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of Educational and Cultural Affairs Sports Diplomacy "We Love This Game !"
ECA Sports Envoys Cynthia Cooper, former WNBA player with the Houston
Comets, and NBA player Jimmy Jackson of the Phoenix Suns, conducted
4 days of clinics for over 500 Senegalese youth September 2-5. Speaking
about the importance of hard work and perseverance, the Envoys gave
inspirational talks to youths in Dakar and the nearby town of Thies
as well as to the entire village of Somone that turned out to witness
the envoys signing the village friendship wall. The envoys were joined
by Chargé d'Affaires Robert Jackson and a large NBA delegation of basketball
coaches and trainers, including former Georgetown coach John Thompson,
in the donation of 4,000 pairs of new Reebok basketball shoes to Senegalese
youth. The clinics and shoe donation received unprecedented, wide-spread
media coverage. Read more.. Public-Private Partnership through Basketball Benefits Russian and American Youth
The National Basketball Association (NBA) coordinated the visit of a delegation of coaches and general managers to Moscow, Russia, May 6-9, 2005, for the European Final Four basketball tournament. At the request of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and our post in Russia, the NBA worked with the embassy to conduct a basketball clinic for Russian and American youth. The event exemplified public-private partnership with cooperation between the Department of State, the NBA and Spalding. Fifty Russian and American boys and girls, ages 12 - 17, participated in the clinic held at the Anglo-American School of Moscow. To conduct the clinic, the NBA provided a tremendous delegation of Russian and American coaches, players and general managers. The delegation included: Mike Dunleavy, Head Coach of the Los Angeles Clippers; R. C. Buford, SVP and General Manager of the San Antonio Spurs; Rob Babcock, General Manager of the Toronto Raptors; Tony Ronzone, Director of International Scouting, Detroit Pistons; Dean Cooper, Director of Scouting, Houston Rockets; and Fabrizio Besnaci, International Scout for the Los Angeles Clippers. The International NBA delegation included: Dmitri Domani, player for Dynamo Moscow and the Russian National Team; Aleksandar Volkov, former NBA player and two-time Russian Olympian; and Arturas Karnisovas, former NBA player and two-time Lithuanian Olympian.
The clinic included group basketball drills, followed by a Q&A session with the players and coaches and autograph signing. In the final shoot-out for an overall winner, the girls ran away with it when Russian Ann Sokolova beat out all of the other finalists. The NBA donated t-shirts and hats for all of the students as well as basketballs from Spalding that went to the participating schools and clubs. Each school received a basketball signed by the NBA delegation. Participation certificates were awarded to the youth jointly from the U.S. embassy and the NBA. This initiative resulted in a great sports diplomacy event that highlighted Russians and Americans learning together. We Love This Game!
ECA Fulbrighters Help NFL Kick-Off New 'One World' Curriculum Five 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.
I 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 nternational 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.
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Sports Envoy, Cynthia Cooper, is welcomed by the rural village Somone
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. 
raqi
Fulbright student Barakat Jassem led a discussion (see photo right)
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." 
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