It was a full house on April 4, 2019, at the Hadat-Baabda Campus. On that day, UA was hosting a scientific day on the topic of “Innovation and Vulnerabilities in Sport.” Sports professionals, students, and fans came from all over the country to learn more about this broad topic and got back home with a good grasp of it thanks to the crosscutting approach pursued by the seminar.
The whole challenge was indeed to address the subject in order to get a panoramic vision, hence the diversity of profiles and backgrounds among the local and international speakers. The attendees got the chance to listen to major decision-makers, such as the president of the French Basketball Federation Jean-Pierre Siutat, the international footballer Lilian Thuram, and the coordinator of the partnerships of the Barça Foundation. There were also a sports journalist from France 24, a member of the Lebanese Olympic Committee, a marketing manager of an important sports brand as well as academics, doctors, and physiotherapists specialized in the field.
Topics discussed showed how sport and social change were tightly connected. They also put into light the power of money, sponsorship, and media on athletes' performance.