2022 Annual Report

10 years

LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR

Dear Friends,

We hope this year filled you with joy, hope and gratitude! For us, 2022 delivered positive emotions at every turn, despite facing inevitable growth challenges along the way. In the end, we have so much to celebrate and thanks to many of you, we're giving lots of highfives for 10 years of impact at the University of Tennessee Center for Sport, Peace & Society!

As you'll read throughout the pages of our 2022 Annual Report, we're celebrating the superheroes we call partners, alumni, mentors and teamies, and we're doing so by shining a spotlight on four areas of impact: Storytelling, Educating, Grant-Making, and Creating/Sustaining Partnerships.

Our commitment and belief in the power of storytelling, coupled with an amazing and eclectic team of writers, illustrators, and journalists, brought our long-time dream for a multi-modal project aimed at educating and inspiring diverse audiences to life

Highlights include: (a) our very first book titled, Strong Women. Better World: Title IX's Global Effect; (b) a global research and storytelling project that will live on the U.S. Department of State Global Sports Mentoring Program website; and (c) two new Podcasts one focused on the state of women's sports around the world and the other on the history of Title IX at UT as told by an inter-generational mix of UT athletes, administrators and coaches all in celebration of 50 years of Title IX and 10 years of the CSPS.

Next up, we reflect on 10 years of educating and empowering learners of all stripes from UT undergraduate

and graduate students to sports leaders in more than 90 countries working on a continuum of grassroots efforts to government policies

Additionally, we laud the sporty change-makers and recipients of our grant-making initiatives funded by the U.S. Department of State Sports Diplomacy Division. Since 2012, we have distributed over $1.2 million to 119 alumni in 54 countries and measured the ROI with diligence. You’ll love reading about their impact!

Lastly, we finish with our favorite mantra: Social change is a team sport! We are blessed beyond words to have the privilege of working alongside dedicated, brilliant, mission-aligned partners in our work to use the power of sport, education, and social innovation to create a more equitable, inclusive, and peaceful world!

I hope you enjoy this special 10-year celebration edition of our 2022 Annual Report! We invite you to celebrate with us the joy our work brings to so many people, the hope we have for a better world because of our collective efforts, and the gratitude we feel toward each and every one of you!

Here’s to the next decade of changing the world together, one high five at a time!

Much gratitude and lots of high fives,

Sarah J. Hillyer, PhD Founder and Director Center for Sport, Peace, and Society University of Tennessee

Pictured: Racha Kalot from Lebanon 2014 CSPS Alumna

2022 HIGHLIGHTS

100,000+ PEOPLE IMPACTED

The CSPS team and alumni impacted 100,000 people in 2022; that's more than 500,000 women, girls, persons with disabilities, refugees, and people from marginalized communities worldwide whose lives we’ve touched since our 2012 founding

Published Strong Women Better World: Title IX's Global Effect, a 126-page book full of inspiring stories of women fighting for gender equity around the globe

Advocated for the resettlement of the Afghani female basketball players and coaches who fled persecution after the Taliban gained control of the government in 2021

Distributed $375,000 to 75 alumni through funding from the U.S. Department of State. This is the largest total amount of seed grants distributed in any calendar year, to date.

Returned to inperson programming by bringing 40 CSPS alumnae to the U.S. to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title IX and hosted the first in-person GSMP since 2019.

Creating more stable, equal, and inclusive communities in

SOCIAL CHANGE IS A TEAM SPORT

Uniquely-situated at a Research I institution, the CSPS is a social enterprise committed to creating a more peaceful, equitable, and inclusive world through sportbased innovation and education.

To build a global team of partners working to provide innovative sportbased and educational solutions to solve some of the world's most pressing social challenges.

We offer global leaders the tools needed to make a positive difference in their communities from grassroots levels to governance and help spark social progress, locally and abroad, through leadership programs, international outreach, storytelling projects, and scholarly research, all in pursuit of global solidarity

Through our unique, intersectional pedagogy and multidisciplinary approach, we leverage the lessons inherent in sport, education, and entrepreneurship to produce scholarly outputs, share stories of progress, and empower international changemakers in more than 100 countries.

The primary beneficiaries of our work are women and girls, persons with disabilities, youth, refugees, marginalized populations, practitioners, advocates, and students.

To create a more peaceful, equitable, and inclusive world through sport and education.

