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Morocco’s Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sports Othman El Ferdaous on Wednesday said that cultural digitalization will be an important part of the country’s post-COVID-19 recovery.
His assertion came in a statement on his official Facebook account, where he summarized some measures of Morocco’s Economic Monitoring Committee (CVE). Morocco created the committee in March 2020 to help mitigate the socio-economic repercussions of the COVID-19 crisis.
After the 11th committee meeting, which took place on Wednesday, El Ferdaous noted that the COVID-19-driven economic crisis has proven “difficult” for some workers and businesses.
Read also: COVID-19: Morocco to Assist Newspapers, Art Galleries, Gyms, Nurseries
As a solution to Morocco’s current crisis, the minister emphasized in a video the importance of the digitalization of cultural sectors. This could be a pathway for a 2021 economic recovery, he said.
“The lockdown period showed us that digitalization is the solution to prepare for health crises,” he added.
El Ferdaous discussed some highlights of his ministry’s initiatives in 2020. Yassine Bourfik Moumad, an employee of the ministry, won a competition that the Agency of Digital Development (ADD) organized. Moumad took the prize with a project titled “development of audio-visual content creation of social media through youth clubs.”
In his Facebook statement, El Ferdaous referenced the “#fikraryadia” (athletic ideas) campaign, which his ministry launched in August 2020. The competition invited Moroccans to submit suggestions for improving sports for youth. The ministry selected Mostafa Rached’s proposal as the winner. Rached suggested creating a digital platform for sports federations and associations. GIZ pre-selected the project for funding and support, El Ferdaous added.
Morocco and culture in 2021
In his video, the minister stressed culture and creativity as vehicles of technological and economic growth.
“Economists such as Richard Florida say that the term Human Capital is not always associated with only education level, but also concerned with artists and creative people,” El Ferdaous noted.
The minister outlined the Ministry of Culture’s expectations and initiatives going into 2021.
Morocco’s Environmental, Social and Economic Council (CESE) previously recommended launching a digital platform to disseminate culture digitally, such as creating live festivals, intangible heritage, and distributing musical albums. The platform will launch this year.
Beyond this program, 2021 will also see an improvement on a digital level. The cultural digitalization will involve equipping ministry employees with the necessary electronic devices, such as tablets and computers, and creating new phone applications to facilitate cultural consumption, among other measures, Morocco’s culture minister said. El Ferdaous added that the economic recovery is a good chance to support cinema and other audio-visual sectors, especially video games, since there is a growing demand for e-sports by young Moroccans.
El Ferdaous’ outlined vision aims to bring a new method of cultural consumption through digital platforms. The COVID-19 crisis has shown Morocco that it lacks digital infrastructure. The minister wants to take the initiative to promote culture digitally by improving the audio-visual sector and the emerging e-sports culture, among other measures.
