Tag Archives: brian cognato

by | October 29, 2012 · 7:12 pm

Investing in Peace

Today, PPI’s Technical Assistance Program Director, Brian Cognato, writes about a conference he attended recently on Corporate ‘Strategic’ Responsibility, hosted by Partners for Democratic Change and the Institute for Transatlantic Relationships. He shares what he learned and its implications for PeacePlayers International’s work below.

When companies like the Nets invest in PPI, are they also making communities a better place to do business?

Is it good business to invest in peace? Most often, when we think of corporations’ efforts to support social goals, we view them as “extra,” or complementary to their core business functions. They’re “corporate social responsibility,” “community relations,” or “giving back” – the implication always that supporting social development is not in the service of a company’s business goals directly but an external “responsibility” to others. But what if that’s not actually the case? What if an investment in social development could be every bit as important to a company from a bottom-line perspective as an investment in its infrastructure or its staff?

That’s the case that an impressive group of speakers made again and again at “Corporate Strategic Responsiblity: What’s Next for CSR?” a conference organized by Partners for Democratic Change and the Institute for Transatlantic Relations, together with the GE Foundation and the International Finance Corporation CommDev Office.  We picked it apart from several different angles and asked some challenging questions, but the core of the argument is this: A society with peace, good governance, an educated workforce and high standards of living is good for business. Take the time to invest properly and thoughtfully and a company can not only fulfill its “responsibility” to give back but actually create a much better business climate for itself – something that will ultimately benefit its bottom line.

In the video below, learn about PPI’s relationship with Sasol in South Africa, one company that sees the value of investing in programs like PPI.

The closing keynote speaker, Congressman Jim Marshall, President of the U.S. Institute of Peace, shared a shocking statistic with us: violence costs the world an 8.7% reduction in growth each year. By comparison, the global recession of 2009 cost the world one-half of 1% of growth. If we move the needle on violence, we make the world a more productive place, and that’s something that matters as much to corporations as it does to individuals.

We at PeacePlayers International couldn’t agree more. The costs of conflict are staggering, particularly civil conflict – prone as it is to stop, restart and collapse into gridlock. That’s why we work to repair and strengthen the fabric of communities, to engage in the long-term, restorative process that helps a community not only overcome conflict but also thrive in its post-conflict life and sustain the shocks that can lead to new violence. Just as a united team will play together and play to the best of its ability, a united society stands the best chance of fulfilling its potential – for its people, for the world, and yes, for its corporate citizens as well.

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by | September 3, 2012 · 5:39 pm

Gunnar Hagstrom (PPI-CY ’12) Joins PPI Global Headquarters

This September, PeacePlayers International is thrilled to welcome PPI-CY alum Gunnar Hagstrom to the staff at global headquarters in Washington, DC! Gunnar, who just completed two years as an International Fellow in Cyprus, comes to DC  as our new Organizational Learning Specialist. He will be working closely with Program Director Brian Cognato to build PPI’s emerging Technical Assistance Program. Previously, Gunnar worked as an Assistant Men’s Basketball coach for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). At MIT, Gunnar worked in all aspects of the program and helped lead MIT to its first two D3 NCAA Tournament Appearances. In 2007, Gunnar graduated from Clark University in Worcester, Mass. with a degree in Business. In 2008, he received his Master’s in Business Administration, also from Clark University. While at Clark, Gunnar was a four-year member of both the men’s basketball and men’s baseball teams. Read our chat with Gunnar below to learn more about the newest member of the global team!

Gunnar (top far left) at one of his first twinnings in Cyprus.

