Morocco report views culture as key to development

To attain its development objectives, Morocco needs to tap into the vast potential of youth cultures, a recent report concluded.

By Siham Ali for Magharebia in Rabat

[AFP/Abdelhak Senna] Ahmed Abbadi says authorities need to listen to the opinions of young people in the region.

In a first-of-its-kind study, Morocco’s Economic and Social Council (CES) explored how culture can serve as a powerful tool for youth integration.

Culture should be regarded as “strategic sector” and constitute a key component of development policy. Such was the conclusion of the “Inclusion of Young People through Culture” report, released on Friday (January 27th).

“We must address the new context,” said Ahmed Abbadi, the chairman of the committee that conducted the study. “Young people in the region have made their feelings known in various ways and their needs and points of view should have been listened to.”

The aim, ESC chief Chakib Benmoussa said, is to put culture at the heart of social reform and to make it a tool for development so that it can be incorporated into all relevant sectors, such as urban development, education and religious affairs.

Young people’s relationship with culture has changed tremendously, the study concluded, especially due to the influence of satellite TV and wider use of new information technologies. Youths nowadays have access to a broad range of culture outlets and no longer rely on the traditional methods of producing and disseminating culture.

Government youth policies, however, are marked by a lack of joined-up thinking, poor anticipation of the rapid changes currently under way and a widening gap between young people’s needs in terms of cultural infrastructure and content and what is actually available to the public, according to the report.

Over the past few years, the lack of an overall strategy on culture has made it impossible to make the most of the country’s diverse and rich cultural heritage or devise an overarching plan that can harness creative and artistic potential in various fields, Abbadi said.

Nevertheless, young people’s creative abilities have helped the Moroccan cultural scene to develop, be highly innovative, attain a certain degree of independence and interact positively with other world cultures. Abbadi cited L’Boulevard festival as an example.

The CES advocated reconsidering the place of culture in the nation’s collective consciousness in order to reform society. This would involve a number of measures, including the development of a national plan which would make use of culture as a strategic development tool.

Its other recommendations included new training courses based on Islamic principles.

To achieve the goals, the programme will need a cash infusion. The budget of the ministry of culture made up only 0.5% of the overall government budget last year. Additional funds must be found by involving business and cultural organisation working with youths, according to the CES.

Cultural infrastructures and facilities in urban planning regulations need support at the national, regional and local levels.

“This is because cultural infrastructures are seldom included in urban planning projects for new districts and cities,” sociologist Samira Kassimi told Magharebia. “From now on, this aspect should be incorporated into basic infrastructures.”

Abdelaziz Ioui, who reported back to the committee, commented that culture was a central concern for governments that devote large sums of money to it, whereas Morocco falls well short of expectations in this field.

Related Articles

Morocco to tackle youth unemployment
2011-07-27

Morocco offers solutions to youth joblessness
2011-12-29

Youth unemployment tops Morocco priorities
2011-12-19

New Morocco council to revisit social charter
2011-02-23

Moroccans salute king’s speech
2011-03-10

Hopes, however, are high that the new government will make some adjustments.

Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane vowed in a government statement to promote the role of culture and treat it as a priority by making it a bigger part of development efforts.

“We will adopt an integrated approach so that culture and arts policy will become a way of strengthening national identity and opening up to other cultures and civilisations, based on the values of freedom, responsibility and innovation,” he said.

He also promised to develop community-level cultural facilities and provide them in all areas, to support young artists and to increase funding to boost national cultural output.