Greetings from a data collection trip in Morocco, part 1

Our project’s researchers Kaiju Harinen and Johanna Nurmi are currently conducting fieldwork in Morocco. Here are some updates from the first week in the field.

We have had the opportunity to meet with our local partners, deliver reading materials to participants in the reading groups, and finalize the translation of key documents into French. The Atlantic waves have also proved refreshing at the end of the sun-drenched days.

The start of our fieldwork has not been entirely without challenges. One of our planned reading group had to be cancelled when our partner organization decided that the selected books—dealing with the wars in Gaza and Ukraine—were too sensitive for young readers.

Across Morocco, demonstrations organized by the youth movement GenZ 212 have been taking place, demanding improvements in healthcare and education as well as the resignation of the government. Many young people have grown increasingly frustrated, as public funds are directed toward large-scale projects such as building stadiums for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations instead of strengthening basic public services. The protests, which have at times turned violent, serve as a daily reminder of the timeliness of our research and of how multiple crises intersect in the lives of young people.

Our reading group sessions are set to begin this week—we look forward with great interest to hearing how young participants perceive the protests and reflect on questions related to security and belonging in times of crisis.