Othman El Ferdaous… Main Accomplishments of the Youngest Minister in Moroccan Government

On Thursday April 17th, 2020, and upon the recommendation of Prime Minister Saad Dine El Otmani, His Majesty the King Mohammed VI appointed Othman El Ferdaous Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 47 of the Constitution

On Thursday April 17th, 2020, and upon the recommendation of Prime Minister Saad Dine El Otmani, His Majesty the King Mohammed VI appointed 14783 Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 47 of the Constitution.

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND

Throughout his course of studies, El Ferdaous has obtained a number of degrees. In 1997, he obtained his High School Diploma from Lycée Lyautey in Casablanca. Afterwards, he went to France to pursue his higher education, and in 2003, he obtained a degree in finance from Audencia Business School of which he becomes an honorary ambassador.

El Ferdaous also holds a Masters degree in Journalism from the renowned Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po Paris) and was Secretary General of Sciences Po Alumni Morocco from 2012 to 2016. In addition to that, he took part in 2016, in the Cycle des Hautes Etudes Européennes (CHEE), a seminar held by the French National Administration School (ENA).

FORMER POSITIONS

On a professional level, El Ferdaous first worked as a consultant within the audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Paris, before heading to Rabat to hold the position of Director Special Advisor to Mena Media Consulting from 2008 to 2016. He then became a Managing Partner of Europa Conseil Ltd.

In January 2017, he founded Club Gibraltar, an independent institute dedicated to promoting Maghreb participation in the European project.

In 2017, His Majesty appointed El Ferdaous as Secretary of State to the Minister of Industry, Investment, Trade, and Digital Economy, in charge of investment.

MINISTERIAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

El Ferdaous is now serving as Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, and here are his main ministerial accomplishments as of today:

  • Budget Allocations for 2021:
    The budget allocated for investment in the culture sector amounts to 480 million dirhams. The operating budget for the same sector is approximately 450.72 million dirhams for the year 2021 compared to 432.37 million dirhams in 2020.

With regards to the youth and sports sector, the investment budget allocated to it is estimated at 2.65 billion dirhams for the year 2021, an increase of 5.99 % compared to 2020, when it reached 2.50 billion dirhams. With regard to the operating budget for the same sector, it will amount to 923.38 million dirhams for the year 2021 compared to 910.86 million dirhams in 2020.

Regarding the sector of communication, the investment budget is approximately 465.112 million dirhams for the year 2021, representing 0.33 % of the country’s investment budget. The operating budget for the same sector amounts to 1.57 billion dirhams in 2021, equivalent to 0.69 % of the country’s running budget.

  • Legal Arsenal for Preserving Moroccan Heritage:

El Ferdaous emphasizes the need to update the legal arsenal aiming at preserving Moroccan heritage. During a round table on the topic of “Legal Protection of Cultural Heritage: Stakes and Prospects,” which was organized by the ministry in partnership with the Foundation for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage of the City of Rabat, the minister referred to the new draft laws for the preservation of heritage which were presented to the legislative procedure for approval, noting that Moroccans should realize the importance of heritage in the model of financing culture in general. He also pointed out that 99 % of the revenues of the National Fund for Cultural Action come from visits to heritage sites and historical monuments.

  • Financial Backing for Moroccan Artists and Writers:

The minister stresses that artists and writers should be helped due to the repercussions of the quarantine and the Covid-19 pandemic. For this particular reason, the National Fund for Cultural Action has been revitalized with an amount of approximately 13 million dirhams.

The financial backing includes a grant to support arts estimated at 7.7 million dirhams (52% for theatre and 44% for the art of music and dance), and 218 thousand dirhams for 10 plastic arts projects (paintings and photography). It also includes a settlement of support arrears of 5.6 million dirhams for the domain of books and publication (more than 721 files, including 176 files for the years 2016 and 2017).

In addition to all of this, El Ferdaous also supervised a number of other projects related to advancing sports, promoting cultural creativity, encouraging and safeguarding all forms of contemporary cultural and artistic expressions, as well as improving institutional and public communication and openness to various media.

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