On 12 June 2022, the non-governmental organisation Progettomondo, in the framework of the Safe Journey project, organised the music concert ‘Notes on the Road‘, in collaboration with IOM Morocco and the Maison des Jeunes de Khouribga, which was the venue for many of the Safe Journey project’s activities and which aimed to raise awareness among a wide audience of young people about the risks of irregular migration.

Through this concert, SafeJourney has once again chosen art as a means of communication and awareness-raising about the risks of irregular migration. By bringing together a group of artists sensitive to the problems faced by young people who decide to leave their country and aware of the risks of irregular migration, they have mobilised to reach young people through music.

The concert was inaugurated by the host Loubna Aganchich, who presented the SafeJourney project with its messages and actions, giving also the floor to the supervisor of the Beni Mellal-Khenifra region, who informed the audience about the project’s activities and the expected results. In addition, the concert host also presented the awareness campaign ‘Koune Ala Bal‘ implemented by the International Organization for Migration in Morocco (IOM) to sensitize young people on the risks of fraud in recruiting work abroad by showing the promotional video of the website kounealabal.ma.

Afterwards, the notes of rock, Indian, folk, Amazigh and Cameroonian music, performed by the young artists Diese Mbangue, Ighouliden and Jubantouja, set the audience alight!

The Cameroonian singer, composer, guitarist and bass player Diese Mbangue opened the concert with African sounds that took the audience into the heart of traditional Cameroonian music. He succeeded in touching the audience not only with his music but also with his testimony, since he arrived in Morocco irregularly with the aim of crossing the Mediterranean, but he decided to stay there to realise his life project. Today he has created an event organisation agency, he is a self-employed artist and a singing and music teacher.

Then it was the turn of the group from Agadir, Ighouliden and its founder Hicham Mkhadri, who discovered the SafeJourney project with the artistic competition “Young people between the two sides of the Mediterranean” in which they participated with the song Amerwal, which deals with the subject of migration. 

Presenting the song in front of the audience of the youth centre was a moment to raise awareness through the music of this group, which was able to involve and move the young people of the Khouribga youth centre with great enthusiasm and dynamism!

In addition, the band Jubantouja addressed young people by fusing Amazigh language, culture and heritage with deliberate indie and rock music to create and spread awareness about the difficulties encountered in the migration journey.

To close, the concert host called on stage Hassan Tabi, who participated in the project with the play ‘Clandestine’, and SafeJourney project team members Paul Bayo Dakouo and Youness Manass, who presented the project’s mentoring service.

Finally, all the team members together with the project coordinator Concetta Mannino took the stage to thank the Maison des Jeunes, IOM and especially the audience for making this event unforgettable and to remind once again that migration is possible but it has to be done through legal channels!

Some photos of the artist Mahdi Zwawi from the concert ‘Notes on the road’

Pictures ‘Notes on the road’