The initiative is led by the Fondo Andaluz de Municipios para la Solidaridad Internacional (FAMSI)
The Asociación de Energias Renovables de Andalusia (CLANER), based in Malaga TechPark has presented the Move Green project which, led by the Fondo Andaluz de Municipios para la Solidaridad Internacional (FAMSI), aims to promote the employability and entrepreneurship of young people through collaboration between Andalusia and Morocco.
The presentation ceremony was attended by the president of CLANER, Alfonso Vargas, the mayor of Seville, Antonio Muñoz, the director of the Brussels mission of the ICMP, Ralph Genetzke, the president of FAMSI and the Diputación de Jaen, Francisco Reyes, and the president of the AN^MAR Federation and mayor of Chefchaouen, Mohamed Sefiani..
The project, in which CLANER is actively participating, consists of a pilot experience that aims to contribute to improving the employability and entrepreneurship of young Moroccans through a circular mobility process and the strengthening of public-private partnerships in the green economy sectors in Andalusia and Northern Morocco.
CLANER’s main purpose in the initiative is to provide practical information to the beneficiaries, enabling the exchange of knowledge between the students and the companies of the association participating in the project. The students will visit different renewable energy facilities in Andalusia to learn about their operation and management, as well as visiting different leading companies in the sector.
The project is co-funded by the European Union, through the Migration Partnership Facility programme, and managed by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD).
At the presentation ceremony, the president of CLANER, Alfonso Vargas, underlined the vocation of an entity that is celebrating its 20th anniversary in promoting renewable energies from a business context, and which seeks to promote public-private collaboration.
Technology centres, universities, public institutions, technology centres, provincial councils, etc. form part of the entity, “with a focus on entrepreneurship and innovation“, said its president.” CLANER can contribute its knowledge and experience, help to strengthen links between companies on both sides of the Strait, support new business initiatives and human capital in Morocco”, explained Alfonso Vargas, who reiterated the value of the project’s markedly local character for its attachment to the territory. “It is the beginning of a relationship between companies on both sides”.
For his part, Francisco Reyes highlighted the innovative nature of an initiative that focuses on the human potential and knowledge of the young Moroccan population, as well as their entrepreneurial capacity in the green economy sector.
These two factors, as well as the transnational component, link the approach to the migratory process with the local level. In this sense, Francisco Reyes pointed out that “this is a key project so that the human capital that a territory has does not escape”, in a key sector such as renewable energies, “energies that make citizens more equal, which require sustainability wherever they are”.
Reyes underlined the importance of a partnership (“partenariado” in Spanish) that includes the key agents for developing each of the elements of the programme: CLANER, the Asociación de Energias Renovables de Andalusia, An^Mar, Federación de Colectividades Locales del Norte de Marruecos y Andalusia, and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), which manages the ‘Migration Partnership Facility’, the project’s funder. In addition to these bodies, other national, regional and local bodies from both countries are also involved, with a significant role for local governments. At this point, the president of FAMSI thanked the Seville City Council for its support, which hosted the presentation event and welcomed the institutional and political representatives with the greeting of Antonio Muñoz, its mayor, at the beginning of the meeting.
Muñoz stressed the importance of development cooperation in Seville City Council, and “the relevance of a project related to the challenge of sustainability, circular economy and employment that can be derived from a strategic sector such as this”. The mayor pointed out the uniqueness of the project, and showed interest in ensuring that the initiative can be replicated in other contexts “in need of recycling and initiatives based on the premise of sustainability”
Mohammed Sefiani, president of the An^Mar Federation, pointed out the importance of an initiative that establishes a direct relationship between local relations in southern Europe and North Africa, as well as the role of the An^Mar Federation in strengthening relations through local entities. “We talk about sustainable relations and job creation, the students will be able to lead initiatives in the renewable energy sector, and this will allow them to launch companies and promote the circular economy in the north of Morocco,” has stated the mayor of Chefchaouen.
The event was attended by Ralph Genetzke, director of the Brussels mission of the ICMP online who highlighted the value of this type of pilot experience for the development of orderly migration policies. The selection process of the group of young people who will participate in the training is underway, with the participation of the Addelmalek Essaadi University of Tetouan, and an Action Protocol has just been signed with the Instituto Cervantes to support the linguistic and cultural deepening in the Spanish context of those who participate in the training sessions and the employability process that the ‘Move Green’ project contemplates.
The ‘Move Green’ partnership
In the ‘Move Green’ project collaborate a wide range of entities from both countries. On the Spanish side, the Ministerio de Inclusion, Seguridad Social y Migraciones, the Dirección General de Coordinacion de Politicas Migratorias de la Consejeria de Presidencia, Administracion Publica e Interior de la Junta de Andalusia, the Seville City Council, the Provincial Councils of Jaen, Huelva, Cadiz and Granada, the Instituto de Empleo y Desarrollo Tecnologico (IEDT) de la Diputación de Cadiz, the Universidad Internacional de Andalusia (UNIA), the Servicio Andaluz de Empleo (SAE) de la Junta de Andalucía and the Agencia Andaluza de la Energia, de la Junta de Andalusia.
In the Moroccan country, the An^Mar Federation, the Agencia Nacional para la Promocion del Empleo y las Competencias (ANAPEC) of the Government of Morocco, the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services of the Region of Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, and the Regional Council of Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima collaborate with the ‘Move Green’ project. The participation of the An^Mar Federation guarantees the connection with the local Moroccan context, as well as the interlocution with FAMSI, with whom it has maintained working links since its foundation.