Morocco – C4D Network

The C4D Network is pleased to be part of the CEC18 Civic Education Conference, being held in Morocco from 3 – 7 December. This event is exploring how ‘civic education’ is understood and is being innovated across the MENA region as well as internationally.

‘Civic education’ and ‘C4D’ have not been linked to any significant degree to date, but in reality there is a close alignment, as highlighted in the CIVICUS definition below:

“Civic education can be broadly defined as the provision of information and learning experiences to equip and empower citizens to participate in democratic processes… Civic education is an approach that employs a range of different methods, and is frequently used in conjunction with other capacity-building and dialogue approaches to strengthen the ability of citizens and civil society groups to organize themselves, interact with others and make their voices heard by those in power.”[1]

The organisers of the conference are NACE (Networking Arab Civic Education), and further resources and insights about this field – including a database of countries and strategies – can be found on their website www.nacecommunity.org.

[1] https://www.civicus.org/documents/toolkits/PGX_B_Civic%20Education.pdf

This paper argues that while platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are unquestionably allowing some young citizens in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region quicker, easier and greater access to job opportunities and likeminded groups and citizens inside and outside the region, class-based digital divides exist, scepticism of new media remains, online surveillance and harassment are rife, and social media fatigue is common. Existing community structures, creativity and emerging media remain important for youth participatory civic networks in Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Communities, local neighbourhoods, private and public spaces, and commercial media cultures vie for position in young people’s social worlds and civic identities.