“Leaders of Tomorrow”, el programa que une a jóvenes de Israel y Marruecos
The Leaders of Tomorrow programme, a partnership of young Moroccans and Israelis, will soon take place in Israel. The Hebrew country will organise a "hackathon" promoted by the Mimouna Cultural Association and ISRAEL-IS, which will show the good relations between the two nations through the youth of both countries. This project brings together 20 young Moroccans and 20 Israelis who join together to cooperate in the field of technology where dialogue between the two cultures is encouraged.
Each country chose the best participants to create "Leaders of Tomorrow". Due to the pandemic situation, meetings were initially held online between December 2021 and February 2022. The first sessions aimed to bring the 40 young people together and start building relationships through good communication. Issues such as stereotypes and perceptions between the two cultures were addressed in order to put aside differences and begin to create a united and strong community. To this end, four mixed groups were formed where these young people began to work.
This programme involves the 40 young people carrying out a hackathon. This is an event that serves as a meeting point for programmers and ICT professionals. In it, they carry out joint technological projects that mainly aim to innovate and improve certain areas of society. There are also talks about the future of technology and the path it is taking, and technological duels can be formed that end with amazing projects where each team has had the freedom to create whatever they want. Normally, these meetings have a specific theme.
During this stage, the teams created formalised some ideas that were presented to an Israeli-Moroccan jury of experts in the field. Then, thanks to the possibility of the opening of Morocco's borders and the establishment of a direct air link between Tel Aviv and Marrakech, the young people were able to meet for the first time.
The Israeli delegation visited Morocco for two days at the end of February. There, the 40 participants were able to meet face-to-face for the first time. During the two days, the young people worked on and deepened the projects they had created with a view to their possible implementation. At this stage, the aim was to come up with a viable project, which had an extendable budget of USD 1,000.
The resulting ideas were then presented to another jury who assessed and determined the viability of the projects. The projects are currently in the creation and implementation phase, as the programme is not yet finished.
"Leaders of Tomorrow"will end in May this year. The teams will meet in Israel, where the Moroccan delegation will be in charge this time. Right now, there are four projects that seem to be chosen for the presentation and which will demonstrate their viability in real life. They include one that deals with engaged tourism, another on the influence of social networks, one on artistic exchange and another that evaluates the relationship between technology and people with special needs.
In addition, these 40 young people will have the opportunity to meet Isaac Herzog, President of the State of Israel. He will be present at the launch of the chosen project, which will be an innovation.
Once again, the good relations between Morocco and Israel are demonstrated by their participation in joint projects. After the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020 under the supervision of the United States, the two nations have not stopped collaborating and strengthening ties through mutual cooperation agreements, the promotion of some sectors and so on. Among these, the most important are the cession and security arrangements, where the Kingdom has taken a keen interest in Israeli weaponry. The two countries have put tensions aside and embarked on a path that will allow them to improve many social and economic areas together.