Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs

DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL SPORTS INITIATIVES
Home > Director of International Sports Initiatives

Sports Diplomacy

ECA Fulbrighters Help NFL Kick-Off New 'One World' Curriculum

ECA Fulbrighters Help NFL Kick-Off New 'One World' CurriculumFive international Fulbright students and former NFL players joined the National Football League and Scholastic Corporation to announce the One World: Connecting Communities, Cultures and Classrooms program in Boston on September 8, 2004.

Fulbrighters from Iraq, South Africa, Costa Rica, Peru and the Philippines joined Pro Football Hall of Famer Marcus Allen, former Steelers defensive back Rod Woodson former Patriots wide receiver Cedric Jones and linebacker Ed Reynolds to participate in several program lessons and activities with Boston area students in the Citizen Schools program, focusing on ethnic differences and cultural understanding. The program was designed to help educators of 4th to 6th graders teach the importance of diversity and cultural understanding. The program is made possible through part of a $10 million fund established by the NFL and NFL Players Association (NFLPA), to respond to community needs in the days following September 11, 2001.

Iraqi Fulbright student Barakat Jassem led a discussion about stereotyping and noted that not all Muslims or all people from the Middle East are the same, while Rod Woodson challenged each student to go up and talk to someone new each day, to "step out of your center, respect yourself and respect others."

The Fulbright Program operates in more than 150 countries worldwide and for over 50 years has provided more than 250,000 participants - chosen for their leadership or leadership potential - with the opportunity to observe political, economic, educational and cultural institutions, to exchange ideas, and to develop international competence and cross-cultural experience. Approximately 5,000 grants are awarded annually. The Program is sponsored and administered by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs working with private non-profit educational exchange organizations.

Department of State Reaches Out at International Children’s Games and Cultural Festival

ECA teamed with the Department of State’s Bureau of Public Affairs (PA) to participate in the International Children’s Games and Cultural Festival in Cleveland, Ohio, July 30 through August 2, 2004. Endorsed by the International Olympic Committee, the Games began in 1968 with the partnership of teams from nine European cities. This year, 2200 young athletes from 50 countries and 120 cities descended on Cleveland for the first United States-hosted Games. The athletes, ages 12-15, participated in 10 sporting areas: athletics, tennis, swimming, volleyball, soccer, water polo, table tennis, basketball, baseball and gymnastics, as well as representing their cities as ambassadors of cultural exchange.

Sharing a booth with the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce on “Embassy Row,” State Department representatives answered questions about employment opportunities and distributed information, including future.state.gov materials, the State Department Weekly Reader, and a new ECA Sports Diplomacy fact sheet. ECA also helped facilitate last-minute visa issues.

Athletes and Coaches Learn How to Include Disabled in Sports

In collaboration with the national Paralympic Committees of Jordan, Morocco, Turkey and Cyprus, ECA brought fourteen young athletes and coaches from Turkey, Jordan and Morocco to the United States June 10 to 22, as part of a Georgia State University program on including individuals with disabilities in sports programs. The group attended a ten-day training program that included workshops and participation at BlazeCamp International Sports Camp at Roosevelt Warm Springs Rehabilitation Institute in metro Atlanta.

Public-Private Partnerships Benefit Filipino Youth

With funding from the International Sports Initiative, the Detlef Schrempf Foundation concluded a highly successful sports exchange with the Philippines, demonstrating how effective public-private partnership can expand the impact of an ECA Office of Citizen Exchanges program. Former NBA star Detlef Schrempf and nine other Americans returned from a two-week stay in the Philippines where they conducted basketball clinics for coaches and two two-day camps for boys and girls, ages seven to eighteen.

Through corporate partners, each of the 500 youth campers received a basketball jersey from Adidas, a basketball from Shell Oil, and lunch from Snickers and Powerade. The Americans also visited community orphanages and distributed toys, books, and games donated by Amazon.com to the children. In summer 2004, during the second phase of this grant, a female basketball player and a Muslim basketball coach will spend eight weeks in the Pacific Northwest working at four youth basketball camps.

Back to the top

This site is maintained by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State. Links to other sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views contained therein.