Casablanca- In collaboration with the regional board of the Moroccan Journalists Union in Benslimane, the Moroccan Center for Civic Education (MCCE), supported by the United Nation Democracy Fund (UNDEF), is organizing a national meeting on public policy in Bouznika (40 kilometres from Casablanca) from 9 to 11 May 2014.
The event aims to engage youth and civil society in a constructive public policy dialogue with local decision makers and community leaders.
Taking part in this event are the Governor of Benslimane, Ministers and MPs representing different political parties, as well as local authorities.
This national workshop is organized within the framework of a regional project (Engaging Civil Society and Youth in Public Policies in North Africa), which targets three North African countries: Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya. The central objective of this project is to build and foster public policy analysis and advocacy competencies among civil society organisations, NGOs, and youth groups in the three countries.
Based on the remarkably successful Project Citizen program, the goal of the project is to train NGOs and youth to enable them to be considerably more involved in debates on community issues, to analyse and evaluate existing public policies, and eventually suggest solutions and alternative approaches in order to enlist authorities to adopt them.
Implemented by the Moroccan Center for Civic Education and its partners in Tunisia and Libya, the project seeks—in the context of the aftermath of the Arab Spring—to enable civil society organizations and youth groups to participate actively in the public policy processes in their countries.
Presided by Mr. Elarbi Imad, the Moroccan Center for Civic Education is an independent NGO founded in 2004. Its mission is “to train and educate younger generations to become responsible, effective and active citizens committed to democratic principles.”