The city of Sale, starting this week in May, is celebrating its election as the “Capital of Civil Society of Morocco for 2023” with an annual event organized under royal patronage after Tetouan, Taroudant and Oujda. For his contribution, along with the rest of the country’s cities, to “the construction of a liberated Morocco, a Morocco of development and modernity.”
Designed by Civil Society International for the values of citizenship, development and dialogue, this nomination accompanies at the local level the work of ISESCO in selecting the “Capital of Islamic Culture” and the selection of ALECSO as the Capital of “Arab Culture”, reflecting the “treasures of the cultural memory of the Moroccan city and the specificity of its national, cultural, social and urban life”, representing “the efforts of its associations, honoring its luminous symbols in various fields and integrating its activities with public institutions”.
According to Hespress, the idea for this year and past years of choosing a Moroccan city as the capital of civil society and celebrating its organs and leaders is to “rationalize the idea of civil society in a way that serves the public interest.” , and guards its programs against spontaneity, selfish ends, narrow allegiances, and tendentious external dictates.”
It is expected that after the session ends, the city of El Aaiun will be declared the capital of civil society in the coming year 2024, after the experience of the Salawi associations is celebrated. Among them is the Abu Regreg Association.
Mustafa Al-Zabbah, head of Civil Society International for the Values of Citizenship, Development and Dialogue, said: “Civil society provides great services to its city, country and humanity; But it’s not celebrated.” This initiative came, and “first, in cooperation with the Ministry of Parliamentary Relations, the city of Oujda was chosen, then Taroudant and Tetouan, in which the project received royal patronage.”
Al-Zabah added in a statement to Hespress: “We have received a request from El Aaiun to become the capital in 2024 and then Fez in 2025.” He then added: “This is a national, social and civilized project aimed at promoting the values of good citizenship, sustainable development, coexistence and coexistence between civilizations and religions, and to identify and define the memory of the city and its political, cultural, social and religious characteristics” .
And he went on to say: “The perception of Moroccan history cannot be completed except with the contribution of its cities, and it cannot be reduced to the history of a city or region.” “The cultural history of Morocco cannot be fully represented without defining national efforts, cultural characteristics and developmental achievements that cover all Moroccan cities.”
Among the goals of this annual meeting, according to the president of the organization, is to present “the innovative experience of associations with national and international influence and their innovative experience for the benefit of other associations, as well as to increase the capacity of civil society by learning how to rationalize activities and energize our questions and royal orientations, which are confirmed by the provisions of our constitution, and the education of young people in it.
Among the important learning points for Al-Zabah is identifying associations in each city on how to “create a cultural-civilizational encyclopedia of the city and its environs that will produce all material, intellectual and institutional heritage”, while identifying the need to “create a university chair for civil society”.