Can you tell us more about your new position?
I’m taking over the new role of Organizational Learning Specialist. I’ll have the opportunity to spend time with each of the local sites, learn about the programming, and learn best practice methods from each local site. We’ll use what we learn to further develop our Technical Assistance Program, as well as create a knowledge-sharing network that will enable any PPI-er from any site to access the best activities and information being performed in each respective site.
What are some of your best memories of your work with PPI overseas?
My best memories are the relationships I had the chance to develop while in Cyprus.  Sometimes in America we get caught up in the rat race, but in Cyprus I was able to see how much value Cypriots place on family and spending time with family. I was lucky enough that people took me into their homes in Cyprus and treated me as part of their family. I got to share in experiences, both happy and sad, as if I shared their same last name.
What insights will you bring from your past experiences with PPI to your new role?
The knowledge and experience you get from spending over two years at a local site can’t be duplicated.  The most important insight I’ll bring with me is that kids love to play and kids love to be given opportunities.  We don’t have to reinvent the wheel because at the very core of PPI is bringing kids from different backgrounds together to play basketball… and it works.
Do have any personal goals for your new position with PeacePlayers?
I’m really excited to get out and meet, develop relationships with, and play some hoops with all of the people in each PPI site.
What are you excited to explore in your new city?
I’ve spent some time outside of DC before, but I really want to get to the different Smithsonian museums… and also see if I can track down a Doug Overton Washington Bullets jersey!

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by | July 2, 2012 · 1:18 pm

PPI Visits the Worldwide Orphans Foundation in Ethiopia

The children of Worldwide Orphans.

This past week PeacePlayers Cyprus International Fellow Gunnar Hagstrom traveled to Ethiopia to visit the work of Worldwide Orphans Foundation (WWO), an organization that “transforms the lives of orphaned children and helps them to become healthy, independent, productive members of their communities and the world.”

Gunnar left from Cyprus and spent one week in the capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa.


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The purpose of Gunnar’s trip, conducted under the banner of PPI’s technical assistance program, was to help the foundation assess the possibility of expanding and enhancing their “Orphan Soccer League,” a youth soccer league for a number of orphanages and organizations in Ethiopia that work with vulnerable youth. As mentioned in our blog about Technical Assistance Program Director Brian Cognato’s trip to Latin American, members of the technical assistance program have traveled all over the world in the past few weeks, including trips to Buenos Aires, Argentina; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Sana’a, Yemen. Through the technical assistance program, PPI is working to use our institutional knowledge to support other communities and programs to improve their surroundings with sport.

Children from WWO playing at a local school. 

Gunnar worked in Addis Ababa for 7 days and spoke with staff members of WWO, WWO children, and the head of the sport commission in Ethiopia to find out what was in place already, what could be improved, what the communities served would value most, and how best to create that value.  In between meetings and discussions, Gunnar was able to work directly with the children, playing classic PPI games like “Sit Down Clown.”  The local staff and individuals that Gunnar met, including his ever-charismatic WWO guide Million, were very hospitable, hard-working and dedicated hosts.

According to Gunnar, “One of the best things about sports is that the kids develop a passion which becomes an opportunity to dream.” Helping some of the most underprivileged children in the world see that they have the ability to turn those dreams into reality is what the work of WWO is all about, and PPI is honored to have been able to play a small part in supporting WWO in pursuit of that goal.

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Aside

PPI Teams Up With the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation in Latin America

The young women of Virreyes Hockey with Ana Lia Santarelli and Martin Orti of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and PPI’s Technical Assistance Program Director Brian Cognato.

Today’s post comes from PPI’s Technical Assistance Program Director, Brian Cognato.

At one point last week, PPI’s technical assistance program had team members in Washington, DC; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Sana’a, Yemen. We’ll roll out updates from all of those places over time, but today we wanted to focus on the project in Argentina, a partnership with one of PPI’s most stalwart supports.

UASI’s young leaders prepare their players to start a day of hockey and football.

The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, PPI’s first institutional funder back in 2002, also supported PPI’s development of training capabilities. In 2012, for the first time, we’ll be able to use that capacity to directly support other organizations in Laureus’ global network. This year’s focus: Latin America.

I traveled to Buenos Aires to work with Laureus local staff in the city to meet several of the organizations we will be working with, tell them about our work and learn about their strengths and challenges. I was lucky enough while I was there to spend time with Virreyes Hockey, A Ganar Argentina and Union y Amistad de San Isidro. Jose Dascon of Club Atletico Platense also made the journey from his rural town of Laprida to meet with us in Buenos Aires, and we spoke at length with William Boudakian of Instituto Passe de Magica, a Brazilian organization.

