Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs

Sports Visitors from the Dominican Republic and Venezuela

Organized to coincide with the World Baseball Classics, ECA had a Sports Visitor program for baseball and softball youth coaches from March 1 to 11, 2013.
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Sports Diplomacy Softball Envoys: A Hit in Nicaragua

Under the Department’s Empowering Women and Girls through Sports Initiative, Olympians Jessica Mendoza and Ruby Rojas went to Nicaragua as sports envoys in February of 2013.
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Basketball Youth Visitors: Indonesia in Action

From March 17 to 29, ECA led an action-packed basketball program with 12 Indonesian teenage basketball players—six boys and six girls—and two coaches.
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Sports Diplomacy and Senegal: Empowering Women and Girls through Basketball

The Empowering Women and Girls through Sports Initiative’s 2013 calendar tipped off with the Senegal Sports Visitor basketball program.
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State Department Sports Program Helps Young People with Disabilities in China

Professionals from Mobility International USA, through a Sports Grant traveled to China to help young people with disabilities there become more involved in sports and to increase their self-confidence and involvement in the larger community.
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Iraqi Taekwondo Program

Working with the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, the U.S. State Department organized a dynamic taekwondo sports program.
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Tajikistan Women's Taekwondo Coaches Delegation

Working with the embassy in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, the U.S. State Department office recruited 12 female taekwondo coaches for a program in the U.S.
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Celebrating International Women’s Day Through Soccer

Working with U.S. Embassy in San José, the State Department developed a Sports Envoy program to reach out to Costa Rican women and youth—girls in particular—through the game of soccer.
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Soccer in Santiago: Empowering Women and Girls through Sports in Chile

From March 31 to April 7, former U.S. Women’s National Team Soccer Players Linda Hamilton and Kate Sobrero-Markgraf headed up a female-focused sports envoy program in Chile.
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American Swimmers Travel to Russia

The State Department had two concurrent bilateral sports exchange programs with Russia in the summer of 2012.
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Tunisian Swimmers Visit the U.S.

Partnering with USA Swimming, the U.S. State Department brought 13 athletes—12 youth and one coach—to the U.S. for a swimming-focused program.
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Track and Field Athletes from the Caribbean Visit the U.S.

In partnership with USA Track and Field and the Oregon Track Club, the U.S Department of State organized a dynamic track and field program to empower women and girls.
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Track & Field Athletes from Kenya and Nigeria Participate in Sports Diplomacy

A group of Kenyan and Nigerian athletes participated in a fast-paced track and field exchange.
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Bumping Up Efforts to Empower Women and Girls Worldwide: Gulf Nations Volleyball Coaches

Under the State Department’s Empowering Women and Girls through Sports Initiative, the Gulf Nations Volleyball Visitor Program brought 10 female volleyball coaches from Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and Yemen to the U.S. for activities focused on the development of sports programs for women and girls.
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Russian Volleyball Players Visit the U.S.

The first sports visitor program brought Russian volleyball players and coaches to Southern California for a beach volleyball.
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Ice Skating Success Story with Sports Envoy Evan Lysacek

Olympic gold medalist figure skater Evan Lysacek traveled to Sweden and Belarus as a Sports Envoy.
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Snowboarders from Kyrgyzstan Visit the U.S.

The U.S. Department of State office brought twelve snowboarders from Kyrgyzstan to participate in the first-ever Snowboarding Sports Visitor program.
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