On 18 December 2021, the non-governmental organisation Progettomondo, in collaboration with the “Alphas Attitude” club of the National School of Commerce and Management of the Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Béni Mellal, commemorated International Migrants Day in the university campus.

The day was a moment of exchange where Moroccan students and their sub-Saharan colleagues celebrated diversity in a mixture of music, dance and games, valuing the role of the migrant and the contribution that migration makes to development.

On the occasion of the Day, SafeJourney team, a project co-funded by the European Union and implemented by the NGO Progettomondo in partnership with ISCOS Marche, FAMSI and ANOLF Piemonte, celebrated the winning artists of the Art Competition “Youth between the two sides of the Mediterranean”. The Art Competition, launched by the project in collaboration with the House of Culture of Beni Mellal, aimed to contribute to changing perceptions and visions of the irregular migration phenomenon among young people and to raise awareness through art in all its forms.

Considering the artistic value, originality of the work and relevance to the issue at hand, the SafeJourney team was pleased to present the three-winning works to the public as follows:

1st prize: ‘The Journey’ by Zakaria Bassin;

2nd prize: ‘Enfant d’Afrique’ by Ulrich Zouanda;

3rd prize: ‘Femmes attendant leurs fils’ by Hibatoullah Salime.

The event was marked by a great participation of Moroccan and sub-Saharan students who actively debated with the winners of the competition around some relevant questions such as the meaning of the journey, the way they imagine the other side of the Mediterranean and finally the risks of irregular migration.