Morocco's Youth Come Forward in Climate Action as LCOY 2025 Concludes in Rabat
The event marked a significant moment for youth engagement in climate action as the country prepares for the upcoming COP30 conference in Brazil.
The three-day event, which concluded Friday at the Faculty of Governance, Economic and Social Sciences, brought together young leaders, experts, and decision-makers to address pressing environmental challenges and develop concrete policy recommendations that will be carried forward to the international stage.
In an interview with Morocco World News (MWN), LCOY Morocco 2025 Communication Director Aya Alami said that it 'is not just an event for us, it's our chance. It's Morocco's chance to show the world that youth actually can make a change.'
The conference, endorsed by YOUNGO, the youth constituency of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and supported by Morocco's Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, represents a crucial platform for amplifying young voices in climate policy. LCOY Morocco 2025 Communication Director Aya Alami
Bridging Local action with global impact
The conference's significance extends beyond national borders, serving as a preparatory platform for COP30, scheduled for November 2025 in Belém, Brazil.
Event Director Fouad El Bouari pointed out the conference's role in creating a direct pipeline from local youth engagement to international climate negotiations.
'We gathered more than 100 youths from all over the 12 regions of Morocco to organize a conference about sustainable development in all thematics and topics regarding climate change,' El Bouari explained in an interview with MWN.
'The goal is to come out with logical recommendations that will be prescribed in the Moroccan statements presented to different decision makers and institutions.' LCOY Morocco 2025 Event Director Fouad El Bouari
The opening ceremony on Wednesday featured prominent figures, including Nathalie Fustier, Resident Representative of the UN System in Morocco, who delivered what organizers described as a 'compelling speech,' stressing the importance of youth engagement in climate action.
Comprehensive climate agenda
The conference tackled interconnected environmental challenges through specialized workshops and panels. The first day featured three parallel policy workshops examining the nexus between water, food, energy, and ecosystems; resilient communities and disaster preparedness; and green finance, jobs, and sustainable entrepreneurship.
Notable experts participated throughout the program, including Rajae Chafil, former president of 4C Maroc Center and recognized climate change expert, who contributed to discussions on building climate-resilient communities.
'We had the first workshop on a Nexus between water, food, energy, and ecosystems to show how these themes are inherently connected and how one impacts the other,' El Bouari noted, pointing out the conference's holistic approach to environmental challenges.
The second day expanded the dialogue with panels covering water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), eco-responsible behaviors, climate crisis and conflict, and climate justice from a Moroccan perspective.
A unique feature was mock Conference of Parties (COP) simulations, allowing participants to experience international climate negotiations firsthand.
Youth engagement in political processes
A standout element of the program was dedicated sessions on climate and political parties, designed to increase youth engagement in Morocco's political landscape. El Bouari explained that this workshop aimed to include 'a type of body that doesn't vote enough in the Moroccan political landscape, to make them more knowledgeable about the political parties and their stances on climate change.'
The conference also addressed critical social issues, including safeguarding children's rights in a changing climate and exploring artificial intelligence's potential for social impact.
Building Networks for future action
The Youth Networking Gala for Climate Action, held Thursday evening, provided participants with opportunities to build lasting connections. Fatima-Ezzahrae Lammat, a second-year student at UM6P's Faculty of Governance, Economics and Social Sciences, argued about the significance of networking component in preparing future leaders. Fatima-Ezzahrae Lammat, a second-year student at UM6P's Faculty of Governance, Economics and Social Sciences
'What we are really trying to do is to empower youth and give them a voice on the platform, especially those who care a lot about the climate crisis, which is a very pressing matter in today's world and especially in Morocco,' Lammat said in an interview with MWN.
From local voices to global stage
The conference's outcomes will be consolidated into a comprehensive policy brief containing recommendations from all sessions and workshops. These recommendations will not remain merely academic exercises but will be integrated into Morocco's official positions for COP30.
'All those ideas will be gathered in one policy brief that will actually not just remain words on paper, but it will actually take place on the negotiation table at the COP,' Alami noted, stressing that the conference has a practical impact on policy-making.
As Morocco continues to position itself as a leader in African climate action, LCOY 2025 demonstrates the country's commitment to ensuring that young voices are not just heard but actively shape the policy decisions that will determine their environmental future.
The conference's legacy will extend far beyond its three-day duration, as its participants carry forward both the knowledge gained and the networks built to continue their climate advocacy at local, national, and international levels. Tags: climate changeMoroccan YouthMoroccoUM6P
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Morocco's Youth Come Forward in Climate Action as LCOY 2025 Concludes in Rabat
Rabat — Over 100 young Moroccans from all 12 regions of the country gathered at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) this week for the Local Conference of Youth (LCOY) Morocco 2025. The event marked a significant moment for youth engagement in climate action as the country prepares for the upcoming COP30 conference in Brazil. The three-day event, which concluded Friday at the Faculty of Governance, Economic and Social Sciences, brought together young leaders, experts, and decision-makers to address pressing environmental challenges and develop concrete policy recommendations that will be carried forward to the international stage. In an interview with Morocco World News (MWN), LCOY Morocco 2025 Communication Director Aya Alami said that it 'is not just an event for us, it's our chance. It's Morocco's chance to show the world that youth actually can make a change.' The conference, endorsed by YOUNGO, the youth constituency of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and supported by Morocco's Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, represents a crucial platform for amplifying young voices in climate policy. LCOY Morocco 2025 Communication Director Aya Alami Bridging Local action with global impact The conference's significance extends beyond national borders, serving as a preparatory platform for COP30, scheduled for November 2025 in Belém, Brazil. Event Director Fouad El Bouari pointed out the conference's role in creating a direct pipeline from local youth engagement to international climate negotiations. 'We gathered more than 100 youths from all over the 12 regions of Morocco to organize a conference about sustainable development in all thematics and topics regarding climate change,' El Bouari explained in an interview with MWN. 'The goal is to come out with logical recommendations that will be prescribed in the Moroccan statements presented to different decision makers and institutions.' LCOY Morocco 2025 Event Director Fouad El Bouari The opening ceremony on Wednesday featured prominent figures, including Nathalie Fustier, Resident Representative of the UN System in Morocco, who delivered what organizers described as a 'compelling speech,' stressing the importance of youth engagement in climate action. Comprehensive climate agenda The conference tackled interconnected environmental challenges through specialized workshops and panels. The first day featured three parallel policy workshops examining the nexus between water, food, energy, and ecosystems; resilient communities and disaster preparedness; and green finance, jobs, and sustainable entrepreneurship. Notable experts participated throughout the program, including Rajae Chafil, former president of 4C Maroc Center and recognized climate change expert, who contributed to discussions on building climate-resilient communities. 'We had the first workshop on a Nexus between water, food, energy, and ecosystems to show how these themes are inherently connected and how one impacts the other,' El Bouari noted, pointing out the conference's holistic approach to environmental challenges. The second day expanded the dialogue with panels covering water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), eco-responsible behaviors, climate crisis and conflict, and climate justice from a Moroccan perspective. A unique feature was mock Conference of Parties (COP) simulations, allowing participants to experience international climate negotiations firsthand. Youth engagement in political processes A standout element of the program was dedicated sessions on climate and political parties, designed to increase youth engagement in Morocco's political landscape. El Bouari explained that this workshop aimed to include 'a type of body that doesn't vote enough in the Moroccan political landscape, to make them more knowledgeable about the political parties and their stances on climate change.' The conference also addressed critical social issues, including safeguarding children's rights in a changing climate and exploring artificial intelligence's potential for social impact. Building Networks for future action The Youth Networking Gala for Climate Action, held Thursday evening, provided participants with opportunities to build lasting connections. Fatima-Ezzahrae Lammat, a second-year student at UM6P's Faculty of Governance, Economics and Social Sciences, argued about the significance of networking component in preparing future leaders. Fatima-Ezzahrae Lammat, a second-year student at UM6P's Faculty of Governance, Economics and Social Sciences 'What we are really trying to do is to empower youth and give them a voice on the platform, especially those who care a lot about the climate crisis, which is a very pressing matter in today's world and especially in Morocco,' Lammat said in an interview with MWN. From local voices to global stage The conference's outcomes will be consolidated into a comprehensive policy brief containing recommendations from all sessions and workshops. These recommendations will not remain merely academic exercises but will be integrated into Morocco's official positions for COP30. 'All those ideas will be gathered in one policy brief that will actually not just remain words on paper, but it will actually take place on the negotiation table at the COP,' Alami noted, stressing that the conference has a practical impact on policy-making. As Morocco continues to position itself as a leader in African climate action, LCOY 2025 demonstrates the country's commitment to ensuring that young voices are not just heard but actively shape the policy decisions that will determine their environmental future. The conference's legacy will extend far beyond its three-day duration, as its participants carry forward both the knowledge gained and the networks built to continue their climate advocacy at local, national, and international levels. Tags: climate changeMoroccan YouthMoroccoUM6P
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Instead of rethinking the development model to retain these professionals, the government has doubled the number of medical graduates and increased engineering graduates tenfold to produce more exportable talent. 'We used to train 1,500 doctors annually, but 800 of them were recruited each year, especially to Germany,' Mezzour said, continuing that German universities would recruit entire classes of engineers before graduation. Mezzour described these young graduates as 'hungry' to integrate into life and create a future for themselves, insisting they represent 'a tremendous force for those who deal with them respectfully and within a balanced partnership framework that ensures contribution to their valorization within Morocco.' Beyond 'cheaper is better' for sustainable growth Mohammed Afzaz, a Qatar-based Moroccan economic analyst, told MWN that betting solely on the wage gap to attract foreign investment may backfire for the kingdom in the long run. 'Morocco's bet on the 'cheaper is better' principle to attract foreign investments may not be the most suitable wager for the kingdom amid strong competition from other Arab and Asian countries that adopt the same strategy,' Afzaz explained. He cited Vietnam and Bangladesh as countries that tried this model before concluding they needed to support innovation rather than simply being open territory for mobile capital. For Morocco to retain its high-caliber talent, Afzaz suggested a five-point strategy: achieving fair wages with growth guarantees, enabling continuous training opportunities at home and abroad, investing heavily in research and development, supporting innovation and entrepreneurship rather than turning engineers into 'stagnant employees and numbers among other numbers,' and providing social and health protection for professionals and their families. 'Morocco in this critical period of its rising development project needs its competencies to play a central role in leading the desired economic takeoff,' Afzaz stressed, though he acknowledged that preventing talent migration entirely would be impossible given global market demands. Afzaz pointed out that the global context presents unique challenges, adding: 'Trump's ongoing trade wars' and persistently 'high inflation levels no longer exempt any country in the world.' He warned that 'if wages do not move to keep pace with rising prices, purchasing power gradually declines.' Cultural factors offset wage disparities Contributing to the discussion, economist and Director of the Government Work Observatory Mohammed Jadri spoke to MWN about several structural factors he believes help explain why the wage gap hasn't triggered a full-blown talent exodus. 'The lifestyle and cultural attachment: A significant portion of Moroccan engineers prioritize family stability, cultural proximity, and quality of life that the country can offer, especially in major cities like Casablanca, Rabat, or Tangier,' Jadri said. He pointed to growing local opportunities thanks to industrial strategies launched since 2014, the relatively lower cost of living, and government policies encouraging training and professional integration as factors helping Morocco maintain its talent pool. Jadri specifically mentioned the Industrial Acceleration Plan launched in 2014 and continued by the current ministry, which has created interesting prospects in several sectors, including 'automotive, aeronautics, electronics, and offshoring' that offer career advancement and specialization opportunities. He also underlined the role of government training initiatives through OFPPT (Office of Professional Training and Work Promotion), the Cités des Métiers et des Compétences (CMC), and ANAPEC employment contracts in structuring a skills pipeline aligned with industrial needs, which strengthens local employability. Jadri characterized the wage gap not as social dumping but as an acknowledged comparative advantage in Morocco's strategy. 'Morocco positions itself as an intermediate alternative between low-cost countries like Bangladesh or Ethiopia and European countries. For multinationals, it's an opportunity to optimize costs without compromising quality,' he stated. 'Morocco does not practice a race to the bottom,' Jadri insisted. 'The minimum wage (SMIG) is regularly revalued, collective agreements are developing in certain industrial zones, and mechanisms for social dialogue exist.' Looking forward, Jadri argued this cost differential is only sustainable if accompanied by structural transformation of Morocco's industrial fabric. 'The simple cost advantage will eventually erode with rising social and wage demands,' he went on to say. 'It is therefore necessary to invest in continuing education and technical and scientific fields, promote R&D partnerships between industrialists and Moroccan research centers, strengthen the ecosystem of industrial and deep tech startups, and integrate global value chains at a higher level,' he concluded. International integration will drive wage growth Offering a critical perspective, economist and researcher at Mohammed V University in Rabat, Zakaria Firano explained to MWN that Morocco's current level of human capital remains average by global standards, leaving substantial room for improvement. 'Morocco is situated in terms of human capital in the world average, according to the World Bank index, at a level of 0.5 to 0.55, which means that the qualification of Moroccan human capital remains average compared to different countries of the world,' Firano observed. This moderate productivity level partly explains the salary gap with European counterparts. Firano provided concrete examples to illustrate this point: 'We are in the industrial sector always at a level of contribution to added value to gross domestic products around 28% to 29%.' For him, 'this means that any improvement in human capital in the medium and long term will allow the industrial sector to reach the objective we want, which is to reach more than 40% of added value, not only in terms of quantity but also in terms of quality and also in terms of quality competitiveness internationally.' Firano linked the salary differential to productivity gaps, remarking that 'in European and developed countries, [highly qualified human capital] remains a bit more important than what we find here in Morocco.' To reduce this gap, he argued Morocco must raise both the level of human capital and its contribution to added value, especially in industrial and service sectors. Comparing minimum wages across countries, Firano stated: 'If we take a minimum wage, we will simply compare it with Spain, it's around 300 euros in Morocco compared to more than 1,084 in Spain,' adding that the minimum found in countries with relatively low minimum wages in Europe, 'like Croatia, Poland, etc., is double, triple what we find, triple the minimum wage in Morocco.' On the sustainability question, Firano gave a firm 'probably not' to whether the wage differential can persist long-term. 'We cannot have a certain sustainability through salary attractiveness if we are in an economy that is beginning to integrate internationally,' he stated. With Morocco's international integration level around 65% and continuing to open up, prices will increasingly align with international levels. 'The obligation to converge with new international professions in technology, robotics, and artificial intelligence will require increased qualification and human capital,' Firano added. This human capital improvement will generate higher added value and productivity, inevitably leading to higher wages. Young talents seek fulfillment beyond salary Weighing in on the debate, economist and academic Mohammed Chiguer shared with MWN that salary isn't the decisive factor behind brain drain decisions, and put it bluntly: 'Moroccans flee their country, but French people also flee their countries.' 'I believe that the minister's statement is simply to support the movement observed for some time, the return of Moroccan talents who even resided in France,' Chiguer said. He pointed to many Moroccan professionals born and educated in France who have chosen to settle in Morocco, with Casablanca serving as a vital platform for those wishing to work with Africa. Chiguer placed the situation in its international context, particularly considering Europe's employment challenges. 'France is experiencing problems in this area. In fact, the unemployment rate for graduates is beginning to worry them,' he asserted. According to Chiguer, young talents seek self-fulfillment through multiple channels. 'The main reason for brain drain or the return of brains is that young people seek to realize themselves not only through a more or less high salary but also through other conditions,' he clarified, referencing Morocco's efforts to establish itself as a true African hub. 'It's a question that really needs to be placed in its context and take into consideration the international situation, take into consideration the situation in Europe in particular and in France more particularly,' Chiguer concluded. Read also: Morocco's Auto Labor Cost: Just $106 Per Vehicle Tags: Moroccan EngineersRyad Mezzourwages