The girls of Virreyes practice their hockey skills.

They’re a diverse group of organizations, using sports from football to basketball to field hockey to rugby, working in diverse communities. What they all share, though, is a commitment to using sports to create a safe space for young people who face tough odds to grow into confident, capable leaders. We’ll technically be the “trainers” for this project, sharing our unique curriculum (also developed in partnership with the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation), but we’re just as excited to learn from the deep experiences these groups have serving the young people in their communities.

The training is penciled in right now for September. Vuelvete a ver qué vamos a hacer siguiente!

Special thanks to the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation for making this program possible.

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by | June 20, 2012 · 7:12 pm
by | April 30, 2012 · 4:50 pm

PPI at the “Change the Game” Conference

Last week, our Technical Assistance Program Director, Brian Cognato, attended “Change the Game” in Boston,  a conference dedicated to exploring “Sport System (re)Design.”

At the heart of what PeacePlayers International does is a simple question: How can we use sport for something greater? What important outcomes can basketball help our youth achieve? I was lucky enough to attend a conference this past weekend that addressed that question head-on.

Three giants of sport-for-development in the U.S., Edgework Consulting, Up2Us and the Boston University Institute for Athletic Coach Education, recently came together to host “Change the Game,” a conference dedicated to exploring what they’ve called “Sport System (re)Design” – basically, tinkering with elements of organized sports as we know them so that they can contribute to specific youth-focused outcomes.

At the conference’s heart, too, there was a question: “How could we…?”

  • How could we make sure young soccer players get as many touches as possible in a game?
  • How could we make a version of lacrosse that men and women play together?
  • How could we decrease stoppages of play in volleyball?

We here at PeacePlayers International already do this in a sense, asking ourselves, “How could we use basketball to build relationships among young people in communities with histories of conflict?” To do that, we mostly play with structure (such as how we build our teams) with some help from our curriculum and an inclusive organizational culture. “Change the Game,” though, suggested we could consider adding a new tool to our toolkit: the game of basketball itself.

What if, for example, the players on our teams had practice-buddies they stayed with throughout the entirety of practice, giving them more time to build a deep bond? What if we awarded points during scrimmages for sportsmanlike play? What if we handed out an award every year for the player that invites the most teammates over for dinner?

“Change the Game” was the kind of conference that encouraged you to ask “what if” first and then go back to take a hard look at how you could practically implement it. Our programs in the field have developed what they do very carefully over many years and we don’t tinker with them lightly. I’m excited to share what I learned about the process behind Sport System (re)Design with our local teams, though, to see what new, innovative ideas they come up with to help us have an even greater impact.

Special thanks to the conference hosts – Up2US, Edgework Consulting and the Boston University Institute for Athletic Coach Education – and to all the attendees, who contributed so much to the event.

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by | April 23, 2012 · 4:34 pm

PeacePlayers International Holds Fellows Orientation in Washington, DC

Henry Louis (Cyprus), Kyler McClary (South Africa), Hannah Sloss (DC staff), Ashley Johnson (Cyprus) and Megan Lynch (Northern Ireland) embody the peacebuilding spirit of MLK in Washington, DC.

Since 2001, PeacePlayers International (PPI) has recruited more than 75 outstanding post-collegiate scholar athletes to serve two year terms with its programs. PPI Fellows provide basketball expertise, serve as mentors and role models, and act as neutral facilitators for PPI coaches and participants.

Last week, PPI reached an organizational first: we hosted all five newly-hired PPI Fellows for a three-day orientation in our Washington, DC office. In the past, Fellows went through the hiring process and boarded a flight directly to one of our program sites without the chance to interact with our DC staff and one another. As you might imagine, we were extra-excited to finally have the opportunity to host all the Fellows in one place before their departure to the field. This year, Henry Louis and Ashley Johnson will head to Cyprus, Kyler McClarly to South Africa, and Megan Lynch and Chris Schumerth to Northern Ireland.

Brian Cognato (standing) leads at session on characteristics of conflict while former Fellow Ellen Cosgrove (far left) and new Fellow Megan Lynch look on.

