Morocco’s Princess Lalla Meryem, Head of the National Observatory for Children’s Rights (ONDE), presided over a ceremony on Tuesday at the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Rabat to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Children’s Parliament.
The ceremony kicked off with a group of children singing the national anthem, followed by a speech by one of the award-winning child parliament members, Meriem Amjoune, on behalf of the children’s parliamentarians. In her speech, the young girl expressed heartfelt thanks to King Mohammed VI for his ongoing commitment to making Morocco a model in child protection, and to Princess Lalla Meryem for her efforts to establish the Children’s Parliament as a platform for young people to voice their opinions.
Amjoune also highlighted the late King Hassan II’s initiatives to promote and protect children’s rights, particularly the creation of the ONDE, which monitors the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Morocco’s Press Agency (MAP) reported.
The Princess then watched a series of institutional films highlighting 25 years of the achievement of the Children’s Parliament, featuring testimonials and stories from former child parliamentarians.
Lalla Meryem also viewed a video showcasing highlights from the Children’s Entrepreneurship Bootcamp, an initiative launched by the ONDE to train 395 child parliamentarians in entrepreneurial skills, providing them with support through various training sessions.
Princess Lalla Meryem presented the “Voices of the Future,” “Citizen’s Heart,” and “Young Change Makers” awards to the children with the three best projects from the Bootcamp. She also awarded two special prizes, “Voice of Freedom” and “Shining Without Limits,” to two child parliamentarians whose projects stood out for their originality during the training.
Following this, Her Royal Highness presided over the signing of three bilateral agreements. The first agreement focuses on supporting child parliamentarians in their professional projects. The signatories included Morocco’s Younes Sekkouri Oubbahessou, Minister of Economic Inclusion, Small Enterprises, Employment, and Skills, and Ghizlane Benjelloun, Vice President of ONDE.
The second agreement, signed by Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, Minister of Youth, Culture, and Communication, and Benjelloun, aims to strengthen cooperation and coordination to support the activities of the Children’s Parliament.
The third agreement, signed by Ambassador Mohamed Methqal, Director General of the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI), and Benjelloun, establishes a partnership for sharing resources and expertise to ensure the success of African-focused projects within the scope of ONDE’s activities and the AMCI’s work.