“We are very grateful to the AWE program for giving us a platform to improve our business strategy and becoming a successful brand” – Tracy Sena Yeboah, AWE Alum Ghana 2019

Tracy Sena Yeboah has a passion for the health and fitness of women, which led her to establish TNYOU FITNESS in Ghana. By participating in AWE in 2019, this certified nutrition and fitness trainer, has made TNYOU FITNESS the go-to place for fitness and healthy living. Prior to her AWE training, TNYOU had a client base of 60 women and after introducing the ideas learned throughout the AWE training, her clients more than doubled to over 200 ladies. Tracy’s vision is to see each household in Ghana, and beyond, develop a culture of healthy eating and fitness.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, Tracy proactively started online workout sessions for her clients, which includes fellow AWE alumni. The fitness provider has also introduced online discussion sessions for women to help build mental wellness in addition to the physical exercises implemented during her workouts.

Tracy has recorded a virtual fitness session for everyone to get moving and stay motivated!

About the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE)

To augment the existing slate of projects focused on women and economic empowerment, the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) established the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) in 2019. AWE provides women entrepreneurs with the skills, resources, and networks needed to start and scale successful businesses. AWE was developed to support the White House-led Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative, which is designed to empower women worldwide to fulfill their economic potential, creating conditions for increased stability, security, and prosperity for all.

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This stone effigy was repatriated to Haiti through an international effort. (U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince/Kisley Jeannot)

After the greatest single-source recovery of stolen artifacts in 2014, the FBI’s Art Crime Team was faced with the challenge of identifying and returning the 7,000 cultural objects to their countries of origin.

Roughly half of the objects were of Native American origin and the other half came from around the world, according to Supervisory Special Agent Tim Carpenter, the Art Crime Team leader.

“The first step was to notify all members of the U.N. that we had this material and we needed their help in identifying it,” Carpenter explained. “But we knew that [the collection of objects going to] Haiti was the largest repatriation that we were going to do.”

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Various artifacts repatriated to Haiti (U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince/Kisley Jeannot)

With the help of the State Department’s Cultural Heritage Center, the Smithsonian Institution, the U.S. Embassy in Haiti and other cultural heritage experts, a team of 100 FBI agents identified over 470 artifacts that originated from Haiti.

Most of these objects were antiquities, hailing from the Taíno culture. The Taíno people were indigenous to the Caribbean before Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492 and by the mid–16th century had all but disappeared.

The Taíno objects are made of stone and natural materials, and collectively weigh about 2,300 kilograms. The Art Crime Team was careful to abide by museum standards when wrapping and processing the objects, since many of them were centuries old.

Finally, almost six years after the case began, the artifacts were returned to their home country on February 14. They are now in the care of the Haitian National Bureau of Ethnology.

The Art Crime Team continues to identify the remaining artifacts from the 2014 seizure. The Haitian antiquities would have taken even longer to return, had it not been for the behind-the-scenes coordination among organizations, says Carpenter.

“This was a team effort and it took everyone to get this job done,” Carpenter said. But the work was worth it, “because the objects do have meaning to people.”

About the Cultural Antiquities Task Force

The FBI Art Crime Team is a member of the Cultural Antiquities Task Force (CATF). Created by the State Department in 2004 at the direction of Congress, the CATF comprises federal agencies that share a common mission to combat antiquities trafficking in the United States and abroad. Since its creation, the CATF has supported more than 95 domestic and international cultural property training programs. CATF is managed by the State Department’s Cultural Heritage Center.

This week, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ (ECA) Sports Diplomacy Division will launch the Get Fit virtual campaign. In the spirit of innovation and creating outreach opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Division will host weekly, virtual sessions on fitness and foreign policy priorities with Sports Diplomacy exchange program alumni and partners around the globe.

Beginning Wednesday, April 22, U.S. Sports Envoys, which include members of Team USA Olympic and Paralympic teams, will participate in 30-minute Facebook Live sessions featuring at-home fitness demos and live Q&A. Attendees will hear from distinguished American athletes on the role of sports in building community and cultural understanding between people around the world.

The Get Fit virtual campaign directly supports U.S. foreign policy goals and utilizes sport as a powerful tool to advance key policy priorities such as economic prosperity, entrepreneurship, disability rights and inclusion, and women’s empowerment. Participation in sports also teaches key leadership and teamwork skills that help people succeed in all areas of their lives.

The inaugural session with Paralympic Gold Medalist and U.S. Sports Envoy, Deja Young will go live on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. EDT.

URL: https://www.facebook.com/SportsDiplomacyDivision/

Topic: Deja will speak about her most recent trip to Nigeria as a U.S. Sports Envoy and the role of sport in promoting inclusion on the 30^th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Get Fit Series Schedule:

o April 29-Tony Sanneh, American Soccer Player

o May 6- Dr. Jen Welter, American Football Coach

o May 13- Dr. Jill Ellis, American Soccer Coach

o Lorrie Fair, American Soccer Player

o Cobi Jones, American Soccer Player

o Marcelo Balboa, American Soccer Player

*Please check social media accounts below for schedule updates.

Follow the virtual campaign on Twitter #sportsdiplomacy, #exchangeourworld, and #healthyathome. For press inquiries in the United States, contact ECA-Press@state.gov. To learn more about State Department Sports Diplomacy, follow the program on Twitter @SportsDiplomacy and Facebook @sportsdiplomacydivision.

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Training participants engaged with cultural heritage experts and experienced investigators of art crime on a wide range of issues. These included combatting cultural property trafficking, identifying and handling objects with care, the art market, and 21^st Century art crime.

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This program, in partnership with HSI and Smithsonian, has now trained over 360 law enforcement personnel since 2009. Collectively, members of the CATF have successfully repatriated more than 20,000 pieces of cultural property to more than 45 countries since 2004.
 

About the Cultural Antiquities Task Force

Created by the State Department in 2004 at the direction of Congress, the CATF comprises federal agencies that share a common mission to combat antiquities trafficking in the United States and abroad. Since its creation, the CATF has supported more than 95 domestic and international cultural property training programs. CATF is managed by the State Department’s Cultural Heritage Center.

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From February 18-March 3, the international delegates spent time in California and Florida with U.S. coaches and professionals participating in events and workshops to learn about sports programming for marginalized communities and promoting disability rights and inclusiveness in sports throughout Belgium.

At the conclusion of the two-week program, the delegates presented action plans to implement when they return home. They were most enthusiastic about creating and enhancing opportunities to promote sports as a means for social inclusion among youth with disabilities via various initiatives including e-learning, youth tournaments, and a youth police league.

Sports Diplomacy is an integral part of U.S. foreign policy efforts to build relations between the United States and other nations. It exposes international participants to American culture while providing them with an opportunity to establish links with U.S. sports professionals and peers. In turn, Americans learn about foreign cultures and the challenges citizens from other countries face today. The program also shows young people how success in athletics can translate into achievements in the classroom and life.

Since 2003, ECA has hosted over 2,000 international youth athletes, coaches, and administrators on Sports Visitor programs.

To learn more about ECA’s Sports Diplomacy Division, follow them on Twitter @SportsDiplomacy.