King Mohammed VI Champions the Cause of Youth in Morocco & Africa
Listening to the voice of youth and addressing their challenges have topped the concerns of the Moroccan Monarch whose tours in the country and the continent have always attached paramount importance to youth wellbeing and future.
To mention but a few initiatives led by King Mohammed VI, on Thursday, he inaugurated in Marrakech two sports facilities worth some 31 million dirham as part of a larger endeavour to offer the youth a venue to unlock their sports potential.
The two facilities are part of a larger plan worth 670 million dirhams aiming at building five community indoor pools and 832 social and sports complexes in rural and peri-urban areas across Morocco.
Promoting the living conditions of youth and improving their prospects have been part of the top priorities of King Mohammed VI who has stressed in his recent speeches the need for the government to address youth unemployment, improve vocational training and encourage young entrepreneurs.
“We must give our young people what they need in the areas of education, employment, health and so on. More importantly, we must enhance their confidence and give them hope in the future… Every citizen is entitled to the same opportunities, to a good education and to a decent job,” King Mohammed VI underlined in a speech last August 20.
The King stressed on multiple occasions that the youth and their issues should be placed at the heart of Morocco’s new development model.
The royal speech of August 20 urged the Government to take as soon as possible a series of measures to address the thorny issue of unemployment among young people and called for a comprehensive review of public mechanisms and programs for youth employment so as to make them more effective and ensure they meet young people’s aspirations.
In rural areas, the King urged building on the achievements of the agricultural sector to offer the youth more employment opportunities and improve their access to land.
The youth represents the “real asset” of the homeland and hence the need for “the proper training of young Moroccans and their active and constructive involvement in public life are among the most important challenges that ought to be met,” said the king in one of his recent speeches.
At the continental level, Morocco’s king highlighted on many occasions that the future of Africa hinges on its youth, and that “a proactive, youth-oriented policy can channel energy for the achievement of development”.
“This is a godsend for Africa; it makes it possible for the continent to benefit from a young, educated and abundant labor force to drive the continent’s economic growth”, stressed the Monarch in a speech read in Addis Ababa by his brother Prince Moulay Rachid at the 29th African Union Summit.
