Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ms. Khadija Zoumi, Takes Part in Works of Constitutive Session of the House of Councillors’ Forum for Moroccan Youth

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ms. Khadija Zoumi, took part on Wednesday June 01, 2022 in Rabat, in the works of the constitutive session of the House of Councillors’ Forum for Moroccan Youth, which was organized under the theme "What Regional Territorial Policy On Youth".

Speaking on behalf of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rachid Talbi El Alami, Ms. Khadija Zoumi stressed that Moroccan youth played key roles in the various stages of building the nation-state, consolidating the institutional and democratic structure and achieving development, noting that the Kingdom of Morocco, under the wise leadership of His Majesty King Mohamed VI, has enshrined the rights of youth and made them binding on all regardless of the political affiliations of governments, institutions or territorial collectivities.

Within that context, Ms. Zoumi noted that we should all be optimistic about young people and avoid reducing their ambitions to pure materialism. Instead, she added, we should give due consideration to the successes achieved by Moroccan young people, who answered, by thousands, the call of military service, influence public opinion, participate actively in sports and cultural life, and play a decisive role in civil and civic actions. Accordingly, these positive and bright aspects need to be valued, cherished and sustained by an appropriate institutional framework.

Rep. Zoumi further noted that our political practices and traditions in Morocco have reached maturity to the point where the involvement of young people has become a firm common conviction and a political and societal necessity, adding that we should not fail to notice the role played by youth-led political organizations in enriching partisan and political work.

The Deputy Speaker also called for changing our view of youth, correcting our stereotyped images of this group, believing in their potential, capacities and abilities to innovate, investing in training, encouraging persuasion, integration and inclusion, and opening up the horizons for rational thinking.

Rep. Zoumi highlighted that the institutional and legislative reforms adopted by our country, under the leadership of His Majesty the King, during the last 20 years, have ensured the access of young professionals to representative and executive institutions. Such achievement is clearly demonstrated through the rejuvenation of the territorial communal councils and the legislative institution, where over 41% of the members of the House of Representatives, for example, are under the age of 50 years and more than 17% are under the age of 40 years. She added that these rates are not far from the case of a number of parliaments in long-standing democratic countries, as comparative models in European parliaments show that the representation of young people aged 40 years or less does not differ much from the composition of our Moroccan parliament.

In this regard, Rep. Zoumi said that we should appreciate the fact that a number of former young parliamentarians have acquired considerable experience and have dealt successfully with a number of political issues, which gained them the trust of His Majesty the King in appointing them members of the Government and officials in executive institutions. Moreover, she also recalled the possibilities and rights guaranteed to civil society by the Constitution of the Kingdom.

In closing, Rep. Zoumi stressed that the progress and development of nations depend on the active participation of women and men and their involvement in the development process, noting that the new development model and the institutional, economic and social reforms carried out by our country open wider horizons for young people to show their creative energies in entrepreneurship and social work, and to become an employer instead of a job-seeker.

On the other hand, the opening session of this Forum was marked by the statements of the Speaker of the House of Councilors, Mr. Naam Miyara, and the Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, Mr. Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid.

During this Forum, participants will discuss a number of issues, including "WHAT SHOULD AN INTEGRATED NATIONAL YOUTH STRATEGY BE", "WHAT IS THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL APPROACH TO YOUTH INTEGRATION", "ANY EFFECTIVE HUMAN RIGHTS APPROACH", "WHAT THE STATUS OF YOUTH IN THE NEW DEVELOPMENT MODEL", "REGIONAL TERRITORIAL YOUTH POLICY", "ASPECTS OF TERRITORIAL YOUTH POLICY", and "INTEGRATED YOUTH POLICY: IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES".

The House of Councillors’ Forum for Moroccan Youth aims at adopting a collective thinking, making a constructive proposal, and contributing to the initiation of a debate on public policies for young people nationally and regionally. The forum is also aimed at encouraging innovative and modern ways to promote dialogue between youth, public authorities, territorial collectivities on the one hand and institutions of governance on the other, while expanding the institutional framework to promote the democratic participation of youth and involve them in decision-making.