Kenyatta University (KU) has positioned university sport as a platform for peacebuilding, inclusion and social cohesion, bringing together more than 500 members of the University community and partners for a 10-kilometre walk to mark the International Day of University Sports and the International Day of Peace.
Held under the theme, “Ten Years, Ten Kilometres, One Shared Journey Towards Safe Sports, Inclusion and Peace,” the initiative brought together KU, UNESCO, the Kenya National Commission for UNESCO, the Association of African Universities and other partners in a shared demonstration of how sport can promote dignity, dialogue, inclusion and peaceful coexistence.
Representing the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. John Okumu, Prof. Lucy Maina, Associate Professor of Sociology, underscored the broader purpose of the initiative, noting that sport can provide an accessible space for participation, equality and human connection.
The initiative extended beyond KU, with students from the University of Nairobi joining the walk, while students at the University of Malaya, Malaysia, held a parallel solidarity walk, adding an international dimension to the occasion.
The event also provided an opportunity for substantive student engagement through a dialogue forum examining how universities can make sport safer and more accessible for students with disabilities, promote equitable participation across genders, and harness sport as a tool for conflict prevention, dialogue and campus cohesion.
Speaking on behalf of UNESCO’s Regional Office, Mr Ngandeu Ngatta Hugue, Programme Specialist and Unit Head for Social and Human Sciences, highlighted sport’s potential to contribute to development, inclusion and peacebuilding. He also emphasised the importance of safeguarding, disability inclusion and meaningful community engagement in sporting activities.
The global dimension of the conversation was further reinforced by a keynote address from Prof. Marion Keim, UNESCO Chair of Sport, Development, Peace and Olympic Education at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, who highlighted the capacity of sport to support reconciliation and advance positive peace.
By bringing together students, academics, international organisations and University partners around a shared sporting experience, KU demonstrated that the value of university sport extends well beyond competition. Sport can create spaces where people meet across differences, build relationships, promote dignity and develop a culture of dialogue.
The initiative reinforced KU’s commitment to positioning sport as a vehicle for inclusion, friendship, dialogue and peaceful coexistence, while connecting the University’s campus-level action to the wider international conversation on the role of higher education and sport in building more inclusive and peaceful societies.