Ambassador
"From the Streets to the "Friendly Fields": the Power of
Sports as a Diplomatic Tool"
Speech to the Sporting Goods Manufacturer's Association
March 6, 2007, Washington D.C.
James P. Cain, U.S. Ambassador to Denmark
It is indeed a pleasure to be with you this morning. My daily schedule as an American Ambassador in Europe typically requires me to give a lot of speeches and interviews…speeches about the war in Iraq, fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, curbing the nuclear ambitions of Iran, combating Islamic extremism around the globe, pursuing alternative energy strategies, and the advantages of international free trade. But I am happy to be here with you today to talk about a subject that is much more fun (and in fact, a subject some would say that I know much more about)… sports; Specifically, the role and opportunity for sports to become a powerful tool in America and the West's strategy for enhancing global peace and stability.
I greatly appreciate my old friend Clay Walker, formerly of the NFLPA, for arranging this invitation, and my former colleagues at the Kilpatrick Stockton Law firm, counsel to the SGMA, for being here this morning.
Let me start by telling you two stories; stories that should give you a hint about why I am here.
I first met George Bush in early 2000, when he came to Raleigh while running for President. I had just taken over as President of the Carolina Hurricanes NHL hockey team, and the future President, of course, had recently left a similar position with the Texas Rangers. As two sports guys, you might say we "hit it off", and he was curious about my efforts to "sell ice hockey in the South."
Five years later, almost to the day, he came to Raleigh, again to ask me to go to Europe to serve my country. And that sports bond was rekindled. "Jimmy", he said (like most sports guys, the President uses nicknames a lot), "I want you to find ways to showcase Denmark's leadership in the world, in hopes that others will follow its lead." For a small country, Denmark was doing remarkable things in the war against terror, to promote the Freedom Agenda, and to provide humanitarian and development aid to the world. Their multiple roles in NATO, the EU, and the UN Security Council provided unique and important platforms to influence others. The President’s notion was that if a country the size of Denmark could be so heavily engaged, then others in Europe, with even greater resources, should be able and willing to do even more.
But he went on to say: "I also want you to find ways to strengthen our sports
diplomacy programs, to use sports as a more effective diplomatic tool for
America."
These assignments, while both challenging and invigorating,
appeared to have little connection with one another. But like a good soldier, I
followed my Boss's instructions and, upon arrival, began showing up at Danish
football (soccer), handball and ice hockey events, and playing basketball with
young people in ethnic neighborhoods. But the connection between my job in the
Kingdom of Denmark, and sports, was not immediately obvious to me.
But like a light bulb in the middle of darkened room, the connection became obvious to me in early 2006 when the publication of eleven editorial cartoons in a Danish newspaper, set off the worst international crisis for Denmark since WWII. The "Muhammad Cartoon crisis", as the affair became known, erupted into violence in 27 countries, and witnessed the burning of embassies, and the deaths of 109 people. One media service, canvassing the headlines of the global newspapers, and the segments on the nightly news, concluded that the Cartoon controversy was the biggest international news story since 9/11 – bigger than the Tsunami crisis, bigger than Hurricane Katrina, bigger even than the new coverage of the invasion of Iraq. Regardless of its genesis, that crisis, and the violence that erupted throughout Europe and the Middle East, highlighted in a stark way, the challenge of Muslim integration throughout Europe.
But here is the story I want you to know: In the midst of the cartoon controversy, while fury against Denmark was raging across the Muslim world, a remarkable thing was happening in several of the ethnic neighborhoods around Copenhagen. Young people, of both Danish and ethnic decent were coming together around a basketball court to work through their anger. These young people had, months earlier, become involved in an NGO-sponsored street basketball program called “GAM3”…
That summer of 2005, more than 4500 young people from ethnic neighborhoods gathered together around a basketball court. They came from ethnic neighborhoods of Copenhagen, Aarhus, Odense and Malmö. They mixed with young people from "nicer" neighborhoods. They gathered for a street culture experience; an experience centered around basketball and music; an experience that created cross-cultural ties, generated dialogue and sent a message. The message was one of tolerance, of compassion and of respect.
When the cartoon crisis exploded, the social structures these young people had formed through basketball, the "club" teams that they had become integrated into in their communities, provided an outlet to express their anger, in dialogue, not in violence.
It is no surprise that despite cartoon-related violence in 27 countries around the globe, there was no violence in the ethnic neighborhoods of Denmark.
I realized then that in this scene lay the seed of an opportunity for America to use sports, a cultural jewel for which we are particularly well recognized, to reach out to ethnic young people throughout Denmark, throughout Europe, and into Asia and the broader Middle East. In the midst of the Cartoon Crisis, sports provided a vehicle for understanding and an outlet for anger.
Of course, the unique importance of sports as a tool for positive human
interaction is well known, and there are many great contemporary
examples:
-I saw a story not too long ago out of Seoul, lauding the
announcement that, for the first time, North Korea and South Korea had reached
an agreement to compete as a single team at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing;
- I saw a story out of Tel Aviv about the Israeli National basketball team; it talked about the camaraderie on the team, and the closeness of the players. But what struck me was the statement that on the Israeli National team, 8 of the players were Jewish, and 7 were Arab.
- I saw another story that started with "During a timeout, the [home]
basketball team huddles on the sidelines. Amid the rising heat and scent of hard
exertion, the [home team] coach tells the squad in English that he wants 30
points in the fourth quarter. But from within the sweating cluster an excited
voice cuts in: "Let's win! Let's just win!"
The excited words came from Andre
Pitts, an American, and they were directed at his teammates, on the Saba Battery
team, fielded by the Defense Ministry, in Tehran, Iran.
In North Korea, in Israel, in Iran, examples abound..
These examples, and my own experience with the Muhammad Cartoon crisis, which many commentators referred to as the "Clash of Civilizations", thus drove home the message to me: Through Sports we can transform the "clash" from the streets, to the Friendly Fields." The military historians among you might recognize the reference to "Friendly Fields". It comes from one of America's great World War II Generals, Douglas Macarthur. "On the fields of friendly strife", said the General, "are sewn the seeds that on future days, on future fields, will bear the fruits of victory." And the General was right on.
So knowing this, after the experience of the Cartoon Crisis, I set out to fulfill the President's instructions, and came to New York to meet with the Commissioners of America's Major Sports Leagues, to enlist their support in a pilot project we were launching in Denmark to use sports as an outreach tool in ethnic communities. To a man and woman, as you might expect, they were all enthusiastic. So in late June of last year, on a warm day in Copenhagen, with 1800 friends of Denmark and America present, we launched the initiative. Sports stars and executives and equipment from the NBA, NFL, NHL, WTA and LPGA were with us, as were our corporate partners. We took them into the ethnic communities around Denmark, and the response of the kids, the community and the media was overwhelming.
One of our more memorable of these events took place on a sweltering day, the 3rd of July, the day before America's celebration of its Independence, in the ethnic commune of Vollsmose , about 90 minutes outside of Copenhagen. On that day, accompanied by the Minister of Integration Rikki Hvilshoj, members of the media, organizers from GAM3, Francisco Elson of the Denver Nuggets, and Andrea Stinson of the WNBA Charlotte Sting, we engaged young Muslim boys and girls in a game of basketball. The young people that afternoon participated in lessons on healthy living, art, music, and dance. They engaged in activities designed to impart the values of teamwork, compassion, equality of opportunity, tolerance and mutual respect; in other words, the values of democracy. It was a great day.
But unbeknownst to us, at the same time we were showcasing our outreach efforts on the asphalt basketball courts, in that same neighborhood, only a few blocks away, a group of angry and misguided young men were planning what was intended to be "Denmark's largest terrorist attack ever." We know this because a few weeks later, the Danish national police exposed the plot, and arrested the 9 young Muslim extremists. And press reports say that they were exposed, in part, because of evidence that was volunteered from their neighbors' neighbor who, in learning of the plot, refused to allow this act of terror to happen on their soil.
