UNDEF promoting youth political participation in Morocco

 

An UNDEF regional project to involve young people, especially young women in political life in Libya, Morocco and Tunisia has led to a number of the participants standing in elections for the Moroccan Parliament, including Hanane Rihab who was elected as a member of the Socialist Union for Popular Forces, coming top of the women’s list.

The project has been a big success in getting young people engaged with public policy. As well as project participants standing as candidates in the recent Moroccan vote, a number of them also acted as election observers.

Youth involvement in politics in the region is a challenge following the disappointments of the Arab Spring.  Youth in all three project countries, especially women and marginalized populations, are looking for opportunities to become more engaged.

The UNDEF project “Engaging Civil Society and Youth in Public Policy Dialogue in North Africa” has undertaken a wide range of activities to promote the participation of civil society and youth in the public policy process including journalism training and summer camps as well as the creation of Youth Councils in each of the countries.