Lamia Bazir was invited to deliver an opening speech during the Ceremony of the National Competition of the Junior Enterprise that honored 24 teams of Young entrepreneurs coming from all over Morocco.

This event was attended by key economic and political leaders including: M. Abbad Andaloussi (Founder of Injaz), Mrs Meriem Bensalah (President of CGEM), Mr. Hassan Ouriaghli (CEO of SNI), and M. Benkassmi (SG of the Ministry of Education).

In her speech, Lamia commanded Injaz Al Maghrib for promoting the entrepreneurial spirit within public schools. But she also emphasized that these initiatives should not be isolated. Indeed, Lamia insisted on the need to promote equal access to quality education to all children, and not to content with the minimum for the less advantaged ones. Lamia called all actors to go beyond standard infrastructural considerations, and promote all children’s access to extra-curricular activities, self-discovery, and fulfillment.

She questioned: “Let’s Wonder why your children, why our children, have the right to extraculricualr activities, to opening, to entrepreneurship and not others? Should we be limited because of the place where we are born?”

Lamia also stressed that public education should be a priority for all, even for those who send their children to private schools, because it is what will instill meritocracy, strengthen social cohesion, and make inequalities of arrival -and not departure- be accepted.

Indeed, Lamia advocated for social mixity in the class room rather than social divisions across public and private schools. She referred to the times of her father, when children of different social and economic classes were enrolled in the same class room and had the same chances to succeed. Hence, she highlighted the danger of the growing lack of social mixity.

For Lamia Bazir, this can lead not only to frustrations and feelings of injustice, but also to a disconnect of a certain elite who, even if she accesses positions of power, would be unaware of the real needs and realities of its society.

Last but not least, she praised Injaz for promoting values of cooperation, constructive and transparent competition, hard work, integrity, group solidarity and merit; values that she considered essential to Morocco’s growth and development.

The event was a moment of celebration, Learning, and sharing for all participants and winners!