Rabat – Morocco is set to host the 2019 All African Students and Youth Summit (ASYS 2019), described as the biggest student rally on the African continent. The event, scheduled from December 20-23, will take place at the Moulay Rachid national sports center in Sale, near Rabat.
The three-day event sets out to celebrate African cooperation in the fields of education and scientific research, and is expected to gather over 1000 participants from 50 African countries, according to the organizers.
Organized “under the high patronage” of King Mohammed VI, indicates a statement from the organizers, the continental event seeks to discuss the numerous challenges facing young Africans.
The event’s theme “The Future of Africa: Challenges and Perspectives for African Youth,” is an echo to King Mohammed VI’s insistence on the centrality of youth in any inclusive and functional development model. This makes Morocco, according to organizers, a fitting venue for the ambitions of this year’s ASYS meeting.
Attendance will include sub-Saharan students enrolled at Moroccan universities, African student organizations in Morocco and from across the continent, Moroccan ministers and a number of their continental counterparts, notably from the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, and Senegal, as well as civil society organizations and education-focused Moroccan and international groups.
The event comes as Morocco multiples steps to capitalize on its increasing continental prominence, with Rabat using such events to stretch its diplomatic and organizational muscles in African circles.
The Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI), a co-organizer of the event in partnership with the Moroccan foreign affairs ministry, which is the main driver of the North African kingdom’s education-based soft power on the continent, has been instrumental in making Morocco a sought-after destination for higher education and vocational training.
Africa is at the center of Morocco’s diplomacy, AMCI President Mohammed Methqal explained recently, describing the agency’s program of scholarships and study grants as designed to shape “Africa’s future leaders.”
There are currently 10,000 African students at Moroccan universities, and AMCI plans to receive and fund the training of more students from the continent in the coming years.
