Using Sports Diplomacy to Educate and Globalize our Communities

11th Annual International Education Conference April 10-11, 2014 Lone Star College

Presenters’ Information

What is “Sports Diplomacy?” Using Sports Diplomacy to Educate

Using Sports to Globalize Our Communities Q&A

Presentation Overview

Presenters

Montsé Garcia, M.A. International Visitor Advisor

Office of International Services UT Health Science Center, San Antonio

1.210.567.6241 GarciaMV@uthscsa.edu

Inessa Stepanenko, M.B.A. Assistant Director

International Student & Scholar Services Trinity University 1.210.99937505

inessa@trinity.edu

Presenters Qualifications: - Award winning internationally competitive gymnast with training experience at US Olympic Training Center - Professional gymnastics judge certified both nationally and internationally - 6+ years in international education

Qualifications: -International Studies and Sport Management internship program at BCFS - Faculty-led Education Abroad program - National Olympic Committee Assistant to TeamUSA at the XXII Winter Olympic Games in Sochi - 15+ years in the field of International Education

Happy (belated) International Day of Sport and Physical Activity!

The United Nations General Assembly selects a number of "International Days.”

April 6 has been designated as an International Day of Sport and Physical Activity and is celebrated by UNESCO.

Did you know that 2005 was selected by the UN as the International Year of Sport and Physical Education? Korean youths holding up white cards celebrate the

International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, they are spreading the word about the power of sport.

Sports diplomacy is the use of the common bond of sports to bridge intercultural differences between nations and people. It introduces people from different cultures to each other without the economic, political, and military issues that burden traditional diplomacy. It is often considered by policymakers to be a branch of “citizen diplomacy,” much like international educational exchanges (i.e. the J-1 program)

What is “Sports Diplomacy?”

“Sport has become a world language, a common denominator that breaks down all the walls, all the barriers,” said United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon recently in relation to the Day of Sport. “It is a worldwide industry

whose practices can have widespread impact. Most of all, it is a powerful tool for progress and for

development.”

1. Football (Soccer)

2. Cricket

3. Field-Hockey

4. Tennis

5. Volleyball

6. Table Tennis

7. Baseball

8. Golf

Top Popular Sports Worldwide

Sports diplomacy can be effectively used in many areas of education:

- Sport Management majors/minors - Educational Theory & Research - ESL/EFL Teaching - Education Abroad - International Student & Scholar - International Exchanges - Higher Education Curriculum

Using Sports Diplomacy to Educate

After retiring as a competitive gymnast, Hilliard started a foundation. Wendy quotes: “Sport was a great teacher… And you just get to respect people,

people of different cultures. … I have a much better world view.”

● Constructivism ● Connectivism ● Critical Pedagogy ● “Play” and “Competition” based learning ● Effective for all learning styles: Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic ● Dialogical Education, where learning is situated within students’ lived experience: “Student centered

learning”, “Situated Learning,” “Anchored Instruction” ● Collaborative or Cooperative Learning: “Peer-to-Peer learning,” “Reciprocal Teaching”

Read sports diplomacy literature and educational theories that support using sports in education to better frame your own organization’s initiatives and garner institutional support for programs

Theoretical Support for Educating Using Sports

1. Consider using sports in Lesson Plans. Examples are available here, here, and here!

2. Follow up the lesson plans with playing an actual sport game that requires them to use their new vocabulary

3. Students can give a presentation in English about a sport they play back home or about their favorite athlete - Presenter can then teach peers how to play the sport they presented on

- This method uses “Critical Pedagogy” educational theories to achieve “collaborative” learning

ESL/EFL Teaching Using Sports Diplomacy

● Consider reaching out to an international faculty member to create a faculty-led education abroad program centered on sports’ role in international development and diplomacy. Examples of faculty led: ○ Washington State University abroad program in Korea ○ Florida State University global sports program in England

● You can develop a program for returning study abroad students to engage with international diaspora communities upon their return using sports

● While studying abroad, students can do an internship on using sports for international development purposes: - using this toolkit co-developed by UNICEF: http://www.toolkitsportdevelopment.org/ - or with an already developed program: https://www.studyabroad.muohio.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=11247

Education Abroad Using Sports Diplomacy

● Sports United, a State Dept. program, sends American athletes on international cultural exchange missions and welcomes foreign athletes to the U.S. for sports clinics and exhibition games.

