Signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between UNESCO and the OCP Foundation
© UNESCO/Christelle ALIX
On Tuesday, 3 October 2017, UNESCO had the pleasure of signing an important Memorandum of Understanding between UNESCO and the Office Chérifien des Phosphates Foundation (OCP Foundation). Ms. Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, Mr. Mostafa Terrab, President and CEO of the Office Chérifien des Phosphates (OCP), Her Excellency Ms. Zohour Alaoui, Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of the Kingdom of Morocco to UNESCO, but also Mr Firmin Edouard Matoko, Assistant Director-General for Africa, as well as Mr Magnus Magnusson, Director of Partnerships and mobilization of resources to the Division of Social Transformations and Intercultural Dialogue (Social and Human Sciences Sector) attended the ceremony.
In line with a more than 60-year cooperation between UNESCO and Morocco, this Memorandum of Understanding would not have been successful without the immense support of Her Excellency Ms. Zohour Alaoui. Within UNESCO's Medium-Term Strategy (2014-2021), this agreement is part of the Priority Africa, guiding UNESCO's action. More specifically, it fulfills one of its objectives, which is to coordinate a reflection on the future of Africa and to strengthen the continent's foresight capacity. This Agreement is the result of an intersectoral cooperation between the Africa Department – through its Contextual Analysis and Foresight Unit, with Abdoulaye Ibrahim (AFR/ACP) – and the Social and Human Sciences Sector, through its programme “Management of Social Transformations” (MOST), with Riel Miller (SHS/RPF).
The Agreement is the outcome of a financial mobilization process initiated by the Africa Department in January 2015 during the last official visit of Mr. Mostafa Terrab dedicated to the signing of a tripartite agreement between UNESCO, Kush Productions and the OCP. This illustrates the Africa Department's ability to mobilize domestic financial resources with African partners to support the flagship programs of Priority Africa.
Through this Agreement, the OCP Foundation will provide a financial support over three years to the intersectoral project "Imagining the Future of Africa", in line with its role of carrying out the social and societal commitment of OCP Group, an influential actor in Africa. This project, which falls within the scope of UNESCO's Priority Africa, will be implemented by the Africa Department in close collaboration with the Social and Human Sciences Sector.
The project aims to strengthen individual and institutional capacities in ten African countries to define future African needs and use the future for a better socio-economic development. That will enable Africans to explore new opportunities and develop innovative public policies. That will result in the opening of two centers that will play a pioneering role in foresight. One, research-oriented, will be launched at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Morocco, while the other will be located in Sub-Saharan Africa for the implementation of innovative instruments in various development-related fields.
This Memorandum of Understanding paves the way for a fruitful collaboration in the implementation of the Priority Africa, Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063 of the African Union.
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