The story of Salah, the Premier League Golden Boot winner, to teach children how to respect cultural diversity

Families have different interests and abilities in developing global competencies, but starting with a topic that teenagers are interested in, such as football, can make a difference even within the family. Today, we're talking about Egyptian star Mohamed Salah, who plays for Liverpool in the English Premier League, and how to respect cultural diversity and take action to solve local problems in order to be globally competent.

Mohamed Salah (born June 15, 1992 in Basyoun, Gabia, Egypt) is an Egyptian football player and winger. He currently plays for Liverpool Football Club in the English Premier League and was named the 2017 African Footballer of the Year.

In 2017-18, Salah scored 32 goals in the Premier League and won three Player of the season awards from the PFA, FWA and Premier League officials. In 2018-19, Salah defended the Premier League Golden Boot and helped the team win the Champions League.

To address today's topic, let's take a look at an example of understanding perspectives and worldviews from the book "A Guide to Action for Young People in the Future World" :

In a school class where some students had started skipping brunch, a classmate learned, upon questioning, that they were on a religious fast, and thus the religious significance of fasting. The student was then invited to have dinner and break the fast with their families at the homes of Muslim classmates.

Through the experience, he gained a better understanding of his classmates' perspectives and more respect for religious diversity.

In the above example, the student and the Muslim student share an understanding and appreciation of other people's perspectives and world views, which is a manifestation of one dimension of global competency. In other words, globally competent people are able to consider global issues and other people's opinions and behaviors from multiple perspectives.

Let's go back to Salah's story. Speaking of fasts, Salah, who is a Muslim, also follows a strict fast on game days. Fasting usually lasts for 28-29 days, during which you can't drink or eat until sunset, which can be a huge impact on a player. However, the entire Liverpool team, from owners to managers and team-mates, support and respect Salah's approach because it is his cultural belief, even if it affects the team's results. At the beginning of the fast, the team kept in communication with him throughout the process and offered timely assistance. The team doctor gives the players nutrition after sunset to keep them fit.

As a Muslim, Salah showed the world his humility and kindness. In the stadium, he won fans' cheers and worship with his superb skills; Off the field, he spoke up for oppressed women in Arab countries: "I think we need to change the way we treat women in our culture. It's something that has to be done, not done selectively. I'm more supportive of women than ever, because I think they deserve better." When presented with a villa by a wealthy businessman, he said: "I would be happier if you donated this wealth to Nagrig [Salah's home village]." Salah gets down on his knees and prays every time he scores a goal. His wife, who also wore a hijab when she entered the court, adhered to her cultural practices, but instead of being told what to do, she showed understanding and appreciation. Liverpool fans even sang the following anthem to him: "Salah, Salah, if he keeps scoring goals, I'm going to become a Muslim, he's sitting in a mosque, that's where I want to be."

During the days when there was no competition during the pandemic, Salah donated thousands of tons of food to his home village of Nagrig to help local people who were affected by the pandemic. He wished people in his hometown good health and safety, and urged residents to avoid large gatherings and follow health guidelines on the epidemic. In addition, Salah's foundation will continue to provide regular financial assistance to many families in the village.

In 2018, Salah donated 900,000 lei (about 68,000 euros) to the general hospital in Basyoun, the city of Nagri, and along with his father donated about 20,000 square meters of land to build a sewage treatment plant in his hometown to provide stable, clean drinking water to the villagers.

Recently, according to the UNHCR website, Salah served as the first ambassador of the Vodafone Foundation and UNHCR's Instant Online School initiative in Egypt, and will personally visit some of the schools supported by the initiative in the future.

"It's an honor to be part of a project like this. It's a big project to give refugees a better life. Education is the key," the Egyptian star said in an interview.

Salah and Liverpool have shown us how to be globally competent by respecting cultural diversity and influencing the people and places around us. As he said at the UN event: "Once you learn something, no one can take it away from you. It's something that lasts a lifetime."

Like our teaching of global competency, developing a global and cross-cultural perspective is a lifelong process. In order to enhance their children's understanding of the world and their ability to express their personal views and participate in social affairs, parents need to constantly collect topics that are meaningful and relevant to their children's lives and integrate them into the family to develop their children's global competence.