The Georgian Police as Leaders in Athletics for Youth (GE-PLAY) Basketball program is funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affair’s under the SportsUnited International Sports Programming Initiative, and implemented by PH International. The program will take place from September 2014 to December 2015.
The goal of the GE-PLAY Basketball program is to inspire and help officials and community groups in Georgia to adopt policies and approaches that promote development of community-based youth sports programs. Building on PH’s work in the GE CALLS program, youth sports initiatives will draw upon local police and others as resources to provide positive opportunities for youth aged 7-17 to practice leadership, responsibility, teamwork, healthy living and self-discipline.
PH will conduct a two-way sports and cultural exchange with participants (adults and youth) from Georgia and the United States. In early 2015, ten (10) officials and youth practitioners from Georgia will visit the U.S. and be introduced to approaches and options for community-based youth sports programming, with special emphasis on programs models that bring youth and police together. Exchange participants will return home, to develop and execute action plans resulting in 10-15 community-based sports initiatives that can serve as pilot and demonstration programs for a broader effort in the future. In early summer 2015, sixteen (16) Americans, including one boys and one girls basketball team, coaches, and police officers involved in sports programming will visit Georgia to provide added technical assistance, conduct workshops, and clinics and momentum for the programs that are being developed.
ECA SportsUnited: http://eca.state.gov/programs-initiatives/sports-diplomacy
International Exchange Alumni: https://alumni.state.gov/
