OU to welcome annual Sports in Africa conference to campus
February 18, 2008
A conference at Ohio University this week will explore the dual roles of the media and sports in improving the quality of life in Africa.
“Sports in Africa: Communication and Media” will take place Friday and Saturday in Walter Hall and Grover Center at OU. The event’s keynote speaker will be Judy McPherson, former deputy director of UNICEF and founder, president and CEO of Play Soccer, a nonprofit organization that, according to a press release, aims to improve the health and welfare of disadvantaged children through sports.
McPherson’s keynote address will kick off the conference at 3 p.m. Friday in Walter Hall 135.
After McPherson’s talk, a roundtable discussion is scheduled. Titled “African Cup of Nations: Media Success or Sport Development Hold-up?” the talk is set for 6-8 p.m. in Grover Center W115.
On Saturday, a full day of panel discussions is scheduled on topics ranging from media and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa to African diaspora, gender and sport.
McPherson, whose Play Soccer organization operates in Cameroon, Ghana, Malawi, Senegal, South Africa and Zambia, believes sports can have a role in improving lives, according to the release.
“Sport for development activities is an ideal avenue for reaching development objectives,” McPherson said. “(Sports) appeal to all ages, cut across socio-economic barriers, can be low cost, (are) participatory, and are a means to catalyze a broad range of socio-economic and educational experiences to generate long-term community benefits.”
The conference, in its fifth year, is a part of Sports in Africa, an OU initiative that focuses on athletics as a vehicle for social, cultural, educational and health programming on the continent, according to the release.
This year’s event is hosted by the university’s Institute for the African Child and Center for Sports Administration. Sponsors include the College of Health and Human Services, Scripps College of Communication, African Studies program, Office of Multicultural Programs, African-American Studies, Kroger Athens, Ohio University Credit Union and Follett’s College Bookstore.
For details on conference programming, visit www.ohiou.edu/sportsafrica/communicationmedia/program.htm
Comments
Please log in to post a comment.
