GLOBAL SPORTS DIPLOMACY
Palms Solutions, the African Global Initiative, has consistently and effectively worked for the last six years to established itself through Global Sport Diplomacy(GSD), as a successful peace engine, to mend, strengthen and promote mutual cultural, religious and ethnic acceptance among African themselves. Moreover, GSD stretches among its constituents, the importance of working closely with city officials, local organizations, schools, immigration offices and police institutions, to ease their immersion process, and protect themselves and our host city from any extremist ideology infiltration within their midst. GSD is also used as a weapon of choice to engage, inform and help city government officials and organizations, to shape their perceptions in a way that is (more) conducive toward the African countries represented in the U.S.
GDS has two major programs including PACONP in the U.S and Africa Soccer for Peace and development, which would launched in August 2016, starting with the republic of Cameroon.
GSD’ strategy is to continue to use its events(mainly soccer tournaments) as a platform not only to engage in informal discussions including religion, ethnic conflict resolutions, and women and girls’ empowerment, but also to show that soccer, when acting as the catalyst, it has the power to bring different groups together, beyond their cultural boundaries.
GDS aim is to therefore advocate for the institutionalization of soccer as a soft power tool for conflict resolution, multicultural cohesiveness among communities. Such approach if supported can offer new venues to fight against the infiltration of extremism among our Muslim friends, and better protect our cities. GSD already played a crucial role in the Ebola campaign in Philadelphia, its events helped curbed minimize the threat of violent extremist actions inspired by organizations such as al-Qaida and now ISIS.
GDS is structured as a consortium composed of Imams, Pastors, city officials and community leaders. Our network which started with only four teams, has now 18 country teams registered, representing 22, 000 immigrants in Philadelphia alone, with the majority coming from Muslim countries.