UT and U.S. State Department join to engage women and girls worldwide through sports

KNOXVILLE, Tenn., -- The University of Tennessee, Knoxville and the U.S. Department of State have teamed up to engage women and girls from around the world through sports.

UT's Center for Sport, Peace and Society has been awarded a $1.2 million cooperative agreement to implement the Empowering Women and Girls through Sports Initiative. The center is part of the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences.

The initiative aims to engage young girls and women on how success in athletics can develop important life skills and improve academic achievement. It also is designed to increase cross-cultural understanding between international participants and Americans.

"We're honored to be selected and to be part of this important U.S. public diplomacy effort," center director Sarah Hillyer said.

Hillyer and center co-director Ashleigh Huffman were in Washington D.C., last week when Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced the U.S. Department of State and espnW Global Sports Mentoring Program, the flagship component of the initiative.

UT is crafting the program's curriculum and will coordinate the logistics, including travel and lodging.

Ann Stock, assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs, noted that "the University of Tennessee's legacy of empowering women and girls through sports is a rich one."

"We look forward to partnering together to blaze new paths where girls worldwide can pursue their potential," she said.

About 135 girls and women from developing countries will participate in the program.

The initiative has three components:

• The U.S. Department of State and espnW Global Sports Mentoring Program, which pairs up to 20 international emerging leaders with leading American women in the sports world;
• Sports Visitors, which brings women and girls from overseas to the United States for an exchange that teams them up with their American counterparts;
• and Sports Envoys, which will send professional U.S. athletes, coaches and sports administrators overseas to engage underserved youth in clinics and leadership discussions.


Source: University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Published June 27, 2012