Empowering Women and Girls Through Sports

As part of its global Empowering Women and Girls Through Sports Initiative, the U.S. Department of State announced today that 10 female volleyball coaches from Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and Yemen will travel to the United States to participate in a Sports Visitors program, where they will share their experiences as female athletes and coaches as well as learn about sports opportunities for women in the U.S.

From December 5-16, the delegation from the Gulf States will engage with their American counterparts in Washington, D.C., Louisville, KY, and Knoxville, TN. In addition, they will participate in discussions on Title IX, sports psychology, nutrition, and participate in teambuilding and leadership activities. They will also participate in events with the Special Olympics and the 2012 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championships.

This global initiative aims to increase the number of women and girls who participate in sports and builds on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s vision of “smart power,” which embraces the full range of diplomatic tools—in this case sports—to empower women and girls and foster greater understanding. Click here to learn more on the Empowering Women and Girls Through Sports Initiative.

This Sports Visitors program comes on the heels of a week-long trip by three-time Olympian and World Cup Champion Lorrie Fair, who traveled as a Sports Envoy to Kabul, Afghanistan. Click here to learn more about Fair’s trip. In addition, it follows the flagship component of the initiative, the U.S. Department of State and espnW Global Sports Mentoring Program, which pairs emerging women leaders in all aspects of sports with leading American women in a sports-related field for a month-long mentorship. For more information, click here.