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Join on Telegram Rabat – The Governing Council of the Pan African Youth Leadership Foundation selected Morocco’s Karima Rhanem as one of the 30 most influential young leaders in 2019.
Rhanem is an activist and is currently serving as president of the International Center for Diplomacy.
The Moroccan activist accepted the award at the Africa-Europe Youth Leadership Summit on September 28 in Banjul, Gambia.
The foundation selected Rhanem for her achievements as a young leader working to promote youth rights and advocate for the effective implementation of youth policies.
The selection was also based on Rhanem’s humanitarian and development work in Africa.
“I am honored to be selected for this award. But more importantly, my best recognition is to see the impact of my work on the young people I am working with. My goal is to contribute to positively changing their lives through mentorship,” said Rhanem.
Representatives of civil society, businesses, governments, academia and diplomats from both Africa and Europe attended the Youth Leadership Summit.
The summit aims to increase the participation of young people in Afro-Europe Leadership and promote their role in influencing policies and boosting partnerships between Africa and Europe.
The main slogan of the summit, #NotTooYoungToLead, gave an opportunity for young people to share some of their inspiring success stories. Most of the participants managed to create innovative initiatives and became leaders in their own fields, despite the lack of opportunities.
Empowering Africa’s youth
Rhanem shared her experience with the initiatives she founded. One of her most important initiatives is “Africa My Home,” which empowers Africans to participate inclusively in their own development and create their own solutions.
“I met many desperate youths willing to migrate looking for better opportunities. I coached them to stay home and teach them ways to create their own opportunities … And that is the whole spirit of Africa My Home that I founded : Africans creating their own solutions with Africans and for Africans,” she told MWN.
Rhanem also highlighted Morocco’s experience in setting up participatory democracy mechanisms, allowing youth and civil society to be part of the decision making process cycle.
The Moroccan activist has more than 18 years of experience in youth and civil society, public policy, strategic communication and advocacy, media and outreach, capacity building, strategic studies and research, citizen and digital diplomacy, and international development.
Rhanem also serves as the president of the International Center for Diplomacy, a non-profit organization aiming to prepare future young ambassadors.
Additionally, she worked at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), at the US Embassy in Morocco, and for the now-defunct English-speaking newspaper Morocco Times.
The young Moroccan has won more than 22 international and national awards for engagement in civil society and human development. She was also nominated Humanitarian Ambassador for the World Habitat Ambassadors Foundation, an organization aiming to help vulnerable people seek affordable shelter.
