Students of Euromed University of Fes make the voice of African and Euro-Mediterranean youth heard before the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean.

The Call for Investment in the Future made by the students of the Université Euromed de Fès, read on February 16, 2024, during the 8th Summit of Presidents of Parliaments and the 17th Session of Parliamentarians of the Union for the Mediterranean

On February 14, 2024, students of the Université Euromed de Fès organized, at the parliament headquarters and under the supervision of the Alliance of Civilizations Chair (a Chair created in partnership with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations), the first summit of African and Euro-Mediterranean youth of the Université Euromed de Fès, under the theme: Euro-Mediterranean and Transatlantic Opening, Facing Tomorrow's Challenges Together.

This day, which was attended by more than 200 students representing over thirty countries, addressed important and diverse topics including transatlantic opening, energy ethics, sustainable development, the circular economy, green innovations, and transport. Issues of the environment, territories, the motility and mobility of goods and people, etc., which constitute the cement of co-development on the scale of Africa, were also discussed.

The aspect of major challenges was also central to the interventions and exchanges, notably including: climate change, the scarcity of resources such as drinking water, pollution, human population growth, and the degradation of biodiversity.

Environmental issues are not only varied but also prove to be increasingly complex.

This day was crowned by the formulation of the Call for Investment in the Future, which was read on Friday, February 16, 2024, during the 8th Summit of Presidents of Parliaments and the 17th Session of Parliamentarians of the Union for the Mediterranean.

Among the key points of this Call:

We, students of the Université Euromed de Fès, Moroccans, Africans, and Europeans, seize the occasion of our participation in the first summit of Euro-Mediterranean and African youth, held at the Moroccan House of Representatives on February 14, 2024, to launch this Call concerning the future promises of our great Euro-Mediterranean and African region.

We first wish to express our sincere thanks to H.E. Rachid Talbi Alami, President of the House of Representatives of the Kingdom of Morocco, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean, for opening the doors of the House of Representatives to us to debate among ourselves on the challenges and issues of our region and to respectfully address this call to you.

Considering that this region is currently undergoing profound transformations caused by fluctuating geopolitics, various conflicts jeopardizing coexistence, increased intervention by other powers, and worrying instability in many countries;

Considering the negative impacts of climate change which contribute to the scarcity of water resources, food insecurity and malnutrition, increased poverty, especially on the African continent, and the emergence and/or re-emergence of all kinds of diseases;

Considering that these effects accentuate social inequalities and widen the gap between Europe and Africa with a tendency for youth to venture onto the path of migration and immigration, which cannot be prevented by any security policy and strategy, except through the stability and development of the African continent so that youth can thrive and express their talents within their continent;

Considering the announcements made during the multiple climate forums to compensate developing countries and notably those of the African continent;

Taking into account the importance of the unique and salutary initiatives of the Kingdom of Morocco implemented with the aim of working for economic integration between Europe and Africa around structuring projects capable of ensuring co-development and shared prosperity;

Taking into account the unique and driving role of Morocco in Euro-Mediterranean neighborhood policy;

Recognizing the pioneering role of the Cherifian Kingdom for South-South Africa economic cooperation with unique and significant investments in sub-Saharan Africa and the sharing of its expertise in several economic and technological sectors, as well as Morocco's exceptional policy and legislation in favor of African immigrants;

Emphasizing its salutary role in training African youth and the tens of thousands of scholarships that Morocco offers to sub-Saharan students, like the scholarships offered by the Université Euromed de Fès which provides us with a framework of excellence in training and research, cooperation and partnership, concretizing in this regard the famous phrase of the late King Hassan II who described Morocco as a tree whose nourishing roots plunge deep into the soil of Africa and which breathes through its foliage rustling with the winds of Europe;

We, the young students from the north and south of the Mediterranean, launch in unison and with a single voice the following call to you honorable parliamentarians and representatives of the peoples and nations of the two continents to:

- consolidate and strengthen cooperation and partnership between Europe and Africa through concrete, large-scale projects of mutual interest;

- concretely release the funds promised during the COP21 in Paris to help African countries implement resilience and climate change adaptation projects, knowing that Africa is the continent that emits the least greenhouse gases with less than 4%, but it is at the same time the most impacted continent;

- provide the necessary support for the strategic project of the gas pipeline linking Nigeria to Morocco, which would induce a positive economic impact on the 14 African countries traversed by this pipeline and act as a lever for regional integration, while constituting a source of energy supply for Europe;

We the youth, particularly those from Africa, welcome the initiative of His Majesty King Mohammed VI to facilitate access for Sahel countries to the Atlantic Ocean; to make Morocco's highway, railway, port, and logistical infrastructure available to Sahel countries for the import and export of goods. We also express our gratitude to the Sovereign, who is the founder and Honorary President of the Université Euromed de Fès, for making this University of excellence available to us, which allows us to receive the best training while remaining on our continent;

Finally, we the youth call upon the countries represented by your honorable assembly and the African countries to endow the African continent with a Marshall Plan for investment in education at all levels and in research. It is an investment in the future that will be shaped by us the youth, and it is an investment whose dividends are far superior to any other, and it is also the true bulwark against poverty, radicalization, terrorism, and illegal immigration.