Morocco: supporting cultural policy development with the IFCD

Any mapping of creative industries requires a fine understanding of an audience’s consumption patterns. Between December 2015 and June 2016, as part of the project "Developing an Effective Policy for the Promotion of Cultural Industries in Morocco", the Association Racines (Morocco) conducted a survey on cultural practices in the country. This survey, financed by the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD), highlighted several significant dimensions of cultural practices in Morocco. The results were published in 17,000 copies and disseminated through the magazine TelQuel.

In terms of leisure activities during weekends and evenings, only 1.4% of Moroccans go to the movies, 2.3% attend shows, and 30.7% of them go with their families. However, 56.4% of Moroccans attended a cultural event or a festival during the year, of which 25.4% attended a music festival and 7% a comedy festival.

In the music sector, 51.4% of Moroccans listen to music daily, 42.2% of them on their laptops, and only 7.5% have bought original CDs and DVDs. However, 22.7% state that they download music and 7.9% watch YouTube, Dailymotion and Vimeo.

But if listening to music seems to be a well-established practice among Moroccans, literature and cinema are not as widespread. In fact, 64.3% did not buy a book during the year and only 15.5% are registered in a library. Similarly, 79.5% of Moroccans did not go to the movies during the year and 70.6% do not know if there is a movie theatre close to their location. 12.9% say they download movies and TV shows.

Regional collaboration on cultural policies

Funded by the IFCD, the survey is a reference for qualitative and quantitative reflection on the implementation of a Moroccan cultural policy. The results of this survey were presented in November 2016 at the second edition of the Etats Généraux de la Culture, notably to the Minister of Culture, Mr. Mohamed Amine Sbihi. 1500 people from 17 countries attended the event (Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Egypt, Tunisia, Turkey, Lebanon, Palestine, France, Germany, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Rwanda, Gabon and Zimbabwe).  

The project "Developing an Effective Policy for the Promotion of Cultural Industries in Morocco" helped countries to have a discussion on cultural policy and fostered regional cooperation between civil society organizations. Inspired by this project, Tunisia and Lebanon have launched a similar survey. In another hand, Rwanda presented an action plan for culture to their national authority, in collaboration with the Association Racines.

Today, almost two years after the publication of the results, the Association Racines still work on the implementation of a cultural policy in Morocco. On November 8, the third edition of the Etats généraux de la Culture au Maroc will be held on the topic of "Cultural Policies in Regions".