The Moroccan government and the European Union (EU) signed an agreement in Essaouira on Friday on the European Union's (EU) first support program for Morocco's cultural and creative industries.
The agreement was inked by Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, and EU Ambassador to Morocco, Patricia Lombart Cussac, in the presence of Andre Azoulay, Advisor to His Majesty the King, and Neila Tazi, president of the Federation of Cultural and Creative Industries.
This program is the first of its kind within the framework of the Morocco-European Union Partnership. It aims to promote culture by strengthening the cultural and creative industries as a vector of economic development and employment for young people.
On this occasion, Cussac said that "culture is a formidable lever for bringing peoples together and enriching each other. Our partnership of shared prosperity will now be deepened with a dimension for Morocco's cultural and creative industries".
He added that "our ambition is to contribute together to the creation of jobs for young people, to Moroccan-European initiatives and to highlight Morocco's cultural diversity in all its dimensions, including in particular through the valorization of Moroccan-Jewish heritage".
For his part, Bensaid stressed that "culture is the reflection of a nation's soul, and today we are launching a new chapter for Morocco's cultural and creative industries", adding that this support program "opens the doors to innovation, economic development and employment for young people, in line with the Royal Vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI".
"Together, we will highlight the richness and cultural diversity of Morocco. This initiative will contribute fully to the development of our young people and to the development of Morocco as a whole", he stressed.
Worth 110 million dirhams, the program to support Morocco's cultural and creative industries will be implemented through three main components: project subsidies, support for the Federation of Creative and Cultural Industries, and the mobilization of expertise.
The partnership between Morocco and the EU focuses on common challenges such as economic development, innovation, climate change, justice, security, mobility and good governance.
Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse