Peace Players International

A staggering 1 in 10 of the world's children - more than 230 million - currently live in countries affected by armed conflicts. Government leaders forge agreements in attempts to make peace, yet these treaties often prove unsustainable because the root causes of conflict are left unaddressed. Based on the premise that “children who play together can learn to live together,” PeacePlayers International's mission is to unite, educate and inspire young people in divided communities through basketball. Since inception in 2001, PPI has impacted more than 69,000 youth and trained 1,764 coaches from 15 countries in a groundbreaking peacebuilding-and-leadership development curriculum. Through year-round sports activities, PPI is bringing together children from opposite sides of religious, ethnic and cultural divides to develop friendship and mutual respect. PPI has been recognized as a worldwide leader in the use of sport to build a more peaceful world and is the only organization to have received the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPYS (2007); the Laureus Sport for Good Award (2008); and the NGO for Peace of the Year Award from Peace and Sport (2011).