JMA was founded two years ago with the aim of creating a new generation of experts and entrepreneurs committed to Africa. Has it achieved its goal?
Whether we come from the diaspora or not – I myself grew up in Morocco before studying in France – we all share the desire to contribute to the development of our continent. Since our launch, things have moved very fast. We have offices in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, 3 employees, 2 trainees and lots of projects! Our aim is to rethink the future of public policy and make a positive impact for an excellent and successful Africa, inspired by the goals of sustainable development.
Today you are presenting your 6th publication, ‘New Voices – Young Architects of Tomorrow’s African Secondary Cities’. How did you go about writing this book, written with 60 hands?
Last May, we launched the first JMA residency, a program designed to encourage young people’s civic participation and strengthen their influence with public and private decision-makers. We put out a ca
ll, received around a hundred applications and selected 20 young people. For three months they took part in training, debates and reflection on key development issues. First online, then at a feedback event on September 19 and 20 at the Innopolis fair in Paris. This book is the result of all this work. We propose a reflection on the attractiveness of three African cities: Aneho (Togo), Ben Guerir (Morocco) and Abomey-Calavi (Benin) under four main headings: ‘Living’ for successful urban industrialization, ‘Receiving’ for the development of the tourism sector and sustainable housing, ‘Moving’ to promote sustainable and clean mobility, and finally ‘Reinventing’ for more sustainable and better connected urban governance. This first book is a public contribution and not for sale.
What impact should it have? To influence public policy…
Obviously, the aim was to provide public officials with as concrete a set of proposals as possible. With ideas for funding. Then it was up to them to take them up! The young peopl
e met with representatives from Climate Chance, the French Development Agency, the French Institute for Solar Energy and New Energies and the Global Fund for Cities Development, among others, to refine their opinions. Most importantly, they initiated a dialogue with public and private decision-makers in the three cities to identify local opportunities and challenges. For example, they met with the Mayor of Aného (Togo) to discuss the city’s aspirations and needs in terms of tourism, the environment and youth employment, to provide input for their recommendations and to stimulate a multi-stakeholder dialogue to ensure the success of this mission.
Source: Africa News Agency