Rabat- Amnesty International’s National Forum of Youth organized a meeting on November 16th and 17th in Bouznika, near the capital Rabat, to promote the spirit of activism in civil society.
Several groups affiliated with Amnesty International from Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakech, Tangier and Kenitra shared their voluntary experiments, took stock of actions, planned new tasks, and convened an advisory committee representing 3380 activists in Morocco, 15% of whom are less than 24 years old.
The NGO’s volunteers pay visits to schools, cooperate with local NGOs and support freedom of speech.
Amnesty International, Morocco Branch, is striving to involve young people in the defense of Human Rights, by providing them with opportunities not only for voluntary action, but also to rise up in the NGO’s leadership.
In a workshop about communication campaigns and organizing, the young activists were taught new tools to raise awareness among civil society about the importance of individual human rights. Through encouraging decision making, building strong and constructive critical reasoning, Amnesty International instills the principles of freedom into its members.
A new event, "The Marathon of Letters” will take place on November 25th in a number of cities in Morocco and around the world to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Volunteers will collect signatures for petitions to support the main objective of Amnesty International: preserving human rights.
Hassan Elboukri, a third year student Tangier’s National School of Business and Management, known as ENCG, and a member of the advisory committee, presented the results of his group’s action and the main tool that helped their achievements during 2013, such as social networks both at the national and international levels.
Over the next two years, according to the operational planning for 2014-2015, the main international campaign that the local representative groups are working on is to abolish torture in Morocco, Nigeria, Mexico, Uzbekistan and Philippines.
The International Secretary of Amnesty International in London chose Morocco as the venue for the forum because of its importance as country that works hard on ushering a solid foundation for democracy and human rights, its efforts to push for judicial reforms to foster an independent judiciary, and its influence in the Middle East and North Africa.