On Tuesday 5 June 2023 the CCME pavilion at the Rabat Book Fair, hosted a round-table discussion on the ” representations of Moroccan values among young Moroccans around the world “. Ms Nour ZIRAT, female politician and head of the office of the Member of Parliament for Westmount-Saint-Louis (Canada), Ms Hajar OUAHBI, journalist at France 24 (France) and Hiba EL AIDI, law student at the University of Montreal, in professional training at the Quebec Bar School, took part in this meeting moderated by Ms Ghislaine El Abid from the CCME.
he discussions mainly focused on the unique nature of Moroccan values, the way in which they guide us in our daily lives and how they have been transmitted through the generations. To this end, Ghislaine El Abid referred to a recent publication by Jamaleddine Tadlaoui and Rim Arara, “Identity constructions and family strategies”, which retraces the trajectories of three generations of Moroccan immigrants in Belgium.
The choice of speakers, from different backgrounds and countries, reflects two of CCME’s values, according to Ghislaine El Abid: “Exchange, which is the watchword of our work and our activities, and the promotion of skills, because for CCME, every Moroccan is a skill and has a skill to contribute to his or her country”.
According to Nour Zirat, who has been active in political life since the age of 15, support from the Moroccan community in Canada and its attachment to Moroccan culture has made it possible for her and other young Moroccans “to express themselves, learn and speak out”, through the support of her father, Abdou Zirat, who launched M FM Radio, a web radio station dedicated to the Maghreb community in Canada.
She explained that these same values that “allow us to come together as a community are the ones that enable us to be integrated”, and that despite “the singularity and the generosity that Moroccan culture embodies, it is important for the Moroccan community to go further in its exercise of citizenship”.
Because, ” to make its values shine, it needs people who are part of the decision-making power, who can rise to positions of power to change things and ensure that everyone’s rights are recognized “.
For her part, Hajar Ouahbi, journalist working for France 24, explained that “Moroccan values are transmitted very effectively by parents” who “have successfully built up their microcosm”. For her, the most precious value is “religion, as it was taught to me by my parents, because that alone can bring together all the values of our country”.
In her involvement with community or professional organizations, for environmental causes, for social care among the older generations or in her work as a journalist, she finds her motivation in “this desire and this nature that we Moroccans have to give and receive, to generously mix with others”.
Social commitment is also a key aspect of her career, thanks to a value specific to Moroccan culture, that of being “indebted to our elders”. ” I was influenced by the migratory journey my parents took, which began in Italy and then in 2008 moved to France. The most important thing for them was for their children to be able to fulfil their dreams, and that’s what they gave us, and it inspires us to do likewise”.
To pass on these values and many others, Hajar Ouahbi founded the “arts and archives” non-profit organization, because ” through art, music and painting, many messages or values are passed on” and the “diaspora has produced a lot and continues to produce a lot every day”.
Like all the speakers at this round table, the young student, Hiba EL AIDI, has developed a sense of civic commitment from an early age. Through her participation, she was able to highlight a Moroccan value that is dear to her: “emotional intelligence”, which she defines as “an exceptional capacity to give to others and to be able, like chameleons, to adapt to the cultures of others”.
She says that thanks to this and many other values that were passed on to her, “she has managed to love her host country with all the assurance that her attachment to her roots gives her”. These values are now grouped together under the term “tameghrabit”, “a word so charged with at least 12 centuries we carry within us”.
Wanting to pass on these values and this love for her country to the young Moroccan women in the world, she has founded “Morocco with Purpose”. An annual trip to Morocco with the aim of giving young people the necessary tools to discuss and defend Moroccan interests once they return to their host country.
Organized since 2022 in partnership with the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication, the “Morocco with purpose” trip offers a diversified program that allows participants to think about conserving Morocco’s heritage, preserving biodiversity, the Moroccan nature of the Sahara and Morocco’s place in the world.
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