, and may have a more dynamic type of power, but most are not expected to speak out on decisions. In each state that she visited, the Special Rapporteur met with women who took active roles in government and society and with women’s organizations that supported each other and their larger communities in various manners. Opportunities for women exist, but gender inequality is still evident at multiple levels. Women and girls face barriers to empowerment owing to their expected role in taking care of the house and family, and their limited access to financial resources, entrepreneurial 8 GE.26-01464 An example is the Geo-literacy Education in Micronesia, a project that seems to have ceased after six years of work to create a network of local groups across the country with valuable local knowledge about nature and its protection and management. 13