"STEM for Sustainability" Youth Program Launches in Morocco

Amideast, Boeing, and Morocco's Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communications are pleased to launch an innovative STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education and training program that will deepen awareness of environmental sustainability among Moroccan youth and provide them with skills they will need to address these challenges.

Sixty young men and women, ages 18–25, will participate in the STEM for Sustainability Youth Program beginning in April. The training will provide immersion in activities that develop skills in STEM fields as well as the integration of problem-based learning focused on local environmental challenges. The program will also raise their awareness of career opportunities in the STEM fields through classroom presentations as well as field trips to sites where environmental challenges are addressed through STEM-based solutions.

Today’s launch took place at the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication’s Youth House Ennour in Yaccoub El Mansour, a central suburb of Rabat, where the program will be hosted over the next four months. Boeing’s president for the Middle East, Turkey and Africa, Kuljit Ghata-Aura; the secretary general of the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communications, Mustapha Messoudi; U.S. Embassy Morocco’s economic counselor, Stephen P. O’Dowd; and Amideast’s regional director for workforce development and employability, Jennifer Smith, addressed the gathering.

"The programs developed by Amideast and Boeing provide a great opportunity to prepare young people for exciting careers in the aerospace industry, which is crucial for the future growth of the industry. As we are all experiencing the global challenge of climate change, our sector strives for innovation and sustainable development. Through programs like these, we can inspire and equip the next generation of aerospace professionals to drive progress and create a brighter future for all," said Kuljit Ghata-Aura, president of Boeing Middle East, Turkey and Africa.

“I am very pleased to have Boeing — a global American company — contributing to youth skills development in Morocco. The particular focus on STEM skills and teaching youth how to better engage in STEM-based solutions can have a positive impact on youth employment, and the local environment,” the secretary general of the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communications, Mustapha Messoudi, said.

Jennifer Smith, Amideast’s regional director for workforce and entrepreneurship, added, “We are delighted to expand our regional partnership with Boeing to offer this STEM-based program for youth in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication. This program draws on local community support while also advancing the Moroccan government’s national youth development priorities.”

The new program builds on our partnership with Boeing through which we have launched multiple STEM programs in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, and the UAE, beginning in 2021 with the opening of the STEM Center at Amideast/Cairo.