About the Program
Athletes’ Voices provides elite athletes with the tools needed to leverage their high-influence platforms to make an impact around issues of importance globally, nationally, locally, and personally, ensuring that their voices aren’t just heard in the moment, but are the catalyst or spark for a movement.
Increasingly, professional athletes are asked to comment publicly on a myriad of social, civic, and political topics. Through omnipresent social media, 24-hour news, and increased connections between diverse audiences, people with high visibility can make a meaningful contribution to matters of global significance with just a few keystrokes. Athletes are uniquely influential as potential change-makers on a broad spectrum of global issues.
“I’m not here because I’m the Warriors’ coach — actually I am, because I wouldn’t have been invited if I wasn’t the Warriors coach,” Kerr said. “But I’m here because I’m a citizen of this country, and we’re a democracy. When people say ‘stick to sports,’ ‘stick to coaching,’ whatever — that means nothing. We all have a voice.”
— Steve Kerr, Head Coach - Golden State Warriors; NBA Legend
The Educational Certificate will be offered exclusively to current and retired elite professional and Olympic athletes providing qualified, selected influencers with a deep understanding of the most pressing current issues by developing practical knowledge to enhance their ability to leverage their platforms and strengthen visibility and funding strategies for causes aligned with their philanthropic passions. The full-circle program is augmented by networking opportunities in structured and unstructured sessions, formal mentoring relationships, and 10 months of intern support to fuel transformation.
The content sessions and interactive workshops will provide participants with background information on timely issues in advance of national and local elections and global current events with practical strategies on integrating individual passions with relevant policy issues. Attendees will receive personalized playbooks, a platform for external communications, and personnel to support their work. Presentations and discussions will be led by a blend of scholars, authors, researchers, activists, business leaders, philanthropists, academics and high-profile athletes with proven track records for impacting and influencing participation in public discourse.
Regardless of political affiliation, degree of experience as a changemaker, areas of personal interest, or long-term goals for social influence, this practical, hands-on course will provide participants with tools to amplify impact and inspire change.
Athletes’ Voices features webinar content originally co-curated by founding partners at the Weatherhead Initiative on Global History (WIGH) and the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard University in partnership with Oliver+Rose and the Doug Williams Center for the Study of Race and Politics in Sports at Grambling State University through an exploration of athlete engagement, in collaboration with some of the greatest academic and business leaders in the world to create an environment for exchange between the sports community, high impact philanthropy and business influencers, the University and the public.