Bensaid: 687 Youth Centers in Morocco to Support Social Inclusion and Sustainable Development
The Minister of Youth, Culture, and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, emphasized the significant role played by youth centers in promoting social inclusion and supporting sustainable local development. He clarified that the total number of these institutions nationwide has reached 687, including 394 in urban areas and 293 in rural regions.
In response to a parliamentary question from MP Nabil Dakhch of the Movement Party regarding the “decline of the roles and dynamics of youth centers,” Bensaid stated that these institutions are operating under good conditions. He stressed that the ministry continuously adapts its programs to meet the aspirations and expectations of youth, through the organization of purposeful cultural, educational, and artistic activities within these spaces.
The minister noted that youth centers have formed essential spaces for the guidance of children and youth over the decades, safeguarding cultural, artistic, and sporting capital, as well as serving as centers for volunteering, community work, and local initiatives.
Within the framework of its strategy to enhance public offerings targeted at youth, the ministry has launched a series of programs, most notably the Comprehensive Qualification Program, which includes the renovation and equipping of numerous youth institutions across the country, with a special priority given to rural areas.
Additionally, the ministry has introduced the National Program for Activating Youth Institutions at the start of each academic year, aimed at institutionalizing and organizing access for associations and clubs to these institutions through clear partnerships that allow them to offer diverse activities and programs for children and youth, thereby contributing to the diversification and improvement of services and enhancing the role of institutions as open spaces for training, creativity, and recreation.
In the context of modernizing youth work, Bensaid mentioned the launch of digital platforms, including the Jam3iya.ma platform, which provides an interactive database for collecting and exchanging data and services between associations and youth institutions. Currently, it includes around 18,274 registered and active associations. Furthermore, the Youth Institution Leaders’ Registry (Animateurs.ma) has been established, serving as a digital database of educational staff to facilitate their participation in training courses and improve human resource management.
The minister underscored the importance of partnerships with local authorities, serious associations, and the private sector to enrich activities and ensure the sustainability of services. He noted that the ministry also prioritizes the training of personnel through specialized training courses.
Bensaid concluded by reaffirming the ministry’s commitment to making youth institutions safe and open spaces that respond to young people’s aspirations, contributing to social inclusion and sustainable local development, in line with national trends in promoting youth and culture.
