PeacePlayers Middle East

PeacePlayers Middle East (PP-ME) is a non-profit organization that uses the game of basketball to bridge divides, change perceptions and develop leaders among Arab and Jewish children and youth. Since its inception in 2005, PP-ME has worked with nearly 10,000 participants. The organization’s overarching goal is to develop mutual trust and cross-community cooperation between Arab and Jewish young people and their communities, cultivating grassroots and wider community support for a just and lasting peace. By offering long-term, equitable athletic programming, peace education, leadership and professional training, PP-ME challenges the status quo of hatred and fear that grips Arab and Jewish societies. Instead, it renders cross-community cooperation desirable, while giving participants practical skills to deal with conflict and grow into ambassadors for peace in their communities. PP-ME provides a framework for positive interaction between Arab and Jewish children and youth and offers them the rare opportunity to interact in a constructive way. In its programming, PP-ME predominantly engages young people from disadvantaged communities, providing a constructive framework to guide their development. Thanks to the mass appeal of sports, which transcends national, ethnic, gender and socio-economic boundaries, PP-ME can engage communities that are less likely to participate in cross-community peacebuilding activities. Programming also emphasizes the participation of girls and young women, who comprise more than 65% of participants, helping them grow to become confident and assertive athletes and leaders, as well as ambassadors of peace in their communities.