1st Education through Sport Summit in Africa

• From 3 April to 6 April 2021, Casablanca, Rabat, Dakhla, Laayoune, Dakar, Lusaka, Monrovia, Niamey and other African capitals will celebrate education through sport 
• This meeting aims to place sport as an institutional necessity and at the heart of policies promoting youth empowerment.

Dr. Saaïd Amzazi, Minister of National Education, Vocational Training, Higher Education and Scientific Research and Mr. Mohamed Amine Zariat, President and Founder of  TIBU Maroc, announced the organization of the 1st Education through Sport Summit in Africa during a press conference held in Casablanca on Monday, 29 March 2021 in the presence of several actors of the ecosystem, including diplomatic representations, international federations, representatives of United Nations agencies, private sector actors, experts, researchers and civil society representatives.

This first summit aims to place sport as an institutional necessity for emerging countries. It underlines the importance of bringing together all national, regional and global actors involved in the promotion and development of sport as a lever for education, economic and social inclusion, equal opportunities and sustainable development.

"Sport is not only a physical exercise; it is also a social and cultural practice with educational values. Through education through sport, it is a question of achieving objectives of integration, citizenship, living together and psychological balance. This African Summit is an opportunity to consecrate the leadership of our country in this field," said Mr. Amzazi. 

"As we look to the future of youth and building a new development model, we must also have an ambitious vision of how we can harness the power of sport to foster a healthy mind in a healthy body for all. Sport must be a real brick in the new development model of African countries, as it arms us with the skills of tomorrow that our youth need to actively participate in our increasingly complex societies. The power of sport can contribute to the education of children, to release the potential of people with special needs, to promote equal opportunities, to understand other cultures, to lead a dignified life, to unite us around a continent that is economically and socially strong, strong by its youth, by its women and by its men," said Mr. Zariat.

Taking into account the current context, this summit will adopt a hybrid format by the implementation of a series of activities that will be held in person and others relayed through digital communication platforms configured for this purpose. The theme of this first summit is: Unlocking the potential of African youth through the power of sport.

Activities include the following: 

A Ministerial Plenary will be held on 3 April in Rabat, where African ministers and ambassadors, international organizations, and all stakeholders of the ecosystem will come together. The latter will take place under a hybrid format.

40 conferences, workshops and training sessions are planned between 4 - 5 April, based around 4 themes: 

• Girls and women in sport
• Innovation in sport
• Sport for development
• Sport for social change

Sport Entrepreneurship Hackathon: From 3 - 6 April, 40 young people (in NEET situation, from the Sub-Saharan diaspora and Moroccan returnees) will have a 72-hour competition to suggest ideas and plan innovative sports projects leading to solutions to social problems and creating economic value.

TIBU STEM Festival: Held between 3 - 5 April, this festival will promote an approach of using sport as a lever for learning Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics with 800 young people between Dakhla and Casablanca (in rural and urban areas).

S4D Grassroots: Between 3 - 4, workshops promoting the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals will take place in the 54 African countries simultaneously, with 400 young people being mobilized per country, for a total of over 24,000 beneficiaries.

An international symposium on PE and Education through Sport: A challenge will be posed for players in and out of school to develop a collective advocacy strategy with institutions and decision-makers, while creating a new normal by addressing governance, leadership, partnerships, funding mechanisms and local priorities with a view to promoting access to sport everywhere in order to foster moral and physical health and well-being.

Celebration of the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace: On 6 April, the winners of the Hackathon will be announced, as well as the winners of the inaugural TIBU AFRICA Awards, which aim to celebrate and promote different initiatives and personalities that use sport for education, social inclusion and human development.