HIBAPRESS – Fikri Ould Ali
The city of Al Hoceima witnessed, on the morning of Friday, November 7, 2025, the convening of the founding general assembly of a network of organizations and bodies of the social and solidarity economy, with the participation of associations, cooperatives, and local actors in the fields of alternative tourism, traditional fishing, traditional industry, solidarity trade, and heritage. This initiative constitutes a civil step aimed at creating a coordinating space that brings together various local initiatives and projects with a social impact, thereby enhancing cooperation around the founding values of the solidarity economy and social entrepreneurship.
The network's vision is based on the principle of collective contribution and integration among actors, and it seeks to transform social and cognitive capital into a proposing and field force that contributes to sustainable local development. The network is considered a supporting partner for public institutions, by networking local expertise in the fields of alternative tourism, heritage valorization, social entrepreneurship, and ecological agriculture…, making Al Hoceima an open laboratory for solidarity innovation within a renewed and integrated national framework.
Through its establishment, the network aims to consolidate the culture of the social and solidarity economy within the local community, and to expand the areas of cooperation between local, national, and international actors in a way that serves sustainable development. It also works to support social entrepreneurship and empower women and youth to own the mechanisms of solidarity production, and to mobilize financial resources for projects with environmental, cultural, and economic impact, through diverse partnerships with public and private institutions and donor organizations.
The founding general assembly resulted in the election of an executive office, headed by Rabie El Yazghi, which includes representatives of the participating organizations. It was entrusted with the task of leading the next phase of the network's work and activating its field programs. Participants also announced the establishment of a leadership and solidarity launch body as a mechanism for coordination and incubation and for activating the technical road map, in addition to establishing a monitoring and support body that is concerned with monitoring projects and evaluating their social and economic impact and ensuring their sustainability according to a participatory and integrated vision.
The birth of the network represents a qualitative stage in the path of consolidating the values of cooperation and responsibility within the local fabric, and a citizen civil initiative that seeks to contribute to building a model of territorial development based on solidarity and social innovation. The network opens up broad horizons for actors and institutions to participate in a collective workshop aimed at making Al Hoceima a leading destination in the fields of sustainable tourism and the solidarity economy, and a living laboratory for development projects based on values and integration.
