King Mohammed VI sent a message to participants in the 7th UNESCO International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VII), which is being held in the Kingdom. In this message, the Sovereign indicated that by hosting this event, Morocco reaffirms its effective adherence to the principle of lifelong learning.
Below is the full text of the Royal message, which was read by the Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch.
“Praise be to God, prayer and salvation be upon the Prophet, his family and his companions.
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is, for us, a real pleasure and an immense pride that the Unesco International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VII) is holding its seventh meeting in the Kingdom of Morocco. Our country is delighted to thus become the first Arab and African country to be granted this privilege.
We welcome the eminent personalities taking part in this important assembly: government officials, delegates of international organizations and institutions active in this field, experts and specialists. We assure them of Our esteem and Our consideration for the tireless efforts which, according to their responsibilities and area of competence, each of them deploys to develop methods of adult learning and education.
We take this opportunity to salute the privileged relations of cooperation and partnership which have always prevailed between the Kingdom of Morocco and Unesco, and to reaffirm Our constant concern to see them develop and extend to other scientific fields, educational and cultural.
By conferring Our High Patronage on your Conference, We bear witness to the capital importance We attach to adult education and, particularly, to the theme chosen for this edition, namely: “Adult learning and education for sustainable development: a transformative agenda”. It is certainly a new appointment that is made today to initiate reflection, to deliberate, to exchange ideas and views on subjects related to this essential issue.
Furthermore, this congress offers us the opportunity to assess the respective achievements of our countries in this field. It also allows us to define the most sensible approaches to develop effective policies dedicated to adult learning and education, according to the concept of lifelong education. The planned effort will constitute a form of contribution to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, scheduled for 2030.
In a world in the throes of unbridled change, it is necessary that, throughout their lives, adults benefit from opportunities to acquire new skills and to optimize their qualifications. This is how they will be able to improve their quality of daily life, enjoy better health, increase their comfort, and ultimately access a dignified existence.
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
As far as we are concerned, the holding of this conference in the Kingdom of Morocco comes in support of the tireless efforts that our country is deploying in favor of a permanent quality education that it ensures to provide to all its children, from the preschool classes , as a central pillar of lifelong learning and an essential prerequisite for improving the Education and Training System.
With this in mind, the Kingdom of Morocco pays particular attention to education for young people by offering them various learning opportunities that open the way to judiciously adapted qualifications to facilitate their professional integration, their cognitive development and their social ascent. . Thus they are sheltered from ignorance and poverty and protected from the temptations of extremism and withdrawal.
To improve the vocational training provided to young people, the Kingdom of Morocco has made intense efforts to offer new training based on a wide variety of specialties. Adapted to the needs of businesses and the needs of the public sector, these new systems are designed to be perfectly in tune with the innovations that have appeared in the various branches of knowledge, in particular in the scientific disciplines, and to integrate the transformations at work within society and in the professions. As a result, young people have better opportunities for professional integration.
In order to ensure the long-term process of learning and training for young people, particularly those who have dropped out of school, an initiative has been launched under the name of “School of the second chance-new generation for the ‘integration and qualification’. Based on the concept of work-study training between school and the company, it aims to prepare and support each young man and each young woman in setting up their individual professional project.
The National Program for the Promotion of the Literacy Process in our country falls within the same framework. Benefiting a large number of citizens, its vocation goes beyond the strict framework of learning to read and write and aims to facilitate the professional integration of the target category. To do this, the beneficiaries are offered training courses that allow them to develop their level of expertise in certain trades, to increase their ability to create cooperatives and job-generating projects.
In addition, the Kingdom of Morocco is committed to facilitating women’s access to education and sustaining their financial autonomy, so that they can contribute efficiently to the dynamics of development, achieve self-fulfillment and assert themselves professionally.
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
By hosting this Conference, the Kingdom of Morocco reaffirms its effective adherence to the principle of lifelong learning. This commitment has been translated into action by the integration of the cities of Chefchaouen and Benguerir into the global network of learning cities, as well as by the allocation to Morocco of the UNESCO Chair.
These achievements have been made possible thanks to the Kingdom’s creation of a Lifelong Learning Observatory and its contribution to the development of mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating the levels of learning. learning, in partnership with the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL).
In addition, the Kingdom is distinguished by a strong dynamic driven by the concerted efforts of all actors in the public and private sectors, universities, local authorities, bodies of civil society and international partners who strive to implement implement policies and programs dedicated to the adult learner.
In this regard, We have always had at heart to guarantee quality education to all Moroccans, all social strata and all age groups combined; an education that ensures immersion in the world of knowledge and communication, integration into working life, and which ultimately contributes to individual and collective development.
It should be recalled in this regard that the New Development Model (NMD) adopted by our country has redefined the course and given a strong impetus to this project. Moreover, its educational component aims to promote educational renewal, with the ultimate goal of providing the country with human capital capable of contributing to its development, by opening up promising future prospects.
This objective necessarily presupposes that everyone is aware of the growing interest that should be given to knowledge and knowledge, essential determinants of development and growth, at a time when technological change is accelerating and when it is therefore imperative to acquire constantly renewed skills and abilities.
Better still, it is important to place citizenship and civic education at the heart of the Moroccan educational project, to support education, training, integration, support and funding mechanisms for women, to consolidate lifelong education and training channels, with a view to strengthening everyone’s capacities.
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
The seventh edition of this conference is a favorable opportunity to consolidate dialogue and debate the challenges linked to the future of adult learning and education.
We are pleased to propose, during this conference, the adoption of a new framework for action, entitled “Marrakesh Framework for Action”, in tribute to the city that hosts its work, in order to guide and develop adult learning and education over the next decade.
This reference document, which constitutes a roadmap for the next twelve years, places the adult learner at the heart of learning policies and establishes the principle of lifelong learning as an essential lever for the prompt achievement of development objectives. sustainable.
The Kingdom of Morocco, convinced that it is imperative to strengthen and coordinate the process of monitoring the implementation of the guidelines resulting from the “Marrakesh framework for action”, considered it judicious to propose the creation of a post-CONFINTEA VII inter-ministerial commission. This will meet every year and will ensure the effective application of all the recommendations made at the end of the conference, particularly at the continental level.
In the same vein, and to strengthen our country’s commitment to lifelong learning, Morocco also proposes to create “the African Institute for Lifelong Learning “. This Africa-wide initiative aims to strengthen South-South coordination and cooperation in the field of adult learning and lifelong learning.
This institute will be a regional center aimed at building the capacity of regional stakeholders, institutions and organizations in the field of lifelong learning.
Similarly, it will allow, in addition to the exchange of successful experiences, the transfer of knowledge as well as the sharing of expertise related to adult learning and education, more particularly at the level of African learning cities. Beyond this objective, it will make it possible to forge ties of cooperation with their counterparts throughout the world.
In addition, this Institute will target local actors, in particular political decision-makers, practitioners, presidents of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and researchers, with a view to an evaluation, on a continental scale, of public policies in terms of of lifelong learning, according to an approach that places learners and trainers at the top of its priorities.
We are convinced that this conference will be an opportunity to deliberate on best practices, to design innovative and realistic solutions, based on an innovative vision. It will also be an opportunity to formulate proposals and recommendations to improve the future of adult learning and education and to guarantee the right to lifelong learning for all.
We welcome you once again to your second country, Morocco, and implore the Most High to guide your steps and crown your work with success.
Wassalamou alaikoum warahmatoullahi taala wabarakatouh”.
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