Agadir – Morocco and the European Union signed today in Rabat three new projects aimed at strengthening the country’s cultural and creative industries.
Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid and EU Ambassador to Morocco Dimiter Tzantchev chaired the signing ceremony, reflecting the broader Morocco-EU cooperation program designed to support cultural and creative industries.
According to Morocco’s Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication, the projects were signed in partnership with Africalia, the German Goethe Institute, and the Hiba Foundation.
The initiatives “fall within a vision that positions the cultural and creative industries as a genuine driver of economic development and social inclusion,” the ministry said in a statement.
It added that the projects aim to support “creative youth, nurturing emerging cultural enterprises, strengthening Moroccan-European cooperation, and expanding access to information and professional networks.”
Tzantchev hailed the creativity and dynamism of young Moroccans, stressing the EU’s commitment to youth inclusion. “Moroccan youth are at the heart of the cultural and creative industries: talented, connected, ambitious,” he said. “Today, we are signing 3 projects to support their entrepreneurial ambitions and strengthen co-creation between Morocco and the EU.”
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The new initiatives seek to support cultural entrepreneurship, improve professional training, and expand financing opportunities for Moroccan creative enterprises, while also helping local cultural products reach international markets.
The projects are part of a wider Morocco-EU program launched in 2023 to structure and modernize the country’s creative economy.
The initiative focuses on sectors such as cinema, music, publishing, design, video games, fashion, and digital creation, which Moroccan and European officials increasingly view as drivers of growth and innovation.
Officials said the agreements aim to strengthen the competitiveness of Moroccan cultural actors while encouraging collaboration with European partners through exchanges, technical assistance, and institutional support.
The EU has steadily expanded its financial support for Morocco’s cultural sector in recent years. It announced in 2023 MAD 110 million in funding dedicated to supporting cultural and creative industries in the country, marking one of the largest European support packages for the sector.
Last year, the EU and Morocco’s Federation of Cultural and Creative Industries also launched the “ICC: Innovation and Diversity, Accelerators of Development” initiative, a four-year project backed by €600,000 in European funding.
