On 7 and 8 October last, Casablanca hosted the 2024 MENA YES! Summit, a major event dedicated to youth employment in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Organised by Education for Employment (EFE), this first edition brought together more than 200 participants, including representatives from the private sector, governments, youth organisations, international institutions and European and American universities. Several countries were represented, including notably Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Palestine.

The summit addressed four main subjects: women’s economic opportunities and labour market participation, jobs in the green and circular economy, artificial intelligence and the digital economy, and mental health and psychosocial support.

It provided a unique platform, allowing public decision makers, private actors and youth organisations to co-construct innovative solutions for youth employment. .

The European Union has always placed youth at the heart of its priorities, both within its borders and in its cooperation actions with partner countries. This summit was an opportunity to present the extent of its programmes for youth.

Of the European Union initiatives presented during the Summit and that brought participants together in a common interest, mention must be made of the EU Jeel Connect network, which aims to encourage participation by young people in the Southern Neighbourhood by involving them in activities with various EU-funded programmes and projects. During the summit, this network of “young ambassadors” of the EU ran a workshop, a Thinkathon, entitled: “The bases of agile leadership and its importance for employability.” This interactive workshop, opened by Lise Paté, Head of the social and rural development section at with the European Union Delegation to Morocco, brought together brilliant young minds of the MENA region to co-create specific solutions to the challenges of employment, with a variety of subjects ranging from artificial intelligence to the green economy. The ideas and visions developed during this Thinkathon will be followed up by the EU Jeel Connectors and will be the subject of a white paper.

The Morocco ERASMUS+ office was also in attendance, providing all the information relating to the extensive offer of its European programmes for international mobility and the strengthening of skills for young people.