Youth Leadership Institute Held in Morocco

January 2007: WLP Morocco/Association Démocratique des Femmes du Maroc (ADFM) held a Youth Leadership Institute for seventeen young human rights leaders. Young people make up over 30% of Morocco’s population, making their involvement in civil society critical.

The two-part Institute took place in November and December 2006. The workshop participants included twelve women and five men, all members of human rights organizations such as Amnesty-Morocco and Human Rights Moroccan Association.

Over the course of the Institute, the youth learned advocacy, communication, and workshop facilitation techniques. They created a network after the Institute in order to stay in touch.

While the youth were discussing advocacy campaigns, one of the student activists presented the steps of a real advocacy campaign in which he had participated. University students demanded that the public bus company take into account the students’ schedules. In protest, the students sent an open letter to the bus company and started mobilizing for a sit-in to block the road leading up to the university. The bus company listened to the students’ demands and modified the bus schedules accordingly.

At the end of the second part of the Institute, the participants and facilitators celebrated Eid el Adha and one participant, Lina,* commented, “The proverb, ‘It is through fun and enjoyment that one learns the most’ is well-suited for this training. It opened our eyes to a type of collegial and participative learning environment, based on a positive atmosphere! We learned a lot while having fun. We hope that this evening, our relationships will be ‘To be continued’ instead of ‘The End’.”

*Names changed to protect participants’ identities.