Morocco is a country of emigration, transit, and destination. However, over the years, the nature of migration to and from Morocco has changed, with more women and children making the northward journey, and not always for purely socio-economic reasons. Stemming these growing migration flows has become an ever more important priority in Europe, including in its relations with the North African kingdom. In turn, migration control is now a powerful diplomatic tool for Rabat. At the same time, Morocco is confronted with pressing domestic policy imperatives, such as determining the legal status of migrants, protecting their basic rights, and granting them access to public services, while aligning its domestic legislation with international norms and agreements it has subscribed to.
The Middle East Institute (MEI), in partnership with the North Africa Policy Initiative (NAPI), is pleased to host a roundtable with youth experts from Morocco to discuss the various motives for increased migration and the political ramifications of this changing context.
Speakers
Raniya Fenniri
MA student, Mohammed V University
Mohamed Tahar Essiddiki
PhD student, Mohammed V University
Nabil Ferdaoussi
Research Fellow, Institute for Humanities in Africa
Jean-Louis Romanet Perroux, moderator
Director, North African Policy Initiative
Detailed Speaker Biographies
Raniya Fenniri is a master's student at Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco, specializing in migration studies. She works with the capacity-building team at the Global Refugee Youth Network and volunteers with local NGOs and UN agencies. Raniya is passionate about fieldwork and engagement aimed at improving the lives of refugees and fostering a more inclusive and compassionate society.
Mohamed Tahar Essiddiki is a doctoral student at Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco. His thesis focuses on identity deconstruction and integration among sub-Saharan migrant communities through cultural forms. Essiddiki has carried out research on cultural representations in orientalist narratives and identities of colonized minorities. He is interested in issues of culture and integration related to the Moroccan diaspora in East Asian countries.
Nabil Ferdaoussi is a doctoral research fellow at the Institute for Humanities in Africa at the University of Cape Town (HUMA). He is also an associate researcher at the Center for Global Studies at the International University of Rabat. His doctoral research focuses on the forensic examination of the interlocking relationships between border death, racism, visuality, and postmortem violence at the Moroccan-Spanish borderlands. His work aims at rethinking and decolonizing knowledge production in migration and border studies research, deploying African epistemologies.
Jean-Louis Romanet Perroux (moderator) is a researcher and advisor on international cooperation and development, and the director of the North African Policy Initiative, an NGO that focuses on improving participatory governance and building the capacity of youth in North Africa. He has over 20 years of hands-on experience in program design and implementation, in training and coaching students and activists, and in conducting action-oriented research and strategic evaluations in the fields of civil society, youth empowerment, local governance, corruption, human trafficking and smuggling, migration, and the prevention of violent extremism.
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