Nawal El Moutawakel payed a wonderful visit to the opening of the conference bringing special guests: Olympic Champions Daley Thompson (Atlethics, UK), Heiki Dreschler (Atlethics, Germany), Donna De Varona (Swimming, USA) and Marie-José Perec (Track; France) and Marvelous Marvin Hagler (Boxing, USA). Nawal also attended parts of the conference and gave an inspiring interview (word). Donna de Varona gave an impressive opening speech.

Opening speech Donna de Varona

One person can make a difference

"It is amazing what one person can do. Look at Nawal.

I was at my first Olympics when I was just thirteen. I was very lucky. Because at that time in the USA -it is hard to believe now- girls where not allowed to play sports in high school or college. Most of our sports were done through by the YMCA or a new club run by wonderful parents which wanted their daughters to have the opportunity to be an athlete.

My dad was a great football player (American) and he also was a rower. His dream was to go to an Olympic game. His father left him when he was a very young boy, his mother was deaf so sport gave him a chance. Because he was a good football player he could go to college. He was in the best rowing team of the country but than World War II broke out and he could not realise his Olympic dream. Politics intervened and he did not get to go to the games.

So he decided when he had children, to give them every opportunity in sports. Because sport had saved his live, gave him the chance to study, gave him friends and a connection to the world.

All of us in this room knows how important it is to have values, to matter, to care and to have somebody that cares about you. He found those values and essential live elements through sport. So when his son was born he decided to he would introduce him to sports… he did however not really know what to do with his daughter.

But everywhere my poor brother went, I went with him. He would play football and I would go out and watch him. He would play baseball and I would go with him and pretty soon I was picking up the bat. So I literary became the 'bat girl', which was a game for little kids. They would not let me play because I was a girl -because that was the way they thought than- so I would pick up the bat. I spend my allowance to buy bubble gum for the boys so they would let me in the dug out and be near the game. And pretty soon the man that helped give out the uniforms said: "you really want to be on the team so I will let you be the bat girl". And what I realised than is that if you make yourself indispensable, when you provide something, you have a better chance of being part of the team. And sometimes when you are not allowed in, that's what you need to do.

When I wanted to get into sports broadcasting, the same thing happened. There were no women. I decided to be helpful to the news people, gave them information about swimming matches, about the times and who they should look for.

I went to the Olympic games when I was thirteen. My father said: when you go to the Olympic games you will see the Torch bearer. I will never forget, standing in the opening ceremony, looking up at this hugh basket player -I was this tall- and thinking "I will never see the torch bearer, I am too short!"

And this man I did not know, reached down and picked me up and put me on his shoulder and I had the best seat in the house. He has been my friend ever since. His name is Walt Bellamy, he is an African American. This was in 1960, this was before civil rights. And without a word we became life time friends.

In the USA in the 1960s we thought if we would bring the Civil Rights movement, the Feminist movement and sports people together and form groups we could change society. We became friends doing it, many famous sports people at that time like Mohammed Ali. And in the end, we maybe made a change for others.

Take for example Billy Jean King, a famous tennis player at that time. I made a decision to meet her, approached her and we decided we should start a movement, a foundation for women. Because at that time women were not playing for equal prize money, not playing in 'sports for college', not getting degrees in college as doctors or lawyers. We decided to come together, go to our government leaders and form a group -with the man- and look at our constitution. The conclusion is that you can not discriminate against women, in any educational system that receives federal funds. You can not discriminate in law, business or medicine and you can not discriminate on the playing field. It says in our constitution that we are all created equal but at that time we were not given equal chances!

But I also learned that freedom is not free and equal opportunities are not either. The best way to get them is to work together, to cooperate. So the federal government finally past a law, called title 9 of equal education and …. Act. This law made it possible for women to go to Yales or Harvard and study to be astronauts, doctors or news women. That law was passed in 1972.

And twelve years later in 1984 I was covering the Olympics in LA and I saw this wonderful women qualifying for the 400meters hurdles, winning gold and she was from…. Morocco. I was amazed!

(The 400 meters hurdles was put into the Olympics together with the Marathon because women went to Peter Bros and said: "you have to add these events!")

How did that happen, that a woman from Morocco won gold? I went to my producer and I said: "we have to cover that story!" I wanted to meet that woman. I went to Marocco and learned that Nawal had learned to run here, it had been a hard struggle. Nawal clearly had an incredible determination which had made the impossible possible, that determination could change the life of anyone.

She got a title nine scholarship in the USA before she went to the Olympics, she came to the USA and trained there. So I thought, there is a connection! In '84 we opened the door to hurdles, in the USA we love stories about people from all over the world. So I covered the story and we became live time friends.

And now, so many years later, I came back here to celebrate the 35 year Anniversary of title nine. And I came to Morocco to cover this race. Because right now in the USA these laws are being pushed back, we have to keep fighting for them. So I came to cover the race and want to show on television the opportunities for women equality and to show that if we work hard enough, we will succeed . We have to show others how opportunities in some places can open up doors for others. And how people can take these opportunities to the table and show others the chances there are for gender equity and bring change to their own lives and many others.

I feel honoured I am here, and feel so fortunate. I am proud that I convinced my producer that he should make this documentary about Nawal and the course Feminine.

Embrace Nawal because she proves that one person can make a difference!"

• Interview with Nawal El Moutawakel, AMSD (word)

Background info Donna De Varona

Donna De Varona was the youngest swimming competitor at the 1960 Rome Olympics and broke 18 world swimming records at the 1964 Olympic Games. However, Donna found when she applied for a university sports scholarship, that they were not available to women. She went on to become the first female sports broadcaster, won, among others, an Emmy award and Gracie award for her broadcasting work, and served for four terms on the President's Council on Physical Fitness. Donna was a founding member and first president of the Women's Sports Foundation and was 'a moving force in the Congress' passage of the 1978 Amateur Sports Act and the landmark Title IX legislation' (Master of the Game Award Luncheon Programme, 26 September, 2003).

Donna de Varona and Maria Bobenrieth (Nike)