Day-One orientation activities included seminars led by PPI Technical Assistance Program Director Brian Cognato in “Understanding Peace & Conflict,” “Sport & Peace” and an introduction in PeacePlayers International’s methodologies and program sites. One of the more memorable activities was when the five Fellows, DC staff and visitors (which included Georgetown students studying peace education and former PPI Fellow Ellen Cosgrove) went through the Red Card/Blue Card model, which PPI was first introduced to by Mark Young at the Rational Games and Jacovos Christofides of the Cypriot Civil Society Strengthening Program. Both teams could have achieved the game’s objective of finishing with positive points; however, by adding a $55 incentive for the winning team, both teams chose mutually-assured destruction over cooperation. The activity certainly provided an interesting perspective on how conflict can develop.

PPI friend Jeremy Edwards of Sports Challenge also facilitated a workshop focused on self-awareness, empathy and personal leadership styles, providing the Fellows with some tools to effectively lead their kids, other staff and programs while abroad. The remainder of the orientation included an get-together with former Fellows at a Washington Nationals game, an Anatomy of Peace seminar and a DC sightseeing outing.

We wish Henry, Ashley, Kyler, Megan and Chris a safe journey to their respective sites this spring and summer. This is only the first of many stories you will hear from our new Fellows!

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by | April 16, 2012 · 2:32 pm

From The Sport & Peace Innovation Blog: What Is a Leader?

At PPI, we pride ourselves on our commitment to organizational learning. One of the tools we use to do this is an internal online network and resource library, curated by our Technical Assistance program, which includes a weekly blog on a topic we think could be relevant to our entire team. Today, we’re giving you a glance behind the curtain at one recent blog post from Brian Cognato, the Technical Assistance Program Director.

As part of our training program in Yemen this February, the project trainers, Andrew Gordon and Julie Younes, and I went back through as many old PPI materials as we could find looking for resources to borrow. One result of that process is our new Content Library, which is an attempt to organize and share all of those resources organization-wide.

Another result is that we stumbled onto quite a lot that could be fun to revisit here as a group. One such document was called “What Is a Leader?” We couldn’t find which PPI site used it first, or who introduced it to the organization, but we were able to find its original source – oddly enough, it was an article from 2004 in Remodeling Magazine, a trade magazine for American house developers and remodelers. Seriously. It’s a ten-point list of attributes for effective leadership. Take a look:

  • Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is learned just like other skills, but only if you invest the time and effort. Managing and leading are not the same thing. Being a good manager is not, on its own, a guarantee that someone will become a good leader.
  • Leaders must walk the talk. Leaders not only make the rules, they must follow those rules. This is harder than you think. Take sales, for example. Most business leaders are good salespeople, and good salespeople often break the rules. But you earn your team’s heightened respect when you make a deliberate effort to creatively accomplish your goals without violating or corrupting policies you put into place.
  • Leaders cultivate trust. Good leaders know that trust is not a right. It must be earned through honesty and consistency; by being proactive, not reactive, in looking out for everyone’s interest; and by keeping promises.
  • Leaders continually invest in their people. It takes time to see a proper return on the expense of recruiting, interviewing, and training personnel. A poor leader looks for short-term results and often stops spending on human resources if financial returns are slow to appear. A great leader continually invests, monitors, motivates, and trains, knowing that the returns will be there eventually.

  • Leaders set realistic expectations. An organization is healthier when its goals — for sales, production, client satisfaction, and so on — are attainable. Employees experience less stress and make better decisions in this type of environment.
  • Leaders set objective standards. They understand the value of performance goals that can be quantified, like sales, margin, and budgets. They know what their company’s numbers are and what they should be.
  • Leaders monitor progress. They establish systems to measure actual performance against stated goals, then check progress regularly. Regular monitoring enables leaders to make minor tweaks that keep the company’s plan on course.
  • Leaders have vision. Leaders know where their organization is headed, and they constantly communicate that vision to their team. If the vision is strong enough, a good leader can delegate its implementation without having to micromanage the details.
  • Leaders find good teachers. Like top athletes, leaders find coaches and mentors to help them and everyone on their team reach ever higher levels of performance. Good leaders look both within and outside their organizations for people to fill those roles.
  • Leaders take responsibility for poor performance. They understand that most underperforming employees are the product of a poor hiring decision or poor training. Most managers retain underperforming employees too long because they set unrealistic expectations and lack objective ways to evaluate performance. Good leaders understand that retaining an employee under these circumstances works against the employee’s interest as well as the company’s.

