The FIBA Foundation’s Youth Leadership Program is a global Basketball for Good initiative giving youths the skills and opportunities to create a brighter future for themselves and their communities.  The Youth Leaders are supported to create their own community impact project, growing the Basketball for Good family worldwide.

The 13 Youth Leaders from 13 different countries were selected by their respective National Federations to participate in the program in San Juan. The Seminar was hosted by the YMCA of San Juan in line with the activation of the global partnership with YMCA.

Mabel Román Padró, CEO of the YMCA of San Juan, highlighted the value of this collaboration: “The YMCA San Juan team is honored to have hosted and supported our friends from FIBA Foundation for this year’s Youth Leadership of the Americas workshop. Supporting the development of youth-led community impact initiatives is part of our shared mission , which highlights both sports and social responsibility.”

 Ahead of the workshop, the participants attended two virtual sessions to get introduced to the Youth Leadership program in detail. The first two workshop days were dedicated to project development and planning, led by David Hollander, author of the book “How basketball can change the world”, and Gabriela Matus, design and social impact expert.

To bridge FIBA Foundation’s two pillars – Basketball For Good and Cultural Heritage – the Youth Leaders were given the task to research and create storytelling about the history of some of the most iconic and important places of basketball history in San Juan.  During a cultural city tour, they presented their results and were given the opportunity to speak with different people, including the President of the National Basketball Federation of Puerto Rico, Yum Ramos.

As a part of their practical training, the Youth Leaders got to facilitate a basketball clinic for children with disabilities and from disadvantaged backgrounds, hosted at the YMCA. They also went on to visit the Boys and Girls Club of Puerto Rico, a local community project which provides a safe space, daily meals, and holistic education to children from single-parent households.

The Youth Leaders further applied their practical skills by supporting the operations of the FIBA 3x3 AmeriCup in San Juan, where they took on different volunteer roles and responsibilities. As a special highlight, the Youth Leaders received their official certificates during an on-court ceremony from Carol Callan, FIBA Americas Honorary President, and Carlos Alves, FIBA Executive Director Americas.

Adán Escobar from El Salvador looked back at his experience at the Youth Leadership Seminar in San Juan: “I’m really proud to be part of the FIBA Foundation Youth Leadership program. We got to develop valuable skills and frameworks to impact our communities through basketball. I am very grateful that I got to connect and learn with amazing mentors and fellow leaders.”

The Youth Leaders are now equipped and responsible for further developing the Basketball For Good Movement within their respective communities. Continuous support will be provided through virtual mentoring sessions in 2024 and the global network of FIBA Foundation Youth Leaders.

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The FIBA Foundation is the social and legacy arm of FIBA that addresses the role of sports and particularly basketball in society, preserving and promoting basketball’s values and its cultural heritage.

The FIBA Foundation believes that basketball has the power to empower, educate and inspire youth and facilitates this by implementing Basketball For Good projects around the world.