American Harlem Globetrotters basketball team to popularize “T.E.A.M. Up at School” program in Uzbekistan

The American basketball team Harlem Globetrotters will visit Uzbekistan from April 29 to May 4 to popularize basketball and prevent bullying among schoolchildren, the press service of the Ministry of Public Education (MPE) said.

Members of the Harlem Globetrotters Fatimah Lister and Julius McClarkin will hold a series of master classes at schools in Uzbekistan as part of the “T.E.A.M. Up at School” program, developed by the National Bullying Prevention Campaign.

Opening ceremony of the program will be held on April 29 at the Tashkent school No.211. As part of the Uzbekistan tour, representatives of the Harlem Globetrotters will hold presentations on antibullying at nine schools in the city of Tashkent, Namangan, Andijan and Fergana regions. The project will cover about 60 schools across the country.

During the one and a half hour program, basketball players, through ball tricks and humor, will explain to pupils and teachers how to resist harassment. Following the master classes, participants will receive certificates from the Harlem Globetrotters team. 

Within the framework of the project, Professor Lori Wolfe from the USA will hold a series of seminars for teachers and school psychologists of the attending schools on methods of positive psychology.

The visit of Harlem Globetrotters is a part of the initiative of the US Embassy and the MPE in the field of sports diplomacy and opposition to bullying.

The “T.E.A.M Up at School” program provides pupils with tools to counteract bulling. Abbreviation T.E.A.M. stands for “talk”, “empathize”, “ask” and “mobilize”.

“If you learn to work together and resolve disagreements with words, not violence, the school can become a place where every child feels safe and respected,” adviser to the US Ambassador Debbie Robinson said in her welcoming speech.

“Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the United States. We also intend to develop basketball in Uzbekistan, since this sport allows us to improve teamwork skills,” the Minister of Public Education Sherzod Shermatov noted. - In the USA, programs to reduce crime through involvement of children in basketball have also been successfully implemented. I think, this experience will be useful to us”.

The Minister stressed that this project also contributes to implementation of the second of the five initiatives of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev on the organization of social and spiritual education.

Harlem Globetrotters basketball team, created in the 1920s, demonstrates virtuoso basketball with acrobatic performances. Performances of the Harlem Globetrotters are annually attended by 1.5 million people. Together with its founder, Abe Sapersten, the group is included in the Basketball Hall of Fame.