Women from Mexico, Indonesia complete Global Sports Mentoring with ESPN

The U.S. Department of State’s Empowering Women and Girls through Sports Initiative aims to increase the number of women and girls involved in sports around the world.

Building on its long-term commitment to female-focused sports exchanges, the U.S. Department of State officially launched the initiative in 2012 in a boosted effort to empower the world’s women and girls through sports opportunities.

The Global Sports Mentoring Program — a collaboration between espnW and the U.S. Department of State that pairs emerging leaders from around the world with top American female executives in a four-week mentorship — recently marked its fourth edition. ESPN’s Vice President, Visual Technology, Marina Escobar and Vice President, Affiliate Marketing account management, Kimberly Wilson, served as mentors for two participants.

The participants are selected by the U.S. Embassies overseas based on their prior accomplishments and drive to make an even greater impact in the sports sector of their countries. These individuals demonstrate an ability to reach exceptional success in their profession as well as share lessons with others in their home country—particularly girls—so that they may benefit from sports.

Carla Bustamante from Mexico and Hanna Fauzie from Indonesia spent the month working with Escobar and Wilson on developing action plans for programs to create sporting opportunities for girls and women in their home countries. They share their perspectives on working together in this video.