Meeghan Zahorsky | From the Field

Tag Archives: Meeghan Zahorsky

by peaceplayersintl | 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!

PPI-CY Gets a Visit from Meeghan Zahorsky

Georgetown Graduate Student, Meeghan Zahorsky, visits a beach in Cyprus.

Last month PPI-CY got a visit from Meeghan Zahorsky, a Georgetown University graduate school student who is doing her doctoral work on sport in peacebuilding and is co-authoring a book on the topic. She is making PPI a major focus of the book and visited PPI sites in Northern Ireland, Israel and Cyprus for research. We were grateful to have such a knowledgeable and enthusiastic person spend some time with us and we wish Meeghan luck as she finishes up her book. Below is a short interview with her on her experiences with PPI-CY:

I know you told me a thousand times, but where exactly did you grow up and go to undergrad and what was your major? What is your current major exactly?

I grew up in Maui, Hawaii and the little town of Rainier, Washington. I got my BA in International Relations – Global Security from Brown University, and am now getting my MA in Conflict Resolution from Georgetown.

What is the book you are writing about?

Along with Professor Sarah Hillyer, I am writing a book on sports and peacebuilding that will be a mapping of the field and a toolkit for practitioners.

What was the purpose of your study?

The purpose of this study is four-fold: a) to provide a mapping of the sport & peacebuilding field; b) to explore effective/promising practices in the design, implementation and evaluation of sport and peacebuilding initiatives; c) to contribute resources and networks toward the professional development of sport and peace-building practitioners; and d) to encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing between sport and peacebuilding organizations, practitioners, researchers, and educators.

What do you think of Cyprus?

Still exploring! I had very little background in the history of Cyprus and was surprised by the way that the division of the island has persisted for so many years. And, for such a small island, it is such a stark difference between narratives in the north and south. It was great to see first hand the challenges that PPI faces in bridging the divide to broaden my understanding of how sport is used in this type of context.

What were your impressions of PeacePlayers (not just Cyprus but all the sites)?

It was an incredible experience to visit all the different PPI sites and compare the different locations. PPI has been able to adapt to it’s various contexts which means it looks very different in each site, but also, shows that it is working to meet the needs of each individual community. I am excited to see how the new Arbinger curriculum becomes incorporated into the program at the various sites. What I found to be universal to all the PPI programs is the most important thing appears to be the coaches, both their personalities and their connections to the communities they work in.

Thanks Meeghan for all your hard work and being interested in PeacePlayers!