Development of Youth Institutions: Workshops and In-Depth Discussions at the Regional Forum in Oujda
The role of youth institutions in the Eastern region and prospects for their management and activities were primary topics discussed at a regional forum held yesterday in Oujda, initiated by the regional directorate of the youth sector in the aforementioned region.
The forum provided an opportunity to showcase various activities and programs implemented for the youth of the region this year by the decentralized services of the Ministry of Youth, Culture, and Communication – Youth Sector, as well as to evaluate the achievements and initiatives undertaken with civil society organizations and other partners.
Focus was also placed on ways to enhance the nature and quality of services and activities offered by youth institutions, ensuring they align with the current expectations and needs of this vital and dynamic segment of society.
During the opening session of the forum, participants asserted that youth institutions should evolve into new civic spaces that embrace digitalization, the creative economy, entrepreneurship, sports, and the arts—providing youth with a new sense of belonging and participation.
They noted that the challenges facing these institutions are numerous and complex. These challenges particularly include infrastructure, digitalization, governance, advancing recreational offerings, relations with civil society, human resource development, and improving local services.
Najia Nour, the regional director of the youth sector in the Eastern region, stated that the forum’s discussions revolve around three main axes: a deep diagnosis of the real issues facing youth institutions, seeking realistic solutions that consider the region’s particularities and leverage its human, economic, and cultural capabilities.
Nour added that the third axis focuses on formulating a joint regional vision that will serve as the foundational document guiding the programs and plans of youth institutions in the coming years.
In this context, the regional director clarified that the discussions to take place within this regional forum will contribute to building strong, realistic, and feasible proposals, forming essential building blocks for the national symposium on youth institutions to be organized by the ministry, which will help reorder sector priorities at the national level, unify the vision, strengthen governance, and ensure the sustainability of results.
The sessions of the Oujda Forum, which featured representatives from the regional directorates of the youth sector from the regions of Fes-Meknes and Tadla-Azilal, included workshops specifically addressing governance and digitalization of youth institutions, the “Youth Passport,” partner programs, training, relationships with civil society, and enhancing the capabilities of socio-cultural animators.
For the organizers, the work of this forum is not an end; rather, it marks the beginning of a long path aimed at establishing the Eastern region as a national model in the development of youth institutions, improving their services, and building a new relationship between the public institution and youth.
