OULED MOGADOR MUSIC ACTION

Culture, a necessary driver for development

Ever since it was launched, the Gnaoua and World Music Festival has endeavored to be an innovative cultural event, i.e. a festival for exchange and sharing, a festival with a vision and constructive will.

Indeed and for nearly 20 years, the Festival has been part of the cultural life at both the national as well as the regional levels.

The organizers soon realized that the festival should no longer be addressed as a seasonal event but should rather be approached as a sustainable lever for local, regional and national cultural action.

The youth, key development enablers

So as to reflect the new socio-cultural environment of this significant segment of our society, the Gnaoua and World Music Festival has eagerly sought to give wider scope to youth- oriented actions. The Festival was one of the first to host on its big stages artists of the new Moroccan scene, providing them with visibility, confidence and artistic maturity. It has also integrated and trained young people from Essaouira in its teams.

In Morocco, and in Essaouira, the availability of talented young people in different artistic fields is no longer to be demonstrated... Rather they need to be "supported, encouraged and accompanied". Particuliarly those who are just starting out and still need to aquire experience and receive advice and guidance.

That’s how the Ouled Mogador Music Action was born spontaneously in 2015. The OMMA project, which was designed and supervised by the Gnaoua and World Music Festival, seeks to offer training in the music professions to the city's youth to improve their skills and gain know-how and visibility.

A yearly programme has been set up through the "Festival Workshops", the "Escale Ouled Mogador" and the "OMMA Workshops"which are implemented throughout the year.

Being aware of the importance to mobilize all the stakeholders while involving several contributors, the OMMA project has chosen to count on the support of committed and experienced partners in the field of Moroccan youth cultural development, who already have successfully set up infrastructures: the AEC L'Boulvart (Boultek), the Abdelaziz and Touria Tazi Foundation (L'Uzine), and the Hiba Foundation.

Theses partners are pooling together their respective expertise and professional skills, sharing their knowledge and experience to carry out the youth training mission in Essaouira in events production and organisation technical professions related to events organization.