sports diplomacy
Melania Trump has booked her first solo foreign trip as first lady, leading the U.S. delegation in September for the Olympics-style games for wounded military personnel. [...] More than 550 individuals from 17 countries are expected to compete in 12 sports in the September games. The figure includes about 90 American athletes.
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This week's roundup explores the ways in which sports can play an active role in diplomacy.
The U.S. Embassy, in partnership with the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the Ethiopian Basketball Federation, is hosting a two-day basketball clinic for Ethiopian youths from July 29-30, 2017 at the Ras-Hailu Gym in Addis Ababa.
The unique potential of sports to contribute towards achieving development has been recognized by the United Nations through a multitude of resolutions adopted by then General Assembly as well as the Human Rights Council. The contribution of sports was thus also recognized when the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted in 2015.
The program, which began in 2011 and is funded by a State Department grant, brings groups of international coaches, sports administrators and mostly teenage athletes to the public university's campus in Fairfax County, Virginia. [...] Participants gain a deeper understanding of inclusion and diversity in athletics, organizers say, at the same time that they get a glimpse of American culture — specifically, American sports culture.
The Olympic Games are coming back to Los Angeles. The only question now is will Southern California host its third Olympics in 2024 or 2028? [...] “Los Angeles is living legacy of this Olympic movement,” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said. “In 1932 we were a Games changer. In 1984 we were a Games changer. During the Great Depression, during the Cold War, we’ve always answered the Olympic Movement’s call and this is a similarly intense and important moment for the Olympic Movement.”
A professional soccer player from Saskatoon, Sask. is helping kids in Ghana learn the importance of playing around. [...] The organization's play-based programs teach children life skills through sports and playful learning activities. Local teachers are trained on how to integrate these aspects into their curriculum, which has improved participation and interaction of all students, including girls.
An exhibition featuring sports-related stamps, including more than 1,000 commissioned for the Olympic Games, opened in Taipei’s Zhongshan Hall yesterday. “A stamp is a nation’s business card,” Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je said at the opening. “The art and culture contained in a tiny stamp can demonstrate a nation’s soft power.”