Rabat – Morocco’s youth participated in the 10th Annual Economic and Social Youth Forum in Rabat on Tuesday, April 6.
Due to the pandemic, the forum focused on post-pandemic challenges for the youth of the MENA region. The forum emphasized the success of Morocco’s youth groups in response to COVID-19.
The forum focused particularly on achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Leaders from the council declared 17 commitments for Morocco’s youth to achieve the SDGs and “to leave no one behind in 2030.”
The 17 commitments surrounded improving employment opportunities for students after graduation, combatting discriminatory social norms against women, encouraging Moroccan youth to engage in political discourse, and advocating for more transparency from governments to strengthen the youth’s trust in institutions.
Although the forum operates under the charter of the UN, Morrocan youth groups modified the 17 commitments to encompass issues unique to Morocco.
Other commitments relate to providing Morocco’s youth with research initiatives while also recognizing research efforts currently underway within the kingdom. Research relating to environmental studies and health studies was a primary focus.
In the forum’s closing statement, the founder of the International Young Leaders Organization (IYLO) Lena Sykorova called upon Morocco’s youth to empower themselves and stand up to the challenge of committing to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.
Morocco’s own Ahmad Sauddana Alli representing Atlas for Development participated in a panel on Intergenerational and Intercultural Dialogue with Young Leaders. Alli is an inter-religious doctoral student in Rabat and represents Morocco in a wide array of UN- organized events.
The youth forum occurs bi-annually and is hosted in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund Morocco (UNFPA) and the UNESCO Office for the Maghreb.
Members of multiple international organizations attended the seminar such as representatives from the African Union Commission Youth Advisory Council, the World Development Foundation, and a UN youth delegate.
