“Our children are the youth of tomorrow and we need to teach and form them for tomorrow.”
Alfari9, a Moroccan social inclusion, and youth empowerment initiative is launching the 6th edition of its “Child Leader Program.”
The event seeks to introduce young children to social development and leadership themes and will be held on January 28-31 at Madressatcom in the province of Ouarzazate.
“Child leader is a program that shows the importance of the integration of life skills in the education system. Our children are the youth of tomorrow and we need to teach and shape them for tomorrow,” Alfari9 told Morocco World News.
For this year’s “the Child Leader program,” Alfari9 anticipates the participation of 40 children in the region of Tamikt Ouarzazate.
The program aims to give participants the opportunity to apply and learn leadership skills, including social entrepreneurship and communication aptitudes.
About Alfari9 “Development Leadership SkillsTeam”
Alfari9 is an initiative that was founded in 2013 by student Ibrahim Aitbo, who was part of the generation program in Ouarzazate.
Aitbo, and other young participants of the Generation leaders program, came together to create Alfari9 with the objective of sharing their experiences as well as their creative ideas with other youth in the region.
Soon the initiative grew to have more than 500 members working together to organize programs and training sessions aimed at installing socially prized values, such as leadership, community work, and entrepreneurship, in young participants.
Alfari9’s main vision is to create a generation of leaders that can lead themselves and lead the members of their communities.
“Throughout the years of work we had reached the majority of young people of ages 16 to 25 through the national or the local programs we have organized. That is a great achievement to know that many people learned new skills and they will share that with others,” said Alfari9.
Children’s situation in Morocco
In 2002, Morocco made schools mandatory and free for all children ages 6 to 15. However, every year the country’s educational system still counts a great number of children that drop out of school.
In 2018, Morocco registered a 93.6% primary school completion rate, a slight decrease compared to 2012 ( 98.02 %). In 2019, 16,064 children dropped out of school in Morocco.
In its 2018 annual report about the quality of teaching, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development suggested Morocco’s education system is miles away from the world’s best in terms of quality and competitiveness.
The report ranked Morocco 103rd out of 138 countries in the index for quality of teaching in universities and 74th for the quality of teaching in elementary school.
These figures emanate from many factors, including poverty, abandoned children, families who send their kids to work at an early age, and the long-distance many children have to walk to get to some schools, especially in remote villages.
In 2015, Morocco presented its 2015-2030 strategic vision that aims to build a new schooling system that promotes fairness and equality of opportunities, quality education for all, as well as individual integration and social progress.
In addition to the government’s efforts to develop the education sector for children, there are many independent organizations and initiatives seeking to promote child education in Morocco.
Over the years, Alfari9’s initiative with their Child Leader program has made them one of the most active associations pushing for youth empowerment and child education.
“We are not assuming that the Child leader program will be the only thing those children should participate in to be the leaders of tomorrow. But we believe that through the different workshops they will create new ideas and think about their future and maybe after participating in different programs they will have a global vision,” said Alfari9.
Read also: Morocco Signs Two Agreements to Promote Inclusive Education
The Child Leader program
The first of its kind in Morocco, the Child Leader program is one of Alfari9’s most prosperous initiatives. The program is designed to teach children aged under 16 self-development and business management skills.
Alfari9’s teams teach young participants these valuable skills through strategic methods that are appropriate for their age and meet their curiosity and passion for learning.
“Child leader is a program that shows the importance of the integration of life skills in the education system. Our children are the youth of tomorrow and we need to teach and form them for tomorrow,” said the organization.
During the course of the program, participants will acquire a set of basic skills designed to positively affect their academic success, such as skills of public speaking that will help them share their ideas.
As part of the program, Alfari9 has also organized workshops meant to help the children set their goals, study them precisely, make them clearer, and learn to achieve them.
There will be other workshops on entrepreneurship, with focus being on helping the children build their projects and implement their ideas.
To achieve its goals, the Child Leader program will enable its young participants to also meet with a group of successful personalities and professionals. The goal, the organizers told MWN, is to inspire the program’s participants to achieve their goals and hone their talents.
