Kamal Lahlou, the Moroccan Architect of the International Day of Sport, From Geneva to New York

/ Mohamed Aboussahl /

Athletes around the world celebrate the International Day of Sport on 6 April, a day instituted by the United Nations within its annual calendar for its strong symbolic value. Whenever the occasion comes around, sportspeople and sports lovers, who believe in its values and its health, educational and mental role, as well as in the various fields linked to its activities, come together to highlight the importance of physical activity and bodily movement in life. The sporting world then recalls this initiative, whose creator is none other than the Moroccan Kamal Lahlou: an athlete, educator, mentor, thinker and media figure who has contributed to the media industry as well as to Olympic thought at the national, continental and international levels….
The journey of advocacy for the International Day of Sport began when Kamal Lahlou took part in the work of the second International Forum, representing Morocco as first vice-president of the Moroccan National Olympic Committee. The forum was held at the Geneva Convention Centre on 22 May 2011, with the participation of the International Olympic Committee, headed by its president Jacques Rogge and its vice-president Nawal El Moutawakel, as well as the United Nations, in the presence of its former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and representatives of a large number of international federations from several sports. It was there that Kamal Lahlou put forward, during the gathering, the proposal to establish a world day of sport, noting that the United Nations took notice and that the initiative drew everyone's interest,
A year later, driven by determination and faith in the initiative, Kamal Lahlou renewed his proposal at the General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees, on 22 April 2012 in Moscow, where he attended on behalf of the Moroccan National Olympic Committee and continued his advocacy out of love and devotion for sport…
At the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the moment came on 23 August 2013, when the international body proclaimed 6 April of each year the International Day of Sport. This date was chosen because it marks the day the modern Olympic Games were launched in 1896, with the World Day of Sport thus established 116 years after the first edition of the Olympic Games…
And so Morocco offers athletes around the world the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, held every 6 April. The Moroccan Kamal Lahlou advocated for it across the stages of the general assemblies, from Geneva in 2011 to Moscow in 2012 and then New York in 2013, where it was officially born within the embrace of the United Nations. The event carries messages and signals that perpetuate and enshrine the values of sport and its noble principles in the service of human life….

/ Mohamed Aboussahl /