The Youth Voiced: Morocco through African Short Stories.

We are very happy to announce the first Moroccan academic competition. The winners would be published in an edited book entitled The Youth Voiced: Morocco through African Short Stories.

The competition is the first Moroccan initiative that valorizes academic writing among the Moroccan youth. It also aims to foreground academic writing as a strong, powerful medium. The latter is backgrounded in the Moroccan writing scene; it has been stereotyped as difficult, hard, and strict, yet this camouflages the caliber of academic writing. At The Olive Writers, we understand the importance of well-researched, argument-based articles because they sharpen our understanding of the Moroccan culture as well as “other” African cultures.

The Youth Voiced believes in the Moroccan youth’s academic prowess. Through submitting in this competition, each author can have personalized feedback on their article. This would not only help in the betterment of their essays and article but their writing in the university or professional life. The feedback given is paramount in the studies of our submitters, especially the Bachelors and Masters.

The importance of the edited book materializes in the overlapping cultural forms between Morocco, as a North-African country, and “other” African countries. The former does not only appreciate the African postcolonial culture but also attempts to bring the cultures together. The commonalities are socio-political, geographical, spatial, historical, and cultural; therefore, the edited book attempts a linkage between the current Moroccan culture and the representations of the African culture.

Also, a publication in this peer-reviewed edited book would increase the authors’ visibility as prolific future researchers. It portrays the featured authors as motivated individuals that want their communities to champion research. Through submitting, the authors speak; our job is to make their voice heard.

The competition for Moroccan Bachelors, Masters, and Ph.D. