WPDI and the Luol Deng Foundation Join Forces to Promote Sports Diplomacy and Peace in South Sudan

October 5, 2023 – This summer, WPDI and the Luol Deng Foundation (LDF) entered into a partnership in Juba, South Sudan, to jointly support the Sports Diplomacy and Peace project in the framework of the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) program. The aim is to create a space for young people to improve not only their sporting skills but also emotional intelligence, life skills and capacity for social cohesion.

Under this project, WPDI Youth Peacemakers will be running training sessions for 50 young basketballers aged 14 – 24 until the end of the year. The 3-hour sessions for LDF participants will be conducted twice a week at the University of Juba, with a focus on understanding the concept of peace, conflict resolution, negotiation, mediation, emotional intelligence, trauma healing, identity, gender, gender-based violence, human rights and digital and physical safety and security, among other topics. Participants have so far been giving very positive feedback. “I am very happy to have been selected as a trainee in the Sports Diplomacy and Peace Training conducted by WPDI and Luol Deng Foundation. The first sessions I attended were so interesting and have given me confidence and strength to resolve conflicts. I am hopeful that by the end of the course, I’ll have the necessary skills and knowledge to provide psychosocial support and mediation skills to my friends and family members,” said Akon Kur Majok, a 19-year-old female participant.

Dagu David, WPDI’s South Sudan country manager, commended the Luol Deng Foundation for its commitment to sports as a vehicle for civic values and social cohesion and described our collaboration with them as “a stepping stone for more collaborations and coordination in advancing the youth agenda in South Sudan.” Arek Ajou Deng, the Chief Executive Officer at the Luol Deng Foundation, said: “This is absolutely an amazing partnership between WPDI and the Luol Deng Foundation following our meeting earlier this year and the recent meeting between Mr. Forest Whitaker and Mr. Luol Deng in Juba. We have been exploring ways to work together as a team and I am glad that we have this good beginning as part of our collective efforts to empower the youth of South Sudan.”