Teams, coaches and spectators from 27 African countries, 17 African universities and the 5 regions of Africa thronged Cairo this week to participate in the African Universities Olympics organised by the Association of African Universities, Al-Azhar University and All Africa Students Union – supported by the Arab Republic of Egypt.

Thursday 14^th March 2019 will remain imprinted on the minds of many – this is the day when the maiden 2019 African Universities Olympics event was officially opened during an electrifying, superbly organized and glamorous ceremony held at the Main Sports Stadium of the Military College in Cairo, Egypt. The 3,500-seater indoor stadium was packed to capacity and the mood was that of jubilation, excitement and expectancy.

The opening ceremony featured the Egyptian National Anthem, AAU Anthem, the African Olympics Song, parading of the participating nations, Olympics touch relay show, military music band show, percussion show, and sports shows by Physical Education students from Al-Azhar University and Helwan University. Congratulatory speeches were made by the President of the Parliament of International Students, the Secretary General of the All Africa Students Union (Mr Peter Kwasi Kodjie), representative of the Ministry of Youth and Sports in the Arab Republic of Egypt (Dr Amal Gamal), AAU Secretary General (Prof Etienne E. Ehile) and the President of Al-Azhar University (Professor Mohamed El-Mahrasawy). Professor Yousuf Amer the Vice President of Al-Azhar University raised the championship flag whilst the President of Al-Azhar University declared the African Olympics officially launched.

The Olympics will run from the 15-18 March 2019. The sports categories include football, basketball and athletics. The athletics events cover 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 4*100m, triple jump, high Jump, long jump, shot put throw, discus throw and javelin throw. The events are featuring male and female teams / competitors.

The 27 countries that are represented at the maiden event are Algeria, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Eritrea, Gabon, Ghana, Lybia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia

In an interview with Mr Kwesi Acquah Sam who coordinated the logistics from the Association’s side and Prof Amany El-Sharif who coordinated the logistics from Al-Azhar University’s side, they indicated that the benefits of the African Universities Olympics are envisaged to be manifold. Some of the expected positive outcomes include:

1. Increased cooperation across the African continent among African Youth through the building of networks during and after the Olympics events
2. Improved self-discipline and self-esteem of the young African people
3. Promotion of tolerance of diverse cultures and religious affiliations
4. Promotion of language learning
5. Improved Physical health
6. Increased teamwork and problem-solving skills
7. Reduction of pressure and stress – hopefully reducing cases of drug abuse and depression

The African Universities Olympics enjoys the patronage of the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi who was recently appointed the Chair of the African Union Commission. The African Universities Olympics is a key strategy for promoting the integration of the continent through sports – and this is in-line with the African Union Agenda 2063’s aspiration of “an integrated continent, politically united, based on the ideals of Pan Africanism and the vision of Africa’s Renaissance”.

Listed below are some of the short video clips recorded during the African Olympics Opening Ceremony:

1. https://youtu.be/uEXV8F6-2lI
2. https://youtu.be/dGm5Gr2ZWhQ
3. https://youtu.be/eSShEv1Ms2U
4. https://youtu.be/8aTL06N3z6A
5. https://youtu.be/r0lGaufbUhQ
6. https://youtu.be/xJlxZEn3GEI
7. https://youtu.be/_uVkWs4RiLo
8. https://youtu.be/lUIrv6BOc60
9. https://youtu.be/t84qaNRB4Ns
10. https://youtu.be/gpCKHF4bBOY
11. https://youtu.be/NGKTVLRndkQ
12. https://youtu.be/03K49GN0bOI

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The Association of African Universities North Africa Regional Office (AAU NARO) was launched at a high-level, colourful and well attended ceremony hosted by Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt on the 12^th March 2019. Al-Azhar University, which was founded in October 975 AD, is a founding member of the Association of Africa Universities.

An impressive number of one thousand five hundred (1500) delegates graced the occasion including Prof Ahmed El-Tayeb the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar University, Prof Khaled Abdel Ghaffar the Egypt Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Prof Mohamed Hussein Al Mahrasawy the President of Al-Azhar University, Ambassador Abdulhamid Bu Zaher the Representative of the African Union Commission, Prof Orlando Antonio Quilambo the AAU President, Prof Etienne Ehouan Ehile the AAU Secretary General,  Mr Peter Kwasi Kodjie the Secretary General of the All Africa Students Union (AASU), Diplomats, Staff of the AAU Secretariat, Academics from other universities in Egypt, Academics and administrative staff from several African countries, Staff and Students from Al Azhar University and the general public.

The AAU North Africa Regional Office, hosted by Al-Azhar University, is the second AAU Regional Office to be launched – after the East Africa Regional Office (EARO) was launched at the University of Khartoum in Sudan on the 14^th of March 2018.

The main goal of the AAU North Africa Regional Office is to increase the impact of AAU’s activities in North Africa and maximise the benefits of AAU to the membership universities in North Africa. This decentralization of the Association’s activities is expected to help improve both the visibility of the AAU and the quality of Higher Education in Africa.

The Grand Imam, Sheikh Professor Ahmed El-Tayeb pledged his support for the AAU North Africa Regional Office and spoke about the need for peace in the world and the eradication of extremism. The Grand Imam is the Head of Sunni Islam’s most prestigious seat of learning at Al-Azhar University. The influential Cleric previously met Pope Francis in February 2019 and they brokered an agreement pledging that Al-Azhar and the Vatican will work together to fight extremism, hateful attitudes and hostility.

In his address the President of Al-Azhar University Professor Mohamed El-Mahrasawy said that Egypt was proud of belonging to Africa and emphasized that Al-Azhar University was not a local or regional institution, but an international institution, where more than 33,000 students from all over the world are studying. He indicated that there were currently 5,000 African students studying at Al-Azhar University.

In his remarks the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Egypt, Professor Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, brought greetings from the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. He reiterated the Government of Egypt’s unflinching support for the AAU North Africa Regional Office – saying that this regional office tied in neatly with the Agenda 2063 vision of an integrated continent.

The President of the Association of African Universities Professor Orlando Antonio Quilambo stated that the idea of establishing regional hubs of the AAU was not only for increasing the visibility of the Association’s programmes “but more importantly to facilitate effective networking among ourselves first at the country levels, sub-regional levels and then at the continental level”. He said that the current AAU Governing Board had committed itself to pursue this agenda during its four-year mandate.

Professor Etienne Ehile thanked the Government of Egypt, the Grand Imam and the leadership of Al-Azhar University for working hard to make the launch of the AAU North Africa Regional Office a reality. He emphasized that there was a need for African countries to work together to tap into the capacities that are resident in other African countries – citing the example that Al-Azhar University had the capacity to train medical students while most sub-Saharan universities had limited capacities.

A Good Will message was presented by Dr Faiza Mohamed Osman Mahmoud the Coordinator of the East Africa Regional Office. She congratulated Al-Azhar University and the AAU on the successful launch of the North Africa Regional Office – pledging to work closely with them.

The Secretary-General of the All Africa Students Union (AASU), Mr Peter Kwasi Kodjie expressed AASU’s desire to collaborate closer with students in the sub-region.

Various Diplomats and members of the AAU Governing Board that were present also presented their good will messages. The distinguished members of the AAU Governing Board that were present are:

1. Prof. Hassan Mohamed H. KAAFI – Vice Chancellor, Plasma University, Somalia.
2. Prof. Theresia K. NKUO-AKENJI – Vice-Chancellor, University of Bamenda, Cameroon
3. Prof. Bakri Osma SAEED – Vice Chancellor, Sudan International University, Sudan
4. Prof. Edward AKO – Rector, Université de Maroua, Cameroon
5. Prof. Nicholas N.N. NSOWAH-NUAMAH – President, Regent University College of Science and Technology, Ghana

The week’s events in Cairo include the Maiden African Universities Olympics that will officially commence on the 14^th of March 2019 – organized by the Association of African Universities in collaboration with Al Azhar University and the Ministry of Youth and Sport of Egypt.

Please access Useful Views and Downloads

1. Inauguration Program
2. AAU President’s Speech
3. Remarks by the Secretary General of AAU
4. Video showing the inauguration event: https://youtu.be/Y0WLEx5wKkY

Contact Details for the AAU North Africa Regional Office

Prof Amany El-Sharif – The Coordinator

Al Azhar University

Email: amanyelsharif@gmail.com

Telephone: +20 111 066 0444

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