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“What’s Your Cup of Tea?” Episode 3: Sports and Peace Report
Written by Eli Izumi, UPF International
Monday, November 29, 2021
UPF Int/UPF EUME—On November 26, 2021 at 8am EST, UPF International in collaboration with UPF EUME held our third episode of the IG livestream series called, “What’s Your Cup of Tea?” As the second part of our last month’s topic “Sports and Peace,” it was by far our most successful livestream yet. The livestream aired over the well-known social media platform “Instagram,” and lasted an hour. For the first 40 minutes the following debate questions were brought out to the floor. Eli Izumi, representing UPF International, and Mélanie Komagata, representing UPF EUME, along with guests Patrick Pritty and Song Guk Samuel Diaz Angel, both former Peace Road participants and passionate football players, discussed each question thoroughly.
- Is it unpatriotic for an athlete of one country to play on another country’s team? Or can this help with international cooperation among countries?
- Football has been used as a means to bring conflicting teams together. But sometimes fans can get too into it. So, how do you think fans should react if their team doesn’t win?
- For all the official games, men and women never play together. Do you think men and women can play in the same sport on the same team? What do you think the outcome would be if we had men and women play together? Do you think it could be a means to bring equality and peace?
- In sports, there is often betting—exchange of money and power and athletes—and some play for huge sums of money. What do you think about that? Is it ethical to have money linked to sports?
- Should we measure greatness by championships won? Dani Alves has won the most trophies in human history up to August 2021 with 43 trophies. Does that make him greater than all other football players?
No? Then what makes a great football player to you? Is it all about playing well, or also about the athletes, ethics and sportsmanship?
Some interesting points discussed were that players playing for teams other than their own country’s team have a great opportunity for exposure to other countries’ culture and people, which can be a means of bringing peace between the countries. Also, although the trend of including male and female athletes in the same team is becoming more popular, the physical differences between men and women are always something that we need to consider when discussing this topic. However, just like in the recent Tokyo Olympic marathon games, there were women and men that were playing together in one team, so it brings out a different aspect and appreciation to see these kinds of partnerships.
Then for the remaining 20 minutes, we opened the floor to the live audience. We gave them questions and invited them to join the livestream to voice their opinion.
- Who is the greatest football player of all time? (Why do you think so and why do you admire this person?)
- Would you rather be loved and admired as a great athlete or as a great team player?
- Do you think projects such as the “Peace Cup” can bring about world peace?
We had at least one person answer every question, one of them being Naomi Bejarano, who is the national champion of Peru for shooting sports, a.k.a. marksmanship.
After the livestream we were able to see that we had reached more than 150 accounts and more than 50 of them were constant viewers. Another bonus is that since starting our account in August where we had 1 follower, now we have almost 300 followers and even more people see our posts and follow our page. Using social media platforms like this, I believe that through our monthly IG livestreams we will be able to continue to touch and hopefully influence positively the people who are watching. But more importantly, to also learn about what is happening in the world and listen to what the young people have to say about these trending topics, as they are inevitably, the leaders of the future.
To view the event, https://youtu.be/L08c2xRw4_I
To see UPF International's Instagram account, click here.
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