Day 54, July 9 - The ITTF’s Record of Awards and Humanitarian Projects, Part II 

“The ITTF will continue in this area long into the future, irrespective of winning awards.”

Yesterday the Countdown reviewed various honors and awards won by the ITTF for humanitarian programs and projects.  

Today ITTF Deputy CEO Glenn Tepper further explains the ITTF’s motivations in this area.  He synthesizes the concepts related to using table tennis as vehicle to instill positive social values.  And he explains why he expects these projects to continue after the transition takes place, on September 1, between ITTF Presidents Adham Sharara and Thomas Weikert. 

Congratulations on the honors and awards the ITTF has received for its humanitarian projects.  Can you elaborate on the nature of the ITTF’s commitment to using table tennis as an instrument of peace, both now and into the future?

The ITTF has become increasingly active in social projects for several reasons.

1. It is in the “ITTF DNA.”  Read Ping Pong Diplomacy. Read United Korean Team at the 1991 World Championships.  Read ITTF first sport to recognize post-apartheid South Africa, etc. 
2. For different reasons both Adham and I have a strong commitment to this -- Adham due to his links with Ping Pong Diplomacy and myself having worked in a school for disadvantaged children and seeing the power of sport to transform lives. All staff and officials have taken this area to heart and contribute where possible, and in particular, Leandro, who is now the main driver of this area, having started with the ITTF in late 2007.
3. It is our responsibility as an International Federation to be actively involved in this area, something we do with pleasure and passion.

Winning awards was never our goal. Many International Federations promote themselves much better doing much less.

Adham has now challenged us to take on the 5^th P, PROMOTION, of the 5P plan, so our projects are becoming more widely known and we have managed to collect several awards along the way.

It gives some satisfaction to be recognized by organizations involved in this area, but you can be sure that the ITTF will continue in this area long into the future, irrespective of winning awards.

There can be no clearer indication with the fact that DTTB [the German TTA] and Thomas Weikert personally, our soon-to-be ITTF President, have been supporting the Development Program every year since 2006, including our award winning “Ping Pong Paix” project.

The chart below summarizes the ITTF’s humanitarian projects.  A fuller description of each of the 21 projects follows. 

ITTF Humanitarian Projects

Project Name: Ishraq (Safe Places for Girls to Learn and Grow) Location: Beni-Suef, El-Minya, El-Fayou (Egypt) Implementation Date: 2003

Target: Girls and women from rural Egypt

United Nations – Millennium Development Goals Related: Promote Gender equality and empower women Partners: Population Council, Save the Children and Egypt Table Tennis Federation

Mission: Ishraq focuses on the development of new leadership skills and freedom of expression and movement, essential ingredients for empowerment. The objectives of the programme are to transform the ways in which girls perceive themselves and the way their communities view them using sport and to implement programmes which include sport, literacy, numeracy, financial skills, legal literacy, health awareness and community services.

Project Overview: Ishraq is a community-based programme which challenges traditional concepts of gender- appropriate behaviour. In an experimental intervention, girls and women in rural Egypt are afforded a safe space to meet and participate in sport and education.

ISHRAQ recreational sports program is designed to ensure that participating girls:

-       Have fun in a safe and activity-based environment;
-       Enhance feelings of self-worth and self-confidence;
-       Acquire skills in a wide range of recreational activities;
-       Learn information and attitudes to help them live safer lives;
-       Maintain mental and physical health; and
-       Develop lasting friendship

Video: http://youtu.be/1p8Nucl2shY

Project Name: Breaking Down Barriers with Table Tennis Balls in Afghanistan  Location: Kabul, Afghanistan Implementation Date: 2004

Target: Different ethnic groups and women

United Nations – Millennium Development Goals Related: Promote Gender equality and empower women Partners: IOC-Afghanistan and NOC-Butterfly

Mission:

-  Using table tennis to heal the wounds of war, different ethnic groups as well as men and women combined in this unique project.
-  Rebuild the structure of the Table Tennis National Association

Project Overview:

During the Taliban regime some sport practices and mainly gender mixing were banned.