Although our director has worked in the field of Sport for Development and Peace for nearly 30 years, the CSPS was officially founded in 2012. Soon after, we were awarded the inaugural Global Sports Mentoring Program (GSMP) cooperative agreement through the U S Department of State Since then, we’ve been awarded nearly $14 million to promote gender equality and disability rights on a global scale.

A people-first approach that values the dignity of every human being through intentionality, flexibility, humility, honesty, and selfless service to others.

PAVING A NEW PATH

Carla Bustamante (Mexico) launched her professional journalism career in high school, which has resulted in a long list of firsts: first woman sportscaster for Telemax, first female announcer for the Naranjeros de Hermosillo Baseball Club, and first woman to work in an executive position for Naranjeros.

Carla's strength and resilience to overcome gender inequalities is celebrated in the CSPS's newest book, Strong Women. Better World: Title IX's Global Effect.

The CSPS invests in a range of high-quality media to document the amazing opportunities we receive to work with local and international athletes, teams, coaches, and communities. As a result, we have created a robust library of videos, podcasts, photos, and written pieces highlighting the stories of our alumni and changemakers all over the world. Below are just a few examples of our storytelling efforts.

PODCASTS DOCUMENTARIES

IX at 50: The Lady Vols

Experience is an oral history that celebrates the work of legendary UT Coach Pat Summitt and the UT Women’s Athletics family in working towards greater equality for women and girls.

The Strong Women. Better World. Podcast is a globetrotting storytelling project about fearless women who are using the power of sport, education, and social innovation to create a better world.

Pat: A Legacy of Love is the story of one game, one basketball, one gift, and one girl. But it’s also your story. And my story. And the story of thousands of young girls and women who aspired to be like the greatest coach of all time. It's the story of a legacy. And ultimately, a story that inspires an entire generation.

FEATURE STORIES & PHOTO LIBRARY

Keep updated with our latest media by following us on social media, subscribing to our YouTube channel, and checking out the Flickr account our team manages for the Global Sports Mentoring Program.

EQUIPPING THE NEXT GENERATION

Ketevan (Keti) is the founder and executive director of the first and only adaptive dance and performing arts company in her home country of Georgia. She also serves as the President of the Georgian National Wheelchair Dance Federation.

Since 2020, Keti has participated in five CSPS educational programs including virtual and in-person courses Keti plans to leverage her new skills and knowledge to create more opportunities for people with disabilities in Georgia to realize their full potential

The CSPS launched in 2012 with the purpose of equipping global sports leaders to address social, political, and cultural issues and make a positive social impact. The idea behind the Center was to create a space where students, faculty, and U.S. based-professionals could engage in international diplomacy, gender equality, and social inclusion through sport. To date, we have directly trained more than 8,000 individuals in 101 countries through our Better World curriculum.

INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES

In 10 years, we have facilitated 24 international exchanges as well as worked with young people from 34 countries in our youth development programs.

These programs include: service-learning workshops, sport for social change training sessions, evaluation best practices, sport skill clinics, and social innovation workshops

STUDENT INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

Through our student internship program, teaching responsibilities, and on-campus work, we have engaged 650 university students and 50 faculty in more than 5,000 hours of international outreach, research, and engagement

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Since 2012, the CSPS has been the sole implementing partner for the U.S. Department of State Global Sports Mentoring Program We have implemented 12 in-person programs and trained 223 delegates from 89 countries.

VIRTUAL PROGRAMS

From 2020- 22, we organized and delivered 26 virtual workshops tailored to the professional development needs of the CSPS alumni community. This is in addition to the hundreds of invited workshops, keynote addresses, & invited virtual panels we have given in our 10-year history

In June 2022, forty CSPS alumnae from 33 countries participated in a Women's Entrepreneurship Bootcamp at Babson College as part of a twoweek professional development program celebrating the 50th anniversary of Title IX. The program culminated in an anniversary luncheon and reception.

EMPOWERING A NATION

Grace Kiraguri is the founding director of Icon Sports Marketing Corporation, one of the few female-led sports marketing organizations in Kenya Grace and four other CSPS alumnae in Kenya (Barbara Kokonya, Cynthia Coredo, Maqulate Onyango, and Veronica Osogo) have been awarded seed funding to start a country-wide mentorship and sport for development organization focusing on leveraging the power of play to help marginalized young women build their leadership, advocacy, and entrepreneurial skills

Since 2012, the CSPS has awarded over $1.2 million dollars in small, seed grants to help alumni launch and implement their action plans: sport-based, socially innovative business plans designed to empower women and girls, people with disabilities, or other marginalized groups. Funds have been distributed to 119 alumni from 54 countries.

