Representatives from Morocco get a close look at the youth policies of the Junta de Andalucia

Representatives of the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication of Morocco (MJCC-DJ), specifically from the Youth Department, have spent four days in Andalusia to learn first-hand about the policies of social and labor inclusion for young people developed by the Ministry of Social Inclusion, Youth, Families and Equality of Andalusia. This trip has been carried out in the framework of a European twinning project with the Government of Morocco, coordinated by the FIIAPP, the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Andalusian Government.

After the visit of the general director of Social Protection and Neighborhoods of Preferential Action, Antonio Huertas, and the coordinator of European Funds of the Ministry of Social Inclusion, Santiago Reyes, to Rabat in mid-June, now it has been the turn of the Moroccan representatives to come to Andalusia. Among them, has been the director of Children’s Affairs and Women, Kawtar Manssouri, who have been received Monday by the Deputy Minister of Social Inclusion, Youth, Families and Equality, Jose Repiso.

Repiso highlighted the deep cultural and social ties between Andalusia and Morocco, and thanked the Moroccan government for its interest in Andalusian youth policies. “It is a source of pride to be a reference in policies of socio-labor inclusion for young people, as it is a matter of the first order,” he said. He also stressed that young people are the future and that Andalusia must be a land of opportunities.

Twinning projects are a tool of the European Commission to strengthen the public administrations of the beneficiary countries. In this case, the exchange of experiences and knowledge between Morocco and Spain has focused on sharing good practices, fixing the young population in their territories and enriching youth policies, a key objective for the counselor Loles Lopez.

Agenda in Andalusia

The Moroccan delegation in Andalusia has had an extensive program of activities and exchange of knowledge. On the first day, after an institutional reception at the headquarters of the Three Cultures of the Mediterranean Foundation, the delegation visited the Andalusian Youth Institute (IAJ) and the Andalusian Women’s Institute (IAM) to learn about their operation and the driving role they play in Andalusia.

They also learned first-hand about the Eracis strategy (Andalusian Regional Strategy for Social Cohesion and Inclusion) in the Southern Polygon of Seville and the work of the Commissioner of the Southern Polygon. Subsequently, they traveled to Isla Cristina (Huelva) to see the development of Eracis in that town.

In Algeciras (Cádiz), they visited projects such as the summer school of the entity ‘Márgenes y Vínculos’ and the implementation of Eracis in the Saladillo neighborhood.

Finally, they also visited the Diagrama Foundation in Seville to learn about its social and labor insertion programs for young people at risk of social exclusion. They also learned about the initiatives of the foundations of Sevilla F.C. and Real Betis Balompié.