The International Table Tennis Federation was the first International Sports Federation to return to Afghanistan post-war in a project in conjunction with IOC.

Implementation:

A huge equipment package was sent through a donation from the Japanese company Butterfly, the current ITTF Marketing Director (Oceania Development Officer on that time) Steve Dainton visited the country for 3 weeks and assisted the rebuilding of the National Federation. He delivered also a coaching course for participants from all over the country, provided an intensive training camp for the national team and ensured that the women could participate in all activities (most of them for the very first time)

Video: http://youtu.be/q2o6FYx4K6Q

Project Name: Tsunami Rebuilding  Location: Ranong and Phuket, THAILAND – SRI LANKA – Mogadishu, Somalia – INDONESIA - MALDIVES Implementation Date: 2005

Target: Local table tennis community and children

United Nations – Millennium Development Goals Related: Reduce child mortality

Partners: Financial donations: IOC, ITTF Continental Associations of Africa, Europe, Asia and  Oceania,  National Associations of Germany, Norway, New Caledonia and Hungary, Federation of International Table Tennis Manufacturers, Butterfly, Champion, Juic, Der and Camplain Table Tennis Clubs

In-kind donations: Butterfly – Double Happiness - Stag – Newgy – Juic -- and the Madeira Table Tennis Association

Project Overview: Right after the devastating Tsunami that affected several countries in December 2004, the ITTF opened a bank account for donations and sent a call to the table tennis community worldwide to support the “Tsunami Rebuilding” program.  The reaction was immediately and highly generous, around US$ 200,000 in equipment and US$ 70,000 in cash were raised.

A major aim was to devise programmes that would have a long term effect: in Sri Lanka and the Maldives two table tennis training centres were set up; Thailand, Indonesia and Somalia received courses for the affected areas which included Coach Education, Training Camps, Schools Programmes and help for the affected areas. 

Distribution:

The International Table Tennis Federation contacted all the affected countries in order that the support could be distributed as effectively as possible; the result was that five areas in particular were targeted: Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Maldives, Thailand and Somalia.

The table tennis movement within those 5 countries was highly supported with equipment, courses and development programs in the most affected regions. 

Project Name: ITTF Mine Risk Education Location: Sarajevo and Central Bosnia, BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA Implementation Date: 2006

Target: Children from land-mined areas

United Nations – Millennium Development Goals Related: Reduce child mortality Partners: Bosnia-Herzegovina Table Tennis Association

Project Overview: One of the consequences of the conflict in this region during the 90s is the huge presence of landmines. The programme used the table tennis activities as an excuse to attract children to play and during the classes, there were coordinated sessions on education of mine risk. Anyway they were afterwards able to continue playing. The project began in December 2006 with the aim of assisting twenty-two table tennis clubs. The first part of the programme was directed at co-operating with the Bosnia and Herzegovina Table Tennis Association in order to assess the requirements of the clubs, acquire equipment donations and schedule a timetable of visits for the period from January to March 2007.

In an attempt to achieve the stated goals, all clubs received equipment donations and mine risk messages were widely distributed; the posters included photographs of Almir Divovic, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Senior Champion 2005-2006 and Srdan Milicevic, the player who won the Tripartite tournament in 2004 to compete in the Athens Olympic Games.

As a result of this program, instruction in `Mine Risk Education’ has been possible with the children attending the courses being able to see the danger of trying to retrace their footsteps by using fluorescent cones to depict mines. 

Project Name: Mbale Tigers Location: Mbale, Uganda Implementation Date: 2005

Target: Children from impoverished areas

United Nations – Millenium Development Goals Related: Reduce Child mortality and combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

Partners: Mbale Tigers, TWIGA and SIDA (Swedish International Development Agency)

Project Overview: Mbale Tigers is a table tennis club in Uganda that combines sport and education for children. The project started in 2005 conducting training courses at targeted pilot schools such as Mbale Secondary School, Nabumali High School, Buchunya Women’s Farmer Association, Northroad Primary School, Bududa  Secondary School, and Bulucheke Development Association. It features locally made tables, together with equipment purchased through the ITTF Goodwill Fund. 

