American Basketball Clinics and English Language Programs

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 003729 SIPDIS STATE FOR R/PPR, ECA (Bishop),NEA/PPD, NEA/ELA SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO OEXC SCUL JO SUBJECT: American Basketball Clinics and English Language Programs Draw Jordanian Youth to "Camp Friendship" ¶1. SUMMARY: Embassy Amman recently concluded its first Youth Enrichment Program. Under the auspices of this R initiative, PA Amman hosted two basketball and English-language camps in August for more than 200 underprivileged Jordanian boys and girls from several different regions of the country. The training sessions were designed to provide Jordanian youth with the opportunity to improve their skills, as well as to learn about American culture and values. Participants in the camps raved about their experiences and all major Jordanian media outlets gave extensive coverage to the initiative. Camp Friendship supported Embassy Amman's goals of reaching diverse, young audiences throughout Jordan, and promoted MSP goals of encouraging mutual understanding and combating extremism. END SUMMARY. 200 UNDERPRIVLEDGED YOUTH PARTICIPATE IN CAMP FRIENDSHIP ¶2. PA Amman partnered with the Jordan Basketball Federation (JBF) to sponsor two five-day camps for Jordanian boys and girls age 12-14 in August with the aim of encouraging among local youth a strong sense of self-worth, respect, and tolerance for each other. Basketball is one of Jordan's most popular sports (number two after soccer),and is played widely throughout the country by both boys and girls. ¶3. Every morning from August 6-10, 50 girls attended camp for four hours, followed by 50 boys for the next four hours. Two Peace Corps Volunteers taught conversational English language lessons for 30 minutes each day. This schedule was repeated again for week two of the camp from August 13-17. The program reached a total of 200 Jordanian youth. The JBF advertised the camps and recruited participants from underprivileged areas who play on JBF youth teams around the kingdom. Youth from as far away as Aqaba in the south or Jordan and Irbid in the north attended the camps. The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) designated four American coaches from the NBA's youth outreach "Jr. NBA" program to lead the two five-day camps. Coaches Donnie Arey and Diane Foli supervised the first week of camp, and Kent Davison and Phyllis Dallas supervised the second week of camp. The JBF also selected six Jordanian coaches to participate in each five-day camp. These coaches had the opportunity to learn coaching skills alongside their American counterparts. CAMP FRIENDSHIP PROMOTES DIVERSITY, TOLERANCE, AND UNDERSTANDING ¶4. PA Amman's goals for Camp Friendship were to reach youth, the majority from underprivileged backgrounds, to engage in activities that would foster tolerance, respect for diversity, and a better understanding of the United States. Through direct engagement and extensive media coverage, we achieved these goals. ¶5. The four American coaches offered outstanding instruction and proved to be incredibly popular among camp participants. Their high-energy camps were well planned and executed. The American coaches used humor, basketball skills, and American coaching techniques to engage every participant, and make him/her feel included and important to the success of their team and of the overall camp. During breaks, the coaches were approachable and spent time relaxing with the participants, talking about their favorite NBA players, giving basketball tips, and getting to know about the campers' families. The four Peace Corps Volunteers also contributed greatly to the overall success of Camp Friendship. Experts in working with Jordanian youth, they provided sage guidance to program organizers on how to give instruction and establish guidelines. They made conversational English classes fun and accessible to students at all levels of English ability. PRESS COVERAGE ¶6. Camp Friendship received excellent coverage in the local print media. -- The JBF press release announcing the start of the basketball camp program appeared on the sports pages of all Arabic dailies August 7. The largest daily, Al Rai, ran a report with a photo of coaches Donnie Arey and Diane Foli while Ad-Dustour carried a photo from the training session. Headlines read: Al-Rai: "In Partnership With The American Embassy, The JBF Organizes Training Camps For Young Players" Ad-Dustour: "Under The Supervision Of The JBF And In Cooperation With The American Embassy, Launch Of First Summer Camps With The Participation Of More Than 100 Male And Female Players" Al-Ghad: "Two Training Camps For Promising Basketball Players In Amman" Al-Arab Al-Yawm: "JBF Organizes Two Basketball Training Camps For Youth" AMMAN 00003729 002.2 OF 003 -- Coverage of an August 8 press conference hosted by Ambassador Hale and the Secretary General of the Jordan Basketball Federation appeared, with photos, on the sports pages of all papers published August 9. Articles consisted mainly of Ambassador Hale's remarks, as well as those of JBF's Secretary General and the two American coaches. Headlines read: Al-Rai: "Announcing The Jordanian-American Friendship Camp To Train Promising Basketball Youth; Hale Stresses The Importance Of Sports In Bringing People Together" Ad-Dustour: "The American Ambassador: We Are Happy With The Idea And Basketball Is A Common Language Between The Two Countries; Abu Atta Announces The Launch Of The Jordanian-American Friendship Camp" Al-Ghad: "The American Embassy Funds The Friendship Camp For Basketball Youth" Al-Arab Al-Yawm: "Opening Of The Jordanian-American Friendship Basketball Program; David Hale: Our Program Is Part Of The Sports Initiative For Peace" -- On August 18, Al-Ghad published an interview with coaches Kent Davison and Phyllis Dallas. Featuring two photos, the article focused on the coaches' remarks about their backgrounds and about their experiences with the young Jordanian players. The article also quoted R/PPR adviser Seema Matin, one of three evaluators visiting Amman the day of the interview. Ms. Matin's comments centered on the scope and purpose of the Youth Enrichment Program overall. The headline read: "On The Sidelines Of Camp Friendship 2007, American Coaches: Basketball Is A Goodwill Ambassador To Jordan" -- PA issued a press release on August 21 summarizing the activities of the basketball camp. Extensive excerpts from the press release were featured in the sports pages of all papers published August 22-23. All reports appeared with photos from the basketball camp. Headlines read: Al-Rai: "Conclusion Of Jordanian-American 'Camp Friendship' To Train Promising Basketball Players" Ad-Dustour: "Conclusion Of Jordanian-American Camp Friendship For Basketball Training; Conducted With Support From The American Embassy In Amman And Participation Of 200 Youth" Al-Ghad: "Friendship Camp for Basketball Training Supported by the American Embassy Concludes" Al-Arab Al-Yawm: "Conclusion Of Jordanian-American 'Camp Friendship' For Basketball Jordan Times: "Two-Week Training Camp Reaches More Than 200 Jordanian Boys And Girls" IMPACT ¶7. Camp Friendship supported MSP goals of expanding mutual understanding and combating extremism through people-to-people contact and outreach. It demonstrated Embassy Amman's ongoing commitment to reaching younger and more diverse audiences throughout the country and engaging them in activities that promote self-worth, tolerance, and understanding. The American coaches and Peace Corps Volunteers who led Camp Friendship did an excellent job demonstrating the best of American values to children who would not otherwise have the opportunity to participate in a program providing such depth and breadth. Because of their five-day, ongoing exposure to the coaches and teachers, camp participants developed strong attachments. Several students offered to discuss their experiences in Camp Friendship; below are a few of their reactions: "This camp, it's so beautiful and fun." - Otoum "It was very great and I'm happy to experience this. And I want to thank the coaches."-Moqattash "Yes, it's very amazing, I'm very excited because I'm going to the camping. I love English and USA and learn English and make new friend." -- Hamedan "The camp was very special experience. I learn a lot of things, that I never learn. And I make new friends and new coach. Finally, nice to meet American people." -- Anonymous ¶8. Cost-share: Camp Friendship's total cost was $44,550. PA Amman received funding from R totaling $30,582 and $10,000 through an interagency agreement (PASA) with USAID Jordan to cover round trip AMMAN 00003729 003.2 OF 003 air transportation, lodging, per diem, honorarium and travel allowance for four American coaches. These funds also covered stipends for Jordanian coaches ($30 per day),lunch and water for camp participants, coaches, and bus drivers, transportation via rented minibuses for camp participants and Jordanian coaches, and two t-shirts per camp participant. PA Amman contributed $940 of its own program funds to cover lodging and per diem for Peace Corps Volunteers. The Jordan Basketball Federation contributed $3,028, which was used to purchase polo shirts for coaches, print certificates, and to produce notepads and pens with the Camp Friendship logo to give away to camp participants. ¶9. PA Amman strongly endorses the Youth Enrichment Program and would welcome the opportunity to host similar programs in the future. The four American coaches selected for this program were a perfect fit. Although it was their first time to visit the Middle East, they felt at ease immediately and made the Jordanian camp participants feel as though they were a part of something special. PA Amman would like to thank R, ECA, Peace Corps, and USAID for their support of this program. Photos of Camp Friendship may be found at http://amman.usembassy.gov. HALE