Moroccan Nawal El Moutawakil receives an award from the Council of Europe by the President of the Republic in the Portuguese Parliament
Deputy President of the International Olympic Committee, Moroccan Ms. Nawal El Moutawakil, received the North-South Prize awarded by the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe for her initiative supporting the participation of refugees in the Olympic and Paralympic Games on October 29, 2025, at the Portuguese Parliament. This award recognizes her outstanding contributions to promoting inclusion, equality of rights, and the unifying role of sport.
The award was presented to Ms. El Moutawakil by the President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and the President of the Portuguese National Assembly, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, in the presence of prominent figures from politics, business, arts, and media. The initiative was jointly undertaken by the International Olympic Committee, the Olympic Refuge Foundation, and the International Paralympic Committee, along with athletes Cindy Ngamba and Zakiya Khaddadi, who made history as the first members of the Olympic and Paralympic refugee teams to win medals.