The aim is to use both table tennis and education for gaining the psycho-social development for youths in Mbale.

1. Target more children 6-18 years rural Uganda in primary and secondary schools and their communities.
2. Distribute more Table Tennis equipment
3. Train more local Table Tennis coaches, umpires players and administrators
4. Improve  the  psycho-social  development  of  the  children  affected  by  HIV/AIDS  pandemic  using  ABC+++ Strategy.
5. Increase income from fruit growing project through vineyards
6. Implement an award system for best girl and best boy players for the seasons, on an annual basis to include school fees, scholastic materials, welfare and sports promotional activities for tournaments and championships at local, national, and international level.

The project plan includes:

• Daily training conducted by a coach trained by the ITTF
• Arranging/Participation in tournaments
• Education within HIV/AIDS-prevention, leadership, children rights, organisation-knowledge and gender equity.
• Distribution of Table Tennis Equipment

The project is funded by SIDA (Swedish International Development Agency) via Forum Syd, which was started by the Swedish NGO Twiga and the ITTF joined them afterwards providing equipment and financial support. 

Project Name: Table Tennis in Underprivileged Schools  Location: Chosica, PERU

Implementation Date: 2006

Target: Children from underprivileged schools in countryside of Peru

United Nations – Millennium Development Goals Related: Reduce Child mortality and combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

Partners: Chosica town council

Mission:  Provide sport opportunities to children from underprivileged neighborhoods.

- To assist in their nutrition with healthy food served regularly
- Outspreading and Popularization of Table Tennis teaching and practice, with Talents Selection.

Project Overview: A local coach was trained by the ITTF, table tennis equipment was provided to schools from underprivileged neighborhoods. The coach delivers weekly classes to the children from schools together with a ration of food and milk. During weekends there are extra sessions in the morning, which starts with a breakfast. Periodically a talent identification program is implemented for those advanced. 

Project Name: Generations for Peace  Location: Amman, Jordan Implementation Date: 2007

Target: Communities in conflict from Africa and the Middle East

United Nations – Millennium Development Goals Related: Develop a global partnership for development Partners: Generations for Peace (known as Peace through Sport in 2007)

Mission:  -  To  support  the  program  Generations  for  Peace  (former  Peace  through  Sport)  providing  technical knowledge

-  To execute social table tennis programs through the GfP network 

Project Overview: Generations for Peace

Generations for Peace brings together leaders of youth from divided communities and trains them how to use sport to unite children and youth. As important, they are trained how to cascade the learning back home – training other trainers and planning and implementing sporting programmes with children.

The Generations for Peace curriculum uses a series of workshops, interactive seminars, presentations, debates, dialogue, role-play and sporting sessions and includes topics such as:  leadership, teamwork, building dialogue, tolerance and respect, anger management, conflict transformation, peace education, working with children & youth, self-confidence, sport, religion and politics.

Generations for Peace and ITTF

ITTF took part in the first pilot camp in Amman in October 2007, delivering a table tennis course within their schedule.  A representative was also sent in 2008.

ITTF implementation

In 2009 a coaching course was organized in Amman with the cooperation of the National Federation, a stress was done on the social affairs. A representative of GfP was invited to address their objectives and a training camp was held in a refugee camp.

The ITTF donated equipment and a TT center was opened in a refugee camp in the suburbs.

The training center is still functioning and sport opportunities are offered to refugees. GfP implemented multiple projects through their “pioneers” and table tennis is also used among other sports.

Videos: http://youtu.be/NQnmNzlnd_w  http://youtu.be/8XyBrr1P2BE  http://youtu.be/JNwISEVT4Nk

Project Name: Breaking Down Barriers with Table Tennis Balls in Iraq  Location: Sulaimanya, Iraq

Implementation Date: 2007 Target: Local junior players

Partners: Iraq Table Tennis Federation

Mission: Over the last two decades, the sport structures in Iraq have been severely affected because of the conflicts. The aim of this program is to reestablish table tennis development within the youth and underprivileged children through the National Federation.