● Encourage your faculty and staff to both develop and participate in programs that combine sport diplomacy and international education in an effort to further internationalize your campuses

○ Encourage your campus faculty and staff to host international visitors in their homes ■ Ex: Alamo Colleges’ Open World program and Rotary International programs ■ Can take these visitors out for a baseball game

○ NASPA International Exchange Program: designed to expose administrators to global practices of student affairs and services

○ NASPA Intl’ Study Tour: gain insight into the issues and strategic directions for higher education and student services/affairs in other regions of the world.

● If you can’t do a physical exchange, try just bringing the spirit of international exchange into the classroom! The Dept of State has created an instructional series on Sports and Diplomacy for social studies educators! Read it here!

International Exchanges

● Football “101” course for international students ● Start a cricket or soccer intramural team or an annual

game for international faculty to compete against international students

● Initiate International Sport Day programming ● Include sports in your International Education Week

events: Trivia on International Soccer, Tai Chi for better living, football (soccer) tournament, and etc.

● You can use these programs in your J-1 Annual Report to meet Department of State requirements

● Research shows that student athletes have higher retention, GPA, and graduation rates than non-student athletes

● Engagement with the campus community also improves retention and persistence rates, and sports is one way to engage!

International Student & Scholar Education

International Football Camp at Rice University

Internships Grant & Mentoring Opportunities

Academic-Community Collaborations

Globalizing Our Communities

1. US Olympic Committee in Colorado Springs 2. SportsUnited 3. Local Professional Sports Teams

- SA example: During the 2013 N.B.A. finals against Miami, the Spurs’ 15-man roster included nine players born outside the continental United States, a league record. After the playoffs, San Antonio signed a 10th international player — Marco Belinelli of Italy — and drafted a forward from France.

4. Study Abroad internships at sports or intl’ development organizations abroad 5. Local Non-Profits

a. BCFS is a global system of health and human services non-profit organizations with locations and programs throughout the U.S. as well as Eastern Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa

b. Partnership with TU in SA

Internships

Grant opportunities: The SportsUnited International Sports Programming Initiative (ISPI) is an annual open grant competition for public & private U.S. non-profit organizations to submit proposals for programs that connect Americans with foreign audiences through a shared interest in issues that challenge societies and improve the infrastructure of non-elite youth sports programs.

Mentoring programs: The U.S. Department of State and ESPNW Global Sports Mentoring Program pairs emerging international women leaders with top American female executives in the sports industry. This program creates a global network of women who create positive change in their communities based on the lessons of Title IX—equality and opportunity—in sports.

Like facebook pages and join LinkedIn groups of sport diplomacy programs of interest to keep updated

on events, grant, and internship opportunities

Grant & Mentoring Opportunities

● The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (BECA) houses Sports United, a program that sends American athletes on international cultural exchanges & welcomes foreign athletes to the US for clinics & exhibition games.

● Reach out to your academic programs ○ TU has a minor in Sports Management ○ Work with International Studies department to create a course about sports’ role in global

education, development, and diplomacy ○ Connect Country Specific Exchange Initiatives (like the US-Russian Bilateral Presidential

Commission and US-China Consultation) with foreign language programs at your university ○ If institution has PE as a curriculum requirement, then work with that department to include

“intercultural” or “international” aspects of sport as a course or curriculum component ■ Have students present on a sport they play at home or attend an on-campus or off-campus

seminar for course credit

Academic-Community Collaborations

● Work to influence your local sports teams to unite with teams abroad to make a difference

● Connect with the diaspora communities in area ● Reach out to your international alumni base for resources to initiate

programming and connections ○ ex: TU reached out to alumni at Olympic Training Center

● Utilize city resources and relationships with your city’s Sister Cities ○ Sister Cities Conference 2013 in San Antonio:

■ Conference sessions on Sports Diplomacy for youth with 2-time Paralympic gold Medalist Ross Davis, Dr. Susan Blackwood of SA Sports Foundation, and Cecilia Herrera of Foreign Affairs Consulting

○ Work with your city’s local economic development offices or international relations offices

Academic-Community Collaborations

Even the UN admits, “Sport is not a cure-all for development

problems. As a cultural phenomenon, it is a mirror of society and is just as complex and

contradictory.”

How NOT to do Sports Diplomacy

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (left) meets with former NBA star Dennis Rodman in Pyongyang,

North Korea.

We’ve got answers!

Questions?