Source: Magharebia
An international programme is gathering Maghreb youth to help guide their countries into the future.

The three-day "Women Leaders of Tomorrow" exercise, which wrapped up Saturday (May 31st), brought young representatives of Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Belgium to Casablanca. Tunisia hosted the event in April. It moves to Algeria in October.

This programme will strengthen the capacities of women, said Fouzia Assouli, who heads event-co-organiser Federation of the Democratic League for Women's Rights (FLDDF).

[Magharebia/Mariam Tahiri] Regional unity can create an economic, social, and political force that can enable Maghreb residents to live in peace, a Casablanca seminar participant says.
"They are participants in the political movement and have a presence as an economic and consultative power," she added.

"There are many points of similarity between Moroccan women and their Tunisian and Algerian counterparts," Assouli noted. "There is awareness and a burning desire to build democracy in their communities."

NGOs "Democratic Association of Moroccan Women" (ADFM) and "Actions in the Mediterranean", the Belgian Embassy and the German Heinrich Boll Foundation also organised the conference.

The project aims to train women on how to give persuasive speeches and improve communication.

The competence of women is no less than their male counterparts' in the creation of their own businesses, in the economic sphere, or in decision-making at the political level, said Belgian MP Simone Susskind, who also heads the "Actions in the Mediterranean" organisation.

"We cannot remain away from actual participation in the progress of society, especially after the change that our country witnessed in which women played a leading role," said Tunisian participant Ahlam Ben Othmane.

"Women were always in the front rows of the political movement," she added.

Ben Othmane noted the determination of aspiring women and said that these successful professionals needed coaching in order to more successfully participate in development and progress.

Algerian veterinarian Nassima Djermouni noted: "We women are looking for real equality at the level of the regions we serve, so that educated women can participate in the development of our Maghreb countries."

"It is only with our unity that we can create an economic, social, and political force that can enable the peoples of the Maghreb to live in peace and meet all economic and political challenges in the future," she told Magharebia.

"We have a lot to share and to invest in joint initiatives capable of giving us the opportunity to open up more and give a new boost and another dimension to our lives and to our Maghreb identity and culture," she added.