Looking at that list, a couple of things struck me. First, it’s amazing how many of them have to deal with knowing your own limitations - invest in your people, set objective standards, monitor progress, find good teachers, take responsibility for good performance – these are all things that imply that your own success is only under your control to an extent, and you will ultimately rely on others to perform.

Second, I was struck by how, even though they are clearly written from a business perspective, so many of them apply to leadership in what we do as well. If we’re program managesr, we need to take responsibility for our programs’ performance and recognize that the buck stops with us, so to speak. If we’re a coach, we need to constantly monitor our team’s development and the development of every player on that team. Leadership, it seems, might not be all that different in the design/remodeling and sport-for-development industries.

What do you think? Are there any characteristics here you disagree with? Is there anything that is personally important to you as a leader that isn’t here? Any resources to share?

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by | February 13, 2012 · 8:14 pm

From Intern to Staff Member, Ska was through it all

Brian, in the red, bringing the power of PPI to Tajikistan.

This is the first in a series of short interviews “Better know the peacebuilders at PeacePlayers.” As it is our first time conducting these short, more personal interviews, we started in our Washington, DC headquarters.  We plan on expanding to our program sites so that you can get to know our team!

I was able to sneak Brian Cognato, Technical Assistance Program Director, away from his busy Monday schedule to ask him a few questions about himself and his role within PPI.

Brian at a conference in Tajikistan

Oscar Norsworthy (O): What did you study in college and how did you apply what you learned in the classroom to your work at PPI?

Brian Cognato (B): I double majored in English and International Relations at the University of Maryland in College Park. My initial role here in the office was in fundraising, mostly grant writing, so it turns out that I was able to utilize both of those skill sets right away. The most important thing I learned in school was how you need to write for specific audiences, and that outweighs the need to write something “pretty.” It doesn’t matter if its “good” or “bad,” as long as the writing resonates with the audience your communicating with.

O: What did you before PPI and how did you hear about this project?

B: Actually, I interned with PPI the summer after my Junior year at Maryland, which then turned into an internship all of senior year, which then turned into a full time position when I graduated. So I’ve been here for just about my whole career so far. I first heard about PPI when Dave Cullen and Trevor Ringland won the Arthur Ashe Courage Award on ESPN.  I was taking a British history course in London at the time, and learning about The Troubles, so the need for an organization like PPI resonated with me.

O: What is your role within PPI?

B: I’m leading our new ”Technical Assistance Program,” which takes what we have learned in our sites and shares it with interested partners. Since its inception in July 2011 we have worked on projects in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Yemen, and Chicago. My biggest responsibility is ensuring that we lay the groundwork for sustainable change after a project ends.

Brian works with partners at Laureus Summit in London, UK.

O: What movie defined your childhood and what song defined your high school years?

B:  As for the movie, probably Rocky. Maybe Rocky 4. Growing up near Philadelphia, those movies were just in the air – I remember going to Phillies games when they were terrible, but they’d always play the Rocky song to try to rally them for a win. When it comes to what song defined my high school years, I’m slightly embarrassed to say that I was a huge ska fan in high school (laughing). My favorite song was probably “Point/ Counterpoint” by Streetlight Manifesto. (Brian later e-mailed 3-4 times changing his favorite song, until he finally settled on “Rudie Can’t Fail” by The Clash.)

Thanks for reading! If you think of any questions you’d like to hear the PPI team answer, feel free to contact us at socialmedia@peaceplayersintl.org.

This post was written by the Communications and Development Intern, Oscar Norsworthy. He is a Junior majoring in Sociology at The George Washington University.

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