International seminar "The right to citizenship... Living together..."

Tadamoun Wa Tanmia Association participated in the third international seminar on secularism held in El Jadida - Morocco. The first seminar was held in Lyon – France in 2008 and the second seminar took place in Wavre – Belgium in 2009. Moroccan Tofola Shaabia Association hosted this meeting entitled "The right to citizenship ... Living together" in a youth center affiliated to the Ministry of Youth and Sports from 10th till 14th of November 2010.

Participant countries were seven including Tunisia, Belgium, France, Algeria, Catalonia, Morocco and Lebanon. The seminar included workshops on the concepts of citizenship; identification of educational resources used by the participant countries to promote the concepts of citizenship among children and youth; and also introducing the different techniques and methodologies in addressing children and young people. These enriched the cultural exchange among participants on the "right to citizenship" while considering the specificity of each of the participating countries. Seeking more familiarity with the context of Morocco in promoting citizenship, several meetings and discussions were held with the mayor of Casablanca, President of the Forum of citizenship and one of the famous lawyers in the University of El Jadida.

Moreover, field visits were conducted to major cultural sites in El Jadida, Casablanca and Azemmour which helped the participants from various countries to better comprehend the concepts of citizenship in Morocco. This seminar provided a very rich opportunity for exchanging experiences among participants and also for promoting discussions on the concepts of citizenship between countries of East and West which would contribute to the development of cultural exchange programs taking place between them. In particular, Tadamoun Wa Tanmia participation in three international seminars on secularism with other Arab and Foreign countries have greatly supported its secular approach which is widely disseminated thru its programs in an attempt to enhance youth affiliation to homeland in a country of increasingly sectarian and religious conflicts.