Building Bridges Through Basketball: Peace in Israel’s Younger Generation

BY LEE SATTERFIELD
Lee Satterfield is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Cultural and Professional Exchanges in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs

Just days before President Barack Obama set off for his historic trip to Israel and the Palestinian Territories, 16 Jewish and Arab-Israeli teens traveled to the United States to engage their American counterparts and highlight the strong relationship between the U.S. and Israeli people. Using the sport of basketball, these young people have focused their efforts on peace-building and cooperation -- two themes central to President Obama's visit.

Engaging young people is a strategic priority for the United States. After all, today's youth are tomorrow's leaders. And, sports are a vehicle in which we can engage young people from around the world on the court, in the classroom, and in their communities.

During this international exchange, these young Israelis -- whom I first met at the Peres Center for Peace during a recent trip to Israel -- engaged with their American counterparts in Columbus, Ohio and Washington, D.C. Teaming up with our private-sector partner World Learning, we were able to exchange ideas, hopes, and aspirations on ways in which our countries can work together in the future.

Seeing these young faces and watching them interact with America's youth -- on the basketball court and in the community -- sends a clear signal that together through greater understanding we can all seek peace and cooperation that builds a better world for all.

Basketball Sports Visitor Program with Youth from Burma

photo © Justin Smith / Wikimedia Commons, CC-By-SA-3.0

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announces that 12 Burmese youth—six boys and six girls—and two coaches will travel to the United States January 7-20. The basketball exchange program, with support from the National Basketball Association (NBA), marks the first State Department Sports Visitor program with Burma. Throughout the program, the group will learn about sports in the United States by participating in basketball clinics with their American peers and engage in educational sessions on nutrition, conflict resolution, and disability sports.

The program builds on the first-ever Sports Envoy program in Burma, that sent Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rich Cho, former Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) player Allison Feaster, current Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Darvin Ham, and former NBA player Marty Conlon to Burma as Sports Envoys in August 2012.

The basketball exchange participants, ages 15-17, will visit North Carolina to attend a Charlotte Bobcats game and take part in a clinic with Cho, who was born in Burma, and Bobcats players. In Washington, D.C., the group will attend a Washington Wizards game and meet team members.

SportsUnited is the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ division devoted to sports diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State. Athletes and coaches from a range of sports are chosen to conduct clinics, visit schools, and engage with youth abroad in a dialogue on the importance of education, positive health practices, and respect for diversity. The NBA has partnered with SportsUnited since 2005, helping to host Sports Visitors from 20 countries and sending nearly 60 current and former NBA and WNBA players and coaches to travel to more than 30 countries as Sports Envoys