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NBA, Tahir Foundation team up to improve education
For the sake of education: Officials from NBA Asia and Tahir Foundation pose with participants of Junior NBA Indonesia at Mayapada Hospital in Jakarta on Thursday after the two bodies announced a partnership in education through a scholarship program
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span class="inline inline-center">For the sake of education: Officials from NBA Asia and Tahir Foundation pose with participants of Junior NBA Indonesia at Mayapada Hospital in Jakarta on Thursday after the two bodies announced a partnership in education through a scholarship program. JP/Awo
The US-based National Basketball Association (NBA) and a local charitable organization, Tahir Foundation, announced on Thursday the joint launch of the Junior NBA Tahir Foundation scholarship program for Indonesian youths and basketball coaches.
Fourteen of Jr. NBA Tahir Foundation Scholarships will be given to the boys and girls selected as this year's Jr. NBA Indonesia All-Stars and six of the scholarship recipients will be selected from the Jr. NBA Indonesia Selection Camp. Each will be granted a scholarship worth US$1,000.
Junior NBA is a global youth development program that promotes basketball participation and an active lifestyle among children.
To win the scholarship, participants are required to submit a 150-word essay outlining how they exhibit at least one of the Junior NBA core values, which consist of sportsmanship, teamwork, positive attitude and respect (STAR).
The scholarship is also available for five coaches, who will be selected based on their commitment to basketball development and their impact on the community through coaching. They will also be rewarded with an NBA coaching experience trip.
Winners will be selected by a jury composed of representatives of the NBA and Tahir Foundation.
'What we have been focusing on starting last year is to bring the game closer to Indonesia and use basketball as a vehicle to improve health and wellness for Indonesia,' NBA Asia Managing Director Scott Levy told a press conference at Mayapada Hospital on Thursday.
'Last year we launched junior NBA, designed to introduce not only basketball but character development-what we call STAR criteria.
'Just in the first year of junior NBA, we had more than 100,000 kids, coaches and parents who were impacted by the program. But we are just getting started. We have a great and aggressive expansion plan for the future,' said Levy.
He added that success was entirely dependent on the support of the local partner. 'That's why we are so excited to be here today to announce our partnership with Tahir Foundation.'
'We believe that focusing on education among youth is key to a better life and we look forward to helping young Indonesians achieve this through the Junior NBA Tahir Foundation scholarship program,' Tahir Foundation co-chair Jonathan Tahir said.
'While teaching the coaches in addition to the kids, the program has exponential value as the coaches go back to their community and take what they've learned and teach hundreds more kids,' said Levy.
NBA has established a major international presence with offices in 13 markets worldwide and games and programming in 215 countries and territories.
