Marrakech, Morocco

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‘Lifelong learning is a lever for placing the citizen at the heart of municipal action and consolidating the sustainable development and cultural prosperity of Marrakech.’

Ms Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri

Mayor

Marrakech: an oasis city and a major transport hub

Marrakech is an ancient city located in the centre of Morocco near two port cities and at the foot of the Grand Atlas mountain range. It is also an oasis city and a major transport hub. Subdivided into five districts, it has approximately 1 million inhabitants. The city’s economy centres on tourism, handicrafts and trade, as well as the agri-food and construction industries. Marrakech is currently addressing a number of major challenges such as rural exodus, mobility issues, urban sprawl and social disparities. 

Vision and Strategy

Marrakech’s learning city strategy aims to meet the growing and diverse learning needs of its entire population by multiplying, innovating and diversifying the spaces and opportunities accessible to all segments of its population, and by improving the quality of education and training in formal and non-formal settings. Additionally, the city wants to integrate the concept of lifelong learning into the design and implementation of public and private projects, and ensure the generalization, institutionalization and permanent improvement of the learning mechanisms in place. 

Policies, Plan and Implementation

Sustainability and health

• To promote sustainability and health, regular learning and awareness-raising activities are organized for the general public and health sector stakeholders, with the aim of changing the way we think and act with regard to health, hygiene and prevention measures. Marrakech has furthermore developed campaigns to increase citizens’ awareness of environmental issues

Equity and inclusion

• Equity and inclusion have been integrated into the learning city strategy, e.g. by establishing a learning centre for women in difficulty, and centre for older people that provides learning activities and computer training.

Decent work and entrepreneurship

• As regards decent work, Marrakech runs programmes to support the professional inclusion of women in vulnerable situations and young people. The city also encourages the development of programmes to help the integration of young people, and supports programmes aimed at organizing activities in the non-formal sector.

Good practices

Solidarity Mobility project

• The city is supporting an innovative project on a national scale for collective transport adapted to people with disabilities within the framework of a programme of decentralized cooperation, and in partnership with civil society. This project provides a daily collective transport service that takes passengers to their places of learning.

Family literacy

• This experimental family literacy programme mobilizes students at Cadi Ayyad University to work as literacy teachers in a ‘one-to-one’ approach for the benefit of members of their family circle.

Inclusion programmes

• These programmes provide sub-Saharan immigrants and their children with literacy training and Moroccan language and culture classes. They also introduce parents to the digital platforms used in distance learning.