80 countries to participate in Marrakesh WAMY conference

The 12th conference of World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) will be in the historical Moroccan city of Marrakesh from Jan. 29 to Feb. 1.
Announcing this, Saleh Al-Wohaiby, secretary general of the WAMY, told a press conference here that WAMY conference is themed “Youth in Changing World.”
“The theme for this edition of the conference stemmed from the fact that youth makes up about 60 percent of the population in Muslim countries, which is a great boon for all communities, but also puts pressure on service providers whether from government agencies or the private sector, especially education, health care and job market. Government and non-government organizations should give due care to them,” he said.
“Also, choosing Marrakesh as a venue for our conference was not accidental, but rather part of the policy of conducting our big events in all the continents. This time it was the turn of Africa, and we saw the city most suitable for our event because it has the modern infrastructure and the capability to accommodate our event that will host participants from over 80 countries,” he added.
“We have been warmly welcomed by Moroccan government to have our event there. The Embassy of Morocco in Riyadh played a big role in getting the matter progress smoothly,” he added.
Al-Wohaiby highly lauded the support of Morocco in hosting the conference, noting that WAMY conferences always received very high level support in all the editions of its conference in all hosting locations over the years.
“For instance, the leaders of Saudi Arabia were always supportive. King Faisal patronized the 1st and 2nd editions. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah patronized extended his support when he was the chief of the National Guard. Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, patronized the 3rd and 9th editions. President Daniel Arap Moi of Kenya patronized the 5th edition, and President Mahathir Mohammed the 7th one,” he pointed out.
Al-Wohaiby said that because of the importance of the conference for WAMY, planning for it was made very carefully and in a lengthy span of time. Usually it takes four years for planning each edition, especially that it tackles crucial issues of the time in addition to determining the direction of the organization; the new members of board of trusties are selected and the general policies for the next four years are outlined.
He added that for the WAMY conference in Marrakesh, 40 research papers were chosen out of over 100. It will tackle a large number of topics and issues related to the present and the future of Muslim youth all over the world in the current changing era of globalization and constant change in all aspects of life.
“We hope to reach to workable effective recommendation to the leader of Muslim world so we have youth that are more optimist, enthusiastic, and productive for a better life in their home counties,” he said.
WAMY, founded in Riyadh in 1972, is one of the Kingdom’s leading charity organizations and a member of the United Nation’s nongovernmental organizations. It has both local and international presence through many branches and affiliate organizations.
It is especially active among young Muslims in various humanitarian works, including helping poor, providing health care services to them, supporting students, building mosques, clinics, digging of wells, aiding in disasters, providing Islamic education and vocational training.