Moroccan Government Unveils Plan to Invest in Gaming Industry, Youth Centers

Rabat – Morocco’s minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, stressed on November 16 the importance of investing in the video games industry and youth centers across the country.

Bensaid’s remarks, which were made during a weekly hearing before the House of Councilors, the upper house of the Moroccan parliament, suggest that youth inclusion and empowerment is part and parcel of the new Moroccan government’s social policies.

The gaming industry has generated more financial revenue and created a significant cultural impact worldwide. Bensaid highlighted the importance of encouraging Moroccan youth to develop technological skills and reach expertise in the field as it is becoming an essential tool in the international job market.

With many Moroccan game developers seeking foreign countries that offer them a range of opportunities in their field, Bensaid insisted on “creating opportunities for youth to invest in their skills and develop themselves in their home country.”

As the gaming industry generates billions of profits in the job market, Bensaid’s department is committed to investing within the industry by elaborating a “strategic plan that will encompass youth centers and incubators” to step up in the development of video games.

Moroccans are becoming more interested in this particular industry as it uses several techniques, software, processors, and advanced technological platforms. Part of young Morocans’ growing interest in the industry is also that it generates a very strong and dynamic value chain such as: technical and artistic design, programming, audiovisual production, marketing, and advertising.

However, although many young Moroccans aspire to become professional Esports players, the industry is still at a very early stage and video game development studios are non-existent.

The building or renovation of youth centers is the second priority of Youth, Culture and Communication, Minister Bensaid said. He indicated that his department intends to prepare a specific decree aimed at proposing a new range of services adapted to the needs of young people.

“The ministry is working on the development of a mobilization master plan aimed at the creation of new institutions, the rehabilitation and equipment of existing ones and the establishment of an application that meets the expectations of young Moroccans in terms of access to institutional information and public services,” he detailed.

Morocco has 464 youth centers, of which 367 are in urban areas (57%) and 279 in rural areas (43%).

Bensaid also noted that the department is working on developing ambitious programs in all cultural and artistic fields to unveil Moroccan talents and offer new perspectives and professional opportunities to young project leaders.

He underlined that the ministry intends to open youth centers and other cultural institutions to as many young people as possible across the country to promote exchange between different social classes.

The ministry’s cultural department also seeks to take several social initiatives such as creating more cinemas and libraries in youth centers to encourage reading and provide youth with an adequate space to enhance their skills.