And in that story, lies the true seed of our opportunity. You see, it is virtually impossible for extremism to arise in silence, for plots of terror to be planned in a vacuum. Such extremism requires a network of support to turn into acts of terror. And we know not just from 9/11, but from Madrid, London, and Frankfurt that these domestic terror activities are hatched in the dense ethnic communities of unintegrated anger.
And that's where sports comes in…
By actively building relationships, by reaching out at the grass roots level, across cultural divides , on the fields of friendly strife, we can reach these young people, both male and female, with a positive message of shared values; values such as respect for others, tolerance, compassion, discipline, equality of opportunity, respect, and the rule of law. It is these values that cause one to resist extremism. It is these values that Sports, especially team sports, is uniquely positioned to deliver.
Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan recently said: "There is no other instrument that has such traction to youngsters than a ball. All over the world, boys and girls, often traumatized- you play with them, they forget the situation they are in." (Time Magazine, June 12, 2006). A UN Report in 2003 said sports brings "individuals and communities together, highlighting commonalities and bridging cultural or ethnic divides." (ibid)
That is why America and our allies must prioritize sports as a tool in our toolbox. That is why, as David Stern says, we must "reinvigorate the cultural initiative" of sports.
Our programs in Denmark have worked well. MTV Showcased our efforts at this year's Europe Music Awards, held in Copenhagen. We are now partnering with the Danish Integration Ministry, the NGO GAM3 and the NBA and WNBA to expand the street basketball program to Egypt, and we are asking other Embassies of America to partner with us. The Danish Ministry of Defense has adapted our program as an outreach tool to recruit young Muslim Danes into a career in the Navy.
And Washington has awakened to the power of sports.
From a diplomatic perspective, there is a renewal going on. The U.S. Department of State awarded its last sports grant in 1983 and stopped all of its sports exchanges, from what was then Sports America, in 1990. Nothing happened for over a decade until 2002 when this administration began focusing on sports was an essential tool for public diplomacy. Under the enthusiastic guidance of Under Secretary Karen Hughes and Assistant Secretary Dina Powell, sports is once again being used to spark a dialogue and build bridges with youth all over the globe. One example is the World Cup Sports Initiative, a partnership with the Department of State, US Soccer and Major League Soccer, that brought 30 soccer-playing youth from 13 countries to the U.S. for a sports program with American youth. The delegation traveled to Germany for a World Cup match and was followed by US Soccer national team players and coaches traveling to Nigeria, Uganda, South Africa and Bahrain to conduct soccer clinics for 5000 youth. In partnership with the NBA, WNBA and Reebok, the State Department sent players to Algeria, Nigeria and Senegal to put on basketball clinics for thousands of underprivileged youth and Reebok donated 12,000 pairs of new basketball shoes. Secretary Rice believes that “public diplomacy in the 21st century must be a dialogue, not a monologue; it must be the job of all Americans, not just government specialists. And of course, public diplomacy in today's world must reach every citizen of every country, especially the young boys and girls who will become future leaders of their nations.” You might have read recently about Secretary Rice's appointment of Michelle Kwan as the first American Public Diplomacy Envoy. She just completed a very successful trip with U/S Hughes to Beijing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong where Michelle told her story and promoted the positive aspects of American culture and democratic values.
And there are some phenomenal private sector initiatives:
* I have already mentioned to you the great success of GAM3, where over 10,000 young people have already been reached, and our plans to help them expand into Egypt this summer.
* When Joey Cheek made headlines a year ago by donating his $40,000 Olympic Gold Medal bonus to Right to Play, it brought that organization well-deserved attention. Through that organization, founded by Johann Olav Koss, more than 500,000 children, involved in more than 40 sports projects in 23 underdeveloped countries, are being reached with positive messages. According to the International Herald Tribune, more than 18,000 Zambian children lined up for measles shots because the soccer star Kalusha Bwalya urged them to. In Uganda, children are taught about AIDS prevention while they play soccer. In Pakistan, girls are learning through sports, that when it comes to the playing field, they can be equal to boys.
* Peace Players (formerly Playing for Peace) operates basketball and
life-skills programs in historically divided regions, bringing together
thousands of children from different religious, racial, and cultural
backgrounds. In early December they launched a program bringing together
Palestinian and Israeli kids on a basketball court. They expected 10 girls and
ended up with 80. According to the organizer, "Saying that there is a demand for
more girls' sports and activities" in this part of the world is " a gross
understatement.."
