It's not too many people who have the opportunity to meet with and address the Dalai Lama – particularly recent college grads. But that's exactly what Mike Evans '05 did in November when the Dalai Lama visited the Playing for Peace program in Belfast, Ireland, where Mike is program director. Mike is quick to credit his Hamilton education for giving him the skills and confidence to pull off his talk with one of the spiritual leaders of the world.
Playing for Peace (PfP) is a non-profit organization that uses the game of basketball to unite and educate children and their communities in South Africa and Northern Ireland. PfP effectively blends together proven theories of social modeling, conflict resolution and public diplomacy to operate basketball and life-skills programs in historically divided regions that bring together thousands of children from different religious, racial and cultural backgrounds.
Evans, who majored in communication studies and played varsity basketball for four years at Hamilton, joined the PfP staff in Belfast in August. He explained, "This is PfP's fourth year in Northern Ireland, but it is our first year in Belfast. Our program has been successful in the towns of Dungannon and Derry for the past years," he said, "and as the Belfast program director I am responsible for starting a similar program from scratch in East Belfast -- the location of intense segregation and violence among Catholics and Protestants. We use basketball as a cross-community tool all over the world."
Because the Dalai Lama was visiting Belfast, PfP asked Evans and PfP
managing director Kris Cates-Bristol to speak to him. "Kris informed
His Holiness on our other programs in South Africa and the Middle East,
and I told him about our recent success here in Northern Ireland and
about our recent bringing together of two schools here in Belfast: one
from the Falls Road (all Catholic/Nationalist) and one from the
Shankhill Road (all Protestant/Loyalist)," Evans said. "He responded
mostly with smiles, and asked if we'd thought of doing the program in
other parts of the world."
Evans notes that his academic
career at Hamilton "definitely gave me the confidence to do such a
thing." He said that the Communications Studies courses that he took
with Professor John Adams were very beneficial, including speechwriting
and rhetoric. "Professor Adams' guidance over the years gave me the
confidence to speak concisely and effectively," said Evans.
"As
far as negotiating with Catholics and Protestants every day, and facing
the challenge of convincing parents from both sides to let their kids
play basketball together, courses at Hamilton such as Interpersonal
Communication with John Adams and Anthropology with Professor Bonnie
Urciuoli as well as the guidance from Professor Katherine Phelan and
Douglas Raybeck in my final year were invaluable to me," Evans noted.
During
the 2004-05 basketball season, Evans set a Hamilton record with nine
three-pointers and finished with a career-high 29 points in the
Continentals' 90-81 win against visiting Rensselaer in the final
Liberty League regular season game at Scott Field House on Feb. 19.
Evans
credits former men's basketball coach Tom Murphy with helping him
develop the skills to teach and play basketball in Europe. "Coach
Murphy is an expert on the game, and I was extremely fortunate to be
able to spend three years under his teaching. I am nowhere as a teacher
or player without him," Evans said.
According to its Web site,
Playing for Peace was founded in 2001 on the premise that "children who
play together can learn to live together." The programs attract
children to participate in basketball and life-skills activities that
enable them to learn leadership skills and how to live as friends and
neighbors. A key component to Playing for Peace's effectiveness is that
the programs target children aged 10-14. These are the children old
enough to pick up the basics of the sport, but young enough wherein
many prejudices have not yet been cemented. Through the power of sport
and education and the strategic integration of public diplomacy,
Playing for Peace is altering the pattern of preconceived prejudice and
equipping children with the skills and education needed to address the
serious social and health issues they face.
Some facts about Playing for Peace, Northern Ireland
•
Over the last two years the organization has coached 12,000 10-14 year
old Catholic and Protestant children in integrated settings
• Paired together sixth and seventh grade classes from 100 Catholic and Protestant schools in weekly mixed basketball sessions
• Trained 15 local young adults from both communities to be coaches and youth mentors
• Held 8 tournaments involving more thanr 1,750 participants
Readers interested in making a donation to Playing for Peace may contact Mike Evans via e-mail at mevans@playingforpeace.org.