Alumni engaged 173,268 individuals through grant activities.

Alumni used grant funds to start news NGOs, businesses, and academies

And reached over 390,000 indirect beneficiaries with grant funds.

From 2020-22, the CSPS distributed

in COVID relief funds to alumni who were working to mitigate the spread of the virus and its impact on communities.

In 2022, seventy-five alumni from 35 countries were awarded small grants, totaling $375,000 in grant funds. This is the largest total amount of seed grants distributed in a calendar year, to date. $210,000 was awarded in collaborative grants (two or more CSPS alumni applying together) and $165,000 was awarded in individual grants.

Over the last 10 years the CSPS team has created and sustained partnerships with over 100 U.S.based organizations and government agencies to empower women, girls, and people with disabilities world wide.

In 2022, the CSPS team worked with 47 long-standing partners and created new partnerships with organizations such as the NFL, Green Bay Packers, Babson College, Draftkings, and e.t.c Coaching Consultants.

GROWING THE GAME

Through a new CSPS partnership with the NFL and Green Bay Packers, Fouzia Madhouni (2022 CSPS alumna) experienced the power of community engagement and learned strategies for league growth It's the power of partnerships that will help Fouzia as she grows the game of American football for women in Morocco

In 2021, we received international recognition for our Global Disability Rights Advocacy Project (2020), an interactive global policy map, toolkit, and instructional video series aimed to equip advocates to promote more inclusive laws, policies, and adaptive sports.

At the 2018 ESPN Sports Humanitarian Awards, the collaboration between the CSPS, U.S. Department of State, and espnW the Global Sports Mentoring Program (GSMP): Empowering Women and Girls through Sports was named a Stuart Scott ENSPIRE award winner for its global impact on gender equality and women’s empowerment

In March 2019, CSPS Director, Dr. Sarah Hillyer was named a UT President’s Award winner, the highest honor an employee can receive from the University.

At the 2018 Peace and Sport Awards in Rhodes, Greece, the CSPS and U S Department of State partnership GSMP: Sport for Community was named “Diplomatic Action of the Year” for its global impact on the expansion of disability rights and inclusion through sport

The CSPS and GSMP was highlighted as a featured panel at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival (“The Power of the GSMP,” 2018).

The GSMP was highlighted as the key initiative to address UN Global Goal #5: Gender Equality by the U S Department of State Global Partnerships Office (2017)

Named one of the top 50 Partnerships that Make a Difference by the University of Tennessee Office of Research and Engagement (2015).

Named one of the 10 Best Diplomatic Achievements in the World by the Public Diplomacy Council (2013).

Featured at the espnW Women + Sport Summit (2015-22).

ENTRUST

people to carry out their own vision for change

EXPOSE

people to new ideas, resources, and networks

The Theory of Empowerment for Social Change is the outgrowth of more than 30 years of experience in international sports programming and action-based, qualitative research. Through work with nearly 10,000 women, men, youth, and refugees from more than 90 countries, the CSPS developed a pedagogical philosophy of empowerment for social change. We apply this theory in a culturally-grounded manner where participants learn to view themselves as experts who are equipped to solve challenges in their local communities (Huffman, Hillyer, Malnati, Spellings, 2018)

ENGAGE

people in new experiences and exchanges

EQUIP

people to tackle issues in their communities

We say it often: "social change is a team sport." As we look back and reflect on our work and impact over the last 10 years, we know that none of this would have been possible without the passion, dedication, and support of our amazing team.

teamwork makes the dream work

MORGAN IRISHGEORGE RAINEY JOHNS

JONAH HILLYER

JARON JOHNS LACEY TOVES

DR L

ABEER ESSAWY

CARMEN"PIÑA POZORIOS CAROLE PONCHON

ANNA SPELMAN

Founder and Director

Dr. Sarah Hillyer

thank you to all our current and past teammates!

Assistant Director

Dr. Carolyn Spellings

sportandpeace.utk.edu @SportandPeaceUT facebook.com/thecenterforsportpeacesociety sportandpeaceut issuu.com/sportandpeaceut youtube.com/sportandpeaceut soundcloud.com/sport-and-peace-ut globalsportsmentoring.org @SportsEmpower facebook.com/GlobalSportsMentoringProgram youtube.com/globalsportsmentoringprogramorg flickr.com/photos/globalsportsmentoringprogram

Center for Sport, Peace, & Society | 1122 Volunteer Boulevard | 335 Claxton | Knoxville, TN 37996