Rabat – Each year on April 6, International Sports Day will be celebrated. This holiday first started as a Moroccan proposition and was adopted by the UN General Assembly.
The idea of International Sports Day was incepted on May 22, 2011, at the second International Forum held at the Palace of Nations in Geneva between the Olympic International Committee (OIC) and the UN.
The delegate representing the Moroccan National Olympic Committee, Kamal Lahlou, proposed the celebration of International Sports Day as a reminder of its noble values for development and peace.
The Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, attended this meeting and the Moroccan proposition was since confirmed by Nawal el Moutawakil, the Vice President of OIC who welcomed Kamal Lahlou's initiative and asked for its support.
One year later in Moscow, on April 22 of 2012, during the General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) (in French, ACNO), Kamal Lahlou who had represented Morocco reiterated the proposition and emphasized its importance.
On August 23, 2013 the UN decided to declare the 6th of April International Sports Day. A historic decision to which Morocco greatly contributed.
Translated by Nahla Landolsi. Edited by Sahar Kian
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