Tell us about your big idea!
At PeacePlayers, we use the power of sport — particularly the game of basketball — and collective action to work towards more peaceful and thriving communities in some of the most disinvested and divided communities in the U.S. and globally. Our program model is centered on networks of connection, bridging divides, belonging and consistent engagement, and safe and enabling environments for young people to explore leadership through a sporting lens and put it to practice in their communities. Our global community of youth in Northern Ireland, South Africa, the Middle East, and the United States is using the power of sport to work towards a shared future with youth voice and youth leadership at the center.
How did you come to this work — what led you to realize the need for PeacePlayers?
I consider myself a lifelong athlete in mind, body, and on any team or cause that I am a part of. I am also an immigrant young person who witnessed firsthand the transformational power of sport in my life. I am a formerly undocumented young person with dreams and aspirations yet barred from participating or actualizing those dreams. This experience ignited in me a desire to build my life’s work at the intersection of social impact, business, and partnerships, investing in youth and community potential both here in the U.S. and globally.
The neighborhood is arguably the most important unit by which we organize our society. It determines how safe we are, the life outcomes of our young people, and the resources accessible to realize their potential. However, in spite of the boundless human potential in our neighborhoods, especially communities of color, young people are growing up in fragmented communities where weak family structures, few role models, and limited social networks exacerbate the inequities they face. Apathy and a sense of powerlessness in invoking change is common amongst young people who are most affected by deep inequities.
Big IdeaI strongly believe in our country’s potential to live up to the promise of democracy and fairness. I believe our greatest strength lies in our human potential and the lived experiences of young people on the fringes of American society and our embodiment of American values of hard work, empathy, and freedom.Sally Nnamani
Can you share some examples of how you’re bringing the power of sport into communities that need it the most?
Our year-round programs in neighborhoods like Roseland on the Southside of Chicago and Brownsville in Brooklyn use sport as a framework to explore conflict resolution and leadership education, connecting youth to new experiences and opportunities to help them work together to form solutions to pressing issues facing their communities.
As an additional response to inequity, PeacePlayers U.S. also provides young people with skills, opportunities, and resources to help them succeed in their professional and personal adult lives. As a result, youth build long-standing healthy relationships and develop the confidence to become leaders on and off the court, advocating for themselves and their communities, bridging divides, and creating structural change. PeacePlayers employs a long-term leadership pipeline model which engages children as young as nine years old and provides a constructive framework to guide their development into early adulthood when they have the options to become coaches, pursue tertiary education, and serve as leaders within PeacePlayers and in their communities. PeacePlayers United States reaches 2000+ participants annually and collaborates with a network of local partners and leaders to ensure that programming is tailored to the unique needs of the communities we serve.
What are your goals for the future of PeacePlayers?
I’m an idealist — a practical one — and I strongly believe in our country’s potential to live up to the promise of democracy and fairness. I believe our greatest strength lies in our human potential and the lived experiences of young people on the fringes of American society and our embodiment of the American values of hard work, empathy, and freedom. PeacePlayers reaches young people who are navigating structural barriers to realize their future and our work seeks to break down these barriers — to make dreams reachable and leadership aspiration possible through sport.
The views and opinions of the author are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Aspen Institute.