The International Organization of La Francophonie has announced the winners of its youth competition titled « Innovate Today, Build Tomorrow! », including a Moroccan who was awarded in the « Environment and Climate » category.
According to a statement from the organization, headquartered in Paris, the young Moroccan Hajar El Farouki was recognized for her project (Filteco). This project proposes « an innovative filter made from clay and other natural materials, offering a sustainable and affordable solution for obtaining drinking water while supporting local craftsmanship. »
Other winners in this competition, open to young people aged 18 to 35 from the 88 member states and governments of the International Organization of La Francophonie, are: Claudel Charles (Haiti) in the « Employment and Entrepreneurship » category, Lilian Fleur Djouiko Nkama (Cameroon) for « Education and Training », Claire Siang (France) for « Sport », and Djibril Ndeem Thiam (Senegal) for « Culture and Digital Domain ».
The organization stated that the winners, each receiving a prize of 15,000 euros in addition to dedicated technical support to implement their project, were selected from nearly two thousand applications from 57 countries after a « rigorous and objective process established to select the best projects. »
This process included several stages, including eligibility analysis, followed by an evaluation of eligible projects by a technical committee that selected 25 projects based on specific criteria.
The International Organization of La Francophonie launched the youth competition « Innovate Today, Build Tomorrow! » on the occasion of International Francophonie Day on March 20, 2024, aiming to select « innovative projects in French aimed at addressing social, economic, digital, and environmental challenges in the Francophone space. »
Inspired by the recommendations of the 2020 youth consultation « The Francophonie of Tomorrow », this initiative aims to encourage young people to become « agents of change by supporting their innovative ideas, » according to the same source.
