Our 15th annual Hoop Forum (Dakar & Thies, Senegal) brought together top non-profits, corporations, and individuals using sport as a tool for development across Africa. From our Nike basketball skills combine for the top 80 boys and girls from across Senegal to a financial literacy workshop to our Hoop Forum All-Star game at the African Renaissance Monument, it was truly a memorable weekend.

The 4-day event (May 4-7, 2017) took guests on a cultural, food, music and sport tour of Senegal. More than 500 international guests, African basketball legends, SEED student-athletes and local basketball coaches enjoyed a balance of elite basketball camps, community give-back events, concerts, cultural activities, networking opportunities and more.

A special thank you to all of our sponsors: Center for Global Sports, Microsoft, Mimi and Papa NDiaye, NBA, UNFPA, and World of Money.

If you could not attend and would like to support our more than 2,000 student-athletes, please consider making a tax deductible donation below.

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Elite Basketball Skills Showcase // May 4-6 // Thies, Senegal

Top coaches and athletic trainers from around the world joined the Senegalese basketball community to host three days of basketball skill camps for the top-80 young men and women under 18 in Senegal. Professional coaches from the NBA and FIBA also conducted coaching clinics for local coaches. This year, we had coaches and players attend from across the globe: Canada, Cameroon, France, Germany, Nigeria, Slovenia, South Africa, The Gambia, Togo, and the United States.

Enjoy this cool drone shot of SEED's facility in Thies, Senegal by world renowned photographer, Kevin Couliau.

GALLERY

Sport for Development Conference // May 4 // Dakar, Senegal

At this year's Sport for Development Conference, influential minds from the public and private sectors engaged in thoughtful discussions on how to use sport as a tool for youth development. Across four different panels, speakers discussed how to strengthen partnerships between the public and private sectors and non-profits, best practices from top organizations using sports as a tool for social development, the intersection of sports and technology, and the final panel was composed of former SEED student-athletes that have used sport as a pathway to pursue education.

For a full list of speakers, please click here.

GALLERY

SEED Culture Night // May 5 // Thies, Senegal

In 2015, we launched SEED Culture, an organization-wide effort to honor Senegal's diverse cultural roots. The culmination of each year's SEED Culture workshops is a performance by SEED Rise students at the Hoop Forum. This year's performance focused on cultural values, and through music, dance, and, theater our students continue to show why SEED is so much bigger than basketball.

GALLERY

Hoop Forum Gala // May 6 // Dakar, Senegal

Set at the Terrou-Bi in Dakar, this year's Hoop Forum Gala had more than 75 guests enjoy a three course meal and emotional speeches from African basketball legends. The SEED executive team, including Amadou Fall, Joe Lopez, Noah Levine and Mohamed Niang, thanked guests for their generous support attending the 15th annual Hoop Forum, and laid out SEED's vision to build the premier leadership academy in Africa while expanding their SEED Rise model to countries across the continent.

GALLERY

Hoop Forum All-Star Game // May 7 // Dakar, Senegal

This year's Hoop Forum culminated with an All-Star game and Dunk Contest at the African Renaissance Monument in Dakar. The visually stunning background was the perfect end to a weekend of amazing activities.