Mission, Vision and Values

PeacePlayers International (PPI) was founded in 2001 by brothers Sean and Brendan Tuohey on the premise that “children who play together can learn to live together.” In its nearly ten years of operations, PPI has reached more than 52,000 participants.

Through a groundbreaking peacebuilding-and-leadership development curriculum, PeacePlayers International uses basketball to bring children together and teach them proven tactics for improving their communities. PeacePlayers International currently operates year-round programs in South Africa, Northern Ireland, Israel and the West Bank, and Cyprus.

Mission

To unite, educate and inspire young people in divided communities through basketball.

Vision

Individual connections creating a more peaceful world.

Unifying Principles

Bridging Divides

Implementing consistent, year-round sports activities that bring together children from opposite sides of religious, ethnic and cultural divides to develop friendship and mutual respect.

Helping marginalized communities developed constructive outlets and positive role models for their youth, strengthening the capacity of the disenfranchised in support of sustainable peace.

Developing Leaders

Training and developing young adults from local communities to work together as coaches, mentors and leaders of peacebuilding efforts in their own communities.

Maintaining diverse and balanced leadership at all levels, including staff, board, volunteers and partners.

Changing Perceptions

Operating first-class sports activities not for the purpose of training top athletes, but as a tool to unite, educate and inspire.

Driving concrete, measurable changes in both the attitudes and behaviors of participants and communities and demonstrating these results to a global audience.

The PPI Way

Guiding the work of PPI's staff worldwide is "The PPI Way" - a set of core beliefs that make us a productive, cohesive, efficient and unified team. From rural South Africa to downtown Washington, DC, PPI's staff can be counted on to bring to life "The PPI Way" in their work every day.

1. All members of PPI – staff, volunteers, and participants – are considered family. Because we are doing something that hasn't been done before, we know mistakes are bound to happen. As a family, we acknowledge our mistakes, learn from them, and go on.  When we do something that hurts another, we apologize, rather than make excuses.
2. We are emotionally committed to achieving our mission of using basketball to unite and educate young people in divided communities.  We see this not as just a job but as a chance to make the world a better place.
3. We are professional in all that we do in support of our mission. We recognize that we cannot achieve our mission unless we make the most of the resources that we are given by our donors and other supporters, and we take care to evaluate every decision that we make in light of its impact on the overall program.
4. We believe that effort and enjoyment go hand in hand. We aim to achieve a healthy balance between our work and the rest of our lives.  We find ways to enjoy the hard work necessary to do what we are trying to do and know that it is important to recharge our batteries from time to time in order to be as effective as possible in pursuit of PPI’s mission.
5. Individuals in our organization realize that they have the freedom to go above and beyond their job descriptions to help achieve our mission.  PPI employees take pride in their autonomy and embrace the opportunity to take initiative and find solutions to challenges on their own.
6. We continue to innovate.  We constantly look for better ways to do both established and novel things that can further our mission.
7. We confront difficult issues.  We turn over the rocks and look carefully at the problems we face and then we challenge each other, even outside the parameters of our positions, when we think there is a better way or a problem to be fixed.  We believe “leadership” is making those around us better and more productive, and we are committed to being leaders, each of us, even when it makes us uncomfortable.
8. We fill each other's “Emotional Tanks.”  We know that the challenges we face in our work can feel daunting.  We recognize and celebrate our successes with each other.  We support each other through disappointments.

Learn More About:

Our Methodology

Our Story

Awards and Recognition