Universities are also an important part of this effort.
Through a grant from the State Department, Georgia State University sent 8 American technical trainers to Cairo to conduct a week-long workshop and festival on disabilities in sport . The opening ceremony was attended by 176 disability sport and governmental leaders. In addition to training 90 coaches from the workshop, approximately 250 disabled girls and young women participated in the Sports Spectacular Festival receiving technical training and having fun participating in sitting volleyball, soccer, basketball, table tennis, power lifting and games.
And the Leagues have their own programs that are reaching out internationally with messages of inspiration and messages of hope:
* Since 2001, the NBA's "Basketball Without Borders" program camps have reached thousands of young athletes from 100 different countries promoting leadership, education, sportsmanship and healthy living.
* The NFL's "Pop Warner Football" program is now reaching out to young people in Russia and Japan, and plans to do the same in the Balkans. The World Food Program is effectively using NFL players as ambassadors for tsunami relief and a clinic in Africa. Assistant Secretary Dina Powell is currently in Kenya on a World Food Program mission with Paul Tergat, who holds the marathon world record . They are visiting schools where the children’s only meal is provided by WFP, and distributing soccer and volleyballs donated by Nike.
These programs are great, but they are not enough. These programs need support from the corporate sector. They need support from you.
Many of you have already realized that there is corporate advantage in aligning your brand with positive sports messages. And being the experts at sports marketing, you will recognize immediately the access into youth-concentrated, rapidly growing, developing markets that such programs can provide for your brand.
But what I ask you to consider is something different. What I ask you to consider is this: the power that you have to help bring these messages of hope, these positive message of shared values; these messages of respect, tolerance, compassion, discipline, and the rule of law; to the dark corners of the Middle East and Africa, and to the tense neighborhoods of Europe, where those messages so badly need to be heard.
You have a remarkable opportunity. You have many alternatives on how you can partner in this effort:
* You can partner with your local universities, many of whom compete in the State Department’s international sports grant competition. (University of Delaware, Indiana University, Notre Dame, Purdue, University of Rhode Island etc)
*You can leverage your investments with the Major Sports Leagues. The NFL and the NFLPA are spending over $250 million over the next few years to grow their sport internationally. FIFA is spending over $100 million on soccer programs in developing countries over the next four years, a with its new Star Player Mr. Beckham, MLS is poised to expand its brand awareness internationally. The WTA and the LPGA are providing great role models for the empowerment of women and young girls in the Middle East and Africa.
And the NBA, the kingpin of international sports development, continues to invest millions in its international basketball outreach efforts, and its WNBA stars are some of the finest diplomats America can offer.
These leagues are our allies in this effort. You can leverage your sponsorship investments with these and other Leagues into areas of the globe where not just your brand needs exposure, but the values we share need exposure as well.
* Or you can partner with us, and the NGOs we have engaged with. NGOs such as Right to Play, Peace Players, or GAM3. (GAM3 going into Cairo this summer, and hopes to expand into Beirut next summer.) Each of you is already likely to be engaged in international programming opportunities. Let us know what you have going on so we can involve our Embassies and work together in partnership with you. Not on a political message, but a values message.
Sports are both a medium and a message. It is a medium for reaching out to young people across barriers of culture, race, ethnicity and gender. Participation in sports helps develop attitudes of tolerance, sharing, compassion, teamwork, equality of opportunity and the rule of law. In other words, sports provide a unique ability to reach the younger generation with a message of values; values that complement America's enduring foreign policy objectives.
The convergence of my marching orders from the President, the cartoon crisis
in Denmark, and the impact of street basketball in the ethnic neighborhoods I
visited brought sharply into focus the unique role that sports can play in
bridging the cultural gap between the Western and the Muslim worlds, in
showcasing the values of democracy, and advancing America's foreign policy
goals. It is an unprecedented tool for transformational diplomacy. I invite you
to join us as America seeks to use that too more effectively.