En bref : Maroc

Histoires vécues

Young people rally for a high quality school

© UNICEF Morocco

Children in Zoumi define their needs for the school project.

Inspired by the World Congress of Youth 2003, UNICEF and the ASSBI Association have sponsored a project that offers young conference participants the opportunity to participate in a concrete way in the realization of the Millennium Development Goals. The project focuses on the quality of the educational experiece at a school in Zoumi, a town in Northern Morocco, whose inhabitants have come together to change children's lives. Children, young people, the parent-teacher association, and local participants from the village were all called upon to cooperate in the repair and renovation of their school. But rehabilitating the physical environment is just the first step in a long process that aims to improve the quality of the entire educational system.

In Zoumie, the partners organized a grassroots planning meeting.  During the brainstorming sessions, open debates, artistic expression workshops, and bilateral interviews, all participants, each in his/her own way, were able to express their points of view and wishes for the future of their school. The discussions, recommendations, sketches and drawings were recorded in a report written up by the young scouts who assumed leadership for the day. The dream was subsequently transformed into a reality: a team of young students from the National School of Architecture prepared the architectural and materials plans required for the repairs. A model of the reconstructed school embodied a visual synthesis of the entire partnership effort. The model was presented to the children, to the youth and to the population of the village; they saw their ideas and suggestions taken seriously.

The work started immediately, guided by a plan outlining a broad mission and providing numerous opportunities for participation to the children and young people. This approach gives credibility to involvement of young people, even as it responds to the real needs of the children and the population of the village. In this way, they have been able to make the project their own, and thereby assure its durability.

Participating young people from the World Congress of Youth are impatiently awaited in the village. "We would like to show the youth of the world what the children and young people of Zoumi are capable of," noted a young girl of 15. During 3 days in the field, the young participants will have the opportunity to experience the reality of rural life and to share their experiences with their fellow Moroccans. The program is rich and varied: village tour; discussions with the young people, children, parents and local participants; brainstorming sessions about the project; participation in the work on-site; cultural and artistic activities. The young people of Zoumi have already made plans for what will happen after the visit: they will maintain contacts with the conference participants, and intend to build up a network of young people involved with the school project. These young people will certainly participate in changing the life of their village. To be continued.

Note: In the context of the World Congress of Youth 2003, about a hundred projects related to the Millennium Development Goals will be launched, with the participation of 1,000 young conference delegates. This opportunity will enable them to put into practice the debates and concepts they will have discussed in the brainstorming and working sessions.