Date: 24 November 2025
The GEN Z movement arrived in Morocco with the slogan “Health first, we don’t want a world cup“. The spark was a tragic cluster of maternal deaths in Agadir, but the fire was long-smouldering: overstretched hospitals, underpaid and understaffed medical teams, crumbling or distant rural schools, precarious teachers, and an urban youth unemployment crunch that makes a “dignified life” feel out of reach. Add rising prices and a credibility gap between showcase megaprojects and day-to-day services, and you have the core grievances driving young people to mobilise.
Following weeks of peaceful protests, Gen Z submitted a consolidated list of demands: free, quality public education and healthcare, jobs and reduced unemployment, anti-corruption and accountability, and the dismissal of the current government. Organising horizontally and anonymously on Discord, the movement coordinates local actions, documents abuses, and uses low-barrier tactics such as boycotts to widen participation. Crucially, their platform taps into and reframes the state’s own language and reference points, including the 2011 constitution and New Development Model, effectively turning official commitments into the movement’s benchmarks and mission.
Thanks in part to sustained Gen Z pressure, Morocco’s 2026 finance bill increased allocations for the health and education sectors. In parallel, the latest parliamentary session, led by the King, underlined that local authorities should work with elected local councils at the territorial level to prioritise budgets for three fronts: health, education, and employment across the Moroccan territory. However, this does not make the end of the movement,the Gen Z is still protesting against corruption and has called for peaceful protests this weekend across the country
Finally, Gen Z youth are not “anti-Morocco,” nor reflexively anti-development or anti-World-Cup; they are pro-dignity and pro-public goods. Their stance is that prestige projects must not come at the expense of essential services, and that real modernity means hospitals that heal, schools that uplift, and jobs that include the next generation. If institutions meet that spirit with measurable delivery and genuine participation, this wave of youth engagement can strengthen, not strain, Morocco’s democratic fabric.
Members of the YDC who contributed to this section:
AIDECA
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