With the global pandemic continuing to be a menace to society, restricted physical interaction and virtual relations have become the norm. The 2020 IDUS celebrations were no exception, worldwide as most institutions celebrated the day virtually.
With the 20th of September officially known as the International Day of University Sport, UNESCO, universities, communities and National University Sport Federations have celebrated this annually since 2016. Following the guidance of the International University Sports Federation, activities in Africa have ranged from both competitive and non-competitive games and sports activities, as well as conferences and workshops centred on physical activity.
This year was a bit different as most of the celebrations had to be done virtually. The month-long celebrations organised by the Federation of Africa University Sport included the well attended and received “Celebrate Thursdays.” These FASU events celebrated people that have played a pivotal role in the growth of university sports on the African continent every Thursday through the month of September. Other events were the Africa Social Media Challenges as well as webinar on best practices in university sport, with Morocco being a case study.
Celebrate Thursdays
This was a campaign highlighted the key characters who have been integral to the existence and transformation of University Sports in Africa. These people included Dr. Abdu-Lateef Oladimeji Adegbite (Father of FASU), Dr. George Benneh (1st Elected President of FASU), Mr. Hassan Chikh (Honorary President of FASU) and Dr. Micheal R. Malumbete (3rd President of FASU).
Webinar
Held in mid-September in partnership with the Royal Moroccan Federation of University Sports the webinar played to the theme “University Sports, Genesis of Values, Organisation and Achievements, the case of Morocco. Dr. Mostafa Jelti and Mr. Etienne Turikumana expertly presented and translated the event, respectively.
Africa Social Media Challenge
Running throughout the month of September, participants registered and uploaded their content on the FASU website. FASU shared these entries on its official social media platforms, tagged the participant, and then shared the content and encourage their contacts to
like, share and/or comment – resulting in a ground swell of social media goodwill for university sports.
The challenges included My Best University Sports Moment (photo with caption or short story), Lockdown Fitness Challenge (participants recorded a 30seconds video of yourself doing any activity related to sport and exercise) and the TikTok “Imitate Your Leader” video challenge. The Social Media Challenges attracted over 190 participants from 21 Countries.
Elsewhere IDUS celebrations took place on the continent and ranged from conferences to dance challenges, TV shows and webinars, to aerobics sessions. As the world continues to adjust to the new normal of activities online, FASU members showed their strength in creating conversations around important subjects by embracing virtual online sessions.