Project Overview: An ITTF expert delivered a training camp for children and later on, also a coaching course including social topics on the agenda. They had the mission afterwards to coach children in risky situations.  One of the venues is the Child Care Organization Centre. 

Project Name: ITTF-UNHCR Sport for the Refugees  Location: Kharaz Refugees Camp in Yemen Implementation Date: 2008

Target: Camp refugees

United Nations – Millenium Development Goals Related: Develop a global partnership for development Partners: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Project Overview: According to the UNHCR statistics, refugees stay in the refugee camps for between 10 and 20 years, in many cases without the right to get out of the camp, or work or have access to sport or recreational activities. The sport in refugee camps gives them the chance to experience some physical activity and to build a relationship among them in a different context, the recreational context, in this case.

The ITTF expert delivered a coaching course, training camp and a tournament.

The sessions were divided by ages, where the aim with the children was to teach the basic techniques and let them have fun; with the adults, the aim was to motivate them to follow up and become coaches. A special emphasis was to promote the inclusion of women and girls to take part in the activities.

Video: http://youtu.be/Nrf6P0wKlZE 

Project Name: Solomon Islands Road to Recovery  Location: Honiara, Solomon Islands Implementation Date: 2008

Target: Communities in conflict affected by the civil war Partners: Foundation Global Sports Development

Project Overview: Life has been very tough for people in the Solomon Islands. A civil war caused by ethnic tension has left the two main ethnic peoples of the Solomons (Quadalcanal and Milatian) very untrusting of each other. Most of the fighting happened in the capital city of Honiara.

Unemployment is high, the average weekly wage is around $ 150 Solomon (Euro 15). People walk everywhere because they can’t afford the bus.  Recent earthquakes and the Tsunami caused massive amounts of damage.

People have very limited money for sporting equipment and it is very hard for the National Federation to carry out any activities as nearly all equipment was stolen/damaged during the civil war. Rebuilding the community spirit and community participation in sport through Table Tennis is the aim.

The Solomon Islands Table Tennis Federation used this opportunity to re-establish table tennis in the Solomons after the recent civil war. It ran three months of open night’s play and outdoor tables were installed into schools in the Honiara area, culminating in a school competition between the six recipient schools.

Project Name: “Ping Pong Paz” in Colombia (2009-present) 

The NGO “Colombianitos” is the local partner, they assist more than 4,000 children in 7 venues of Colombia, most of them living in underprivileged neighbourhoods and belonging to displaced families. They had to move from the countryside to slums to escape from the risks of the guerrillas, paramilitary and drug gangs. Local coaches have been trained and hired to lead table tennis classes twice a week to the children at three venues. In December 2009 the ITTF World Junior Championships were played in Cartagena, Colombia. 25 children from Colombianitos were invited to watch and participate in activities with National Team players and a former World Champion. The aims were to motivate them to practice sport, have fun and meet some role models. And just one month after the launching of the program, they had the chance to watch the best players of the world in their age. Miss Colombia also attended and interacted with the children. For many of them it was the first time to take a flight and also to see the beach. 

http://youtu.be/WlyBfdSgCRs 

Project Name: Haiti Recovery  Location: Haiti Implementation Date:2010

Target: National Table Tennis Association, School Children.

United Nations – Millennium Development Goals Related: Develop a global partnership for development Partners: Olympic Solidarity, FIT, Haiti NOC, Haiti Table Tennis Federation.

Mission: To reestablish and expand the table tennis activities within the Island after the earthquake with a stress on promotion in the schools.

Project Overview: An ITTF expert visited the country in 2010 to deliver a coaching course and to prepare the field for a next longer visit of another expert, who stayed for 3 months to assist the National Association to develop a schools program and organize the national federation. Donations from the TT community of US$ 250,000 were collected and delivered.

Several courses were delivered with the aim to build a sustainable organization. The French elite player Christophe Legout joined the project, acting as a role model and visiting some schools. 

Project Name: “Ping Pong Ba Dame” in East Timor (2010-present) One of the main problems in East Timor is the violence among neighbourhoods as a result of past conflicts. It includes gangs of youngsters using martial arts.  ITTF and P&S together with local NGOs and the table tennis national association delivered a coaching course and instructed also about social matters. 15 coaches from the National Federation and 12 from the partner NGOs attended. Then the program was launched with inauguration ceremonies with 6 NGOs bringing in a World Champion as a role model. Afterwards a training camp was organised with all children together, playing but also with games to promote the integration. One of the NGOs gathers people with a disability. The children receive currently table tennis classes twice a week by a local coach funded by the program.

http://youtu.be/XggWYFL4JLc

Project Name: Peace and Sport Cup  Location: Doha, Qatar Implementation Date: 2011

Target: Public in General, diplomats.

United Nations – Millennium Development Goals Related: Develop a global partnership for development Partners: Peace and Sport, Aspire Academy, Qatar NOC, Qatar Table Tennis Federation and Korean Air Mission: To celebrate the 40th anniversary of “Ping Pong Diplomacy” spreading again a message of peace

Project Overview: Countries divided by ideological and political difference; some still rife, some now less noticeable with the passage of time, stood side by side in the Aspire Academy in Doha on Tuesday 22nd November 2011. Ten teams participated in the first ever “Peace and Sport Cup”

Each country provided one male and one female player in a Men’s and Women’s Doubles competition.  The participating countries were the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea, the People's Republic of China, Japan, India, Pakistan, Russia, the United States of America, France and the host, Qatar.

The event brought a culmination of a two-day programme to a successful conclusion; the first day featured a visit to a local school and a dinner in the evening at the Ritz Carlton Hotel.

His Excellency Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulraman Al-Thani, the Secretary General of the Qatar National Olympic Committee, Wilfried Lemke, the Special Advisor to the United Nations, the Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace, Joël Bouzou, the President and Founder of Peace and Sport and Adham Sharara, the President of the International Table Tennis Federation, were all present alongside star names of the sport.

Peace and Sport, "L’Organisation pour la Paix par le Sport” is a neutral international organisation based in the Principality of Monaco under the High Patronage of H.R.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco. The stated aim is to use sport as a vehicle for promoting peace in areas of the world that have suffered from conflict or extreme poverty.

In Doha table tennis was very much taking the lead in fulfilling those goals, very much in a similar fashion to 40 years earlier when the United States Table Tennis Team had accepted an invitation from China and a thaw in relations between the United States of America and China began. Four decades later, in Doha, Ping Pong Diplomacy was re- enacted and Butterfly played a part.

Much attention centered around the fact that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Republic of Korea joined forces; they did and they were delighted to partner their names and there was an overall unifying factor.

Video: http://youtu.be/_ItfNpC4cO8

Project Name: International Paralympic Committee Youth Workshop  Location: San Salvador, El Salvador

Implementation Date: 2011

Target: Young athletes, leaders and coaches from Central America Paralympic Committees.

United Nations – Millennium Development Goals Related: Develop a global partnership for development

Partners: International Paralympic Committee (organiser), El Salvador Sport´s Institute, El Salvador Table Tennis Federation.

General Mission:

-     To provide an integral education on sport with the aim of development in the targeted region, Central America.
-     To promote the Paralympic Values ITTF Mission:
-     To support the IPC in this initiative
-     To educate coaches on Para Table Tennis
-     To deliver a training camp for the specific group of table tennis players
-     To provide the opportunity to try table tennis for those people that had never played before
-     To motivate the regional integration among the different delegations 

Project Overview:

This workshop was an event organized by the IPC Development Department.  It is the first time it was held, so it was considered a pilot program with the aim to replicate it in different regions in the near future. The activities were planned according the audience, with specific workshops for administrators and leaders, camps for athletes and education for coaches.

Project Name: “Ping Pong Paix” in Burundi and Congo DR (2011-present)Gihanga and Gitega in Burundi and Luvungi and Bwegera in Congo DR are impoverished villages with tribal conflicts between them and a high risk of children being recruited as soldiers.

An ITTF expert conducted a Coaching Course in December 2011 where people from the Burundi National Federation and the coordinators of NGOs in each of the 4 villages attended.

The following week Ping Pong Paix was launched in the villages, a former World Champion, Peter Karlsson, attended as a role model and played with the children.  On the last day, there was a symbolic training camp bringing the kids from the 4 villages together. Afterwards the coaches from the NGOs continue to deliver weekly table tennis classes with a strong message of peace and tolerance.

In 2012, one boy and one girl from each village were invited to attend the ITTF World Championships held in Germany. They took part of structured sport and cultural activities with local people and also met Table Tennis superstars. Their message was to be a symbol of peace for the people attending but also for those living on their villages.

This project received the “Making the Difference” Award from Sport Business and the “Spirit of Sport” award from SportAccord.

Burundi : http://youtu.be/I7CjqG4S8b8

Germany: http://youtu.be/sDNCm69p_II

Project Name: Nittaku Dream Building in El Salvador (2012) El Salvador is a developing country located in Central America with 6 million inhabitants. They suffered a 12 years’ civil war between a military dictatorship and guerrillas. In addition, economic problems and unemployment resulted in a massive migration, mainly to the USA, estimated to be 3 million alone from that country. Some of the social impacts are family disintegration, children without proper supervision and proliferation of gangs (locally called “Maras”). The Maras are one of the main problems in El Salvador.

Implementation Procedures: A General Coordinator (GC) was hired full time to supervise the program.

Every week the trained coaches deliver at least two table tennis classes per participant.

Every month the coaches work on a different topic or value with the group (e.g., respect, empathy and tolerance), a list of topics is already distributed. This education is done through chats, games, stories, inviting experts, etc. The GC visits each venue at least once a month.

There is yearly festival including a competition and social interaction among all centers.

http://youtu.be/_cjvmzeAiOM

Project Name: Women´s Development Program

Phase Implementation Plan of the Women’s Development Program :

1. Awareness (2003-2005)
2. Education (2005-2007)
3. Action and Participation (2007-Present) 

The general aim of the Women’s Development Program is to increase the number of players, coaches, officials and also female leaders on the world, continental, national and grassroots levels. In order to achieve that, the Women’s Development Program, which was formally established in 2003, when also the ITTF Women’s Working Group was created, has identified the following objectives as its core mission:

-  To regard gender equity and equality as one of the principle objects of the ITTF in all areas of involvement and fields of interest: competitions, development, education, and marketing, not excluding social and humanitarian projects that are set up and run by the Federation.

-  To provide equal opportunities, training and knowledge to girls and women to reach their leadership potential.

-  To educate and train women for leadership positions in general, not only within the ITTF, but also within their continental/national associations and other micro-environments and finally also to equip them with the necessary knowledge so that they can play an active role in sport as athletes, coaches and/or officials.

-  Particular attention is given to the integration of girls and women in Para Table Tennis.

Project Name: Para Table Tennis - Currently the PTT Division has 3,371 men and 993 women registered as playing the sport at an international level. Of course, this is never enough, so development is an integral part of the work of the ITTF.  For a number of years, the approach to Para development has been integrated.

Paralympic Games 2008: http://youtu.be/QbMeuMQALj4

 As the aim is not to replicate what the ITTF does within PTT, the coaches’ education is not an exception. The ITTF experts delivering courses worldwide are gradually getting updated in TT for disabled, and then including that topic in all courses they run. 

Project Name: ITTF Dream Building

The Corporate Social Responsibility Program has been named “ITTF Dream Building” and was launched in 2012 during the Annual General Meeting.

There is special website, in order to promote its vision while providing a message of different aims than the purely technical sport issues.

www.ittfdream.com

The ITTF Dream Building is the umbrella of 3 different, but linked, programs

1. Para Table Tennis (Nothing can stop the dream): providing equal opportunities and integration to people with a disability in all levels.
2. Global Junior Program (Providing the dream pathway): targeting the youth with emphasis on those from developing countries.
3. The Development Program (Creating the opportunities to dream): with programs in every continent, the philosophy is to “teach people to fish instead of giving them fish.”