Morocco 2003:
An African Adventure

In 2003 Morocco welcomed the 2nd WYC and 802 delegates from 126 countries. It was held just outside the bustling port city of Casablanca.

The UN’s Millennium Development Goals, and the role young people could play in bringing them about formed the basis for the talks.

While the UN was keen to encourage youth involvement, seeing a role where young people would lobby governments to pledge more aid, the young delegates preferred a more involved role.

This debate, which included contributions from several senior UN officials as well as from many young delegates, led to a resolution in the shape of The Casablanca Declaration. The declaration calls on governments to:

Educate both girls and boys

  • Educate about sexual health to reduce population growth
  • Empower women as well as men to start income-generating projects

Develop nations infrastructures such as roads and sewerage systems

  • Raise living standards in rural areas to reduce rural to urban migration
  • Work to resolve and end all armed conflicts
  • Lessen the dependency of developing countries on developed ones
  • Cancel all un-payable third world debt
  • Ensure food security by improving irrigation and soil management
  • End corruption and prioritize minority groups
  • End child labour and reintroduce street children into society