sports diplomacy
APDS Blogger: Michael Duffin
When I hear ‘sports diplomacy’ evoked in conversation I often wince, knowing that 99% of the examples do not live up to the standards of the term.
Athletes and coaches who work for a team outside of their country for no purpose other than for a love of the game and personal gain do not always qualify. There is no universal definition of public diplomacy, but from my perspective there must be intention on the part of the actor to influence opinion.
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, in partnership with USA Hockey, announces that a group of American youth ice hockey players will travel as Youth Sports Envoys to Moscow, Russia, October 5 – 14, 2012.
The Iran Job is a documentary, and the job in question is for Kevin Sheppard, a basketball player from the U.S. Virgin Islands, to play point guard for an Iranian basketball team. And as the film follows Kevin through his 2008-2009 season playing for A.S. Shiraz, his experiences reveal a people and culture very different from what politicians and the media would have you believe.
The USC Center on Public Diplomacy and the British Consulate–General in Los Angeles were pleased to host a conversation about the role of sports diplomacy in 2012. In hosting the games, London contributed to the branding of GREAT Britain and to ambitious economic development.
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ Sports United Division is hosting the first Pakistan and India dual country soccer exchange.This Sports Visitor program will bring 18 young female soccer players and two coaches from the South Asian countries to the United States from September 11 to 22.
Japan and Russia are working to set up the participation of their leaders in a judo-related event in Vladivostok, as part of an initiative to strengthen bilateral ties through "judo diplomacy," it was learned Saturday.
The FIFA World Cup, ICC World Cup and many other world championships have worked visibly towards global harmony... In 1999, they established the International Olympic Truce Foundation and the International Olympic Truce Centre to promote peaceful principles – using sports to establish contacts between communities in conflict and to create windows of opportunities for dialogue and reconciliation.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger attended a reception at the Chinese consulate in New York to commemorate the 40th anniversary of "Ping Pong Diplomacy," which helped put China-U.S. relations back on track.