April 6, 2017, Rabat
USAID/Morocco Mission Director Dana Mansuri joined UIR President Noureddine Mouaddib and NDI Morocco Director Slobodan Milic in signing a Memorandum of Understanding that outlines the participation of UIR in an USAID’s “Ajiw Tcharko” extracurricular program focusing on civic and political education. As part of her opening remarks, Dana Mansuri sparked a conversation by saying, "Over 200 years ago, it was youth just like you who helped create democracy in the United States. I congratulate you for your interest in this program; it will help you understand what your government is doing and how you can engage with it to help change things for the better."
Participating students showed eagerness to learn more about politics and the decision-making process in order to tackle the issues that they believe to be the most important in Morocco: education reform and corruption. Faysal El Harfi, a Chemical Engineering Masters student, thought that politics should not be reserved for politicians, but that even if students wanted to make a difference they felt powerless do not know where to start. Jaafar El Ghazaouni, a UIR student studying business added, "We have a politician inside of each of us. We just need simple information and instructions on how to engage".
Noureddine Mouaddib, President of UIR, added that the “Ajiw Tcharko” program goes hand in hand with the university’s vision to involve the students in social and political life. UIR students have already distinguished themselves in the program by their level of ownership: for the first time, students are actively recruiting their peers using a presentation they developed on the program, and it just shows the excitement and the need for such programs at Moroccan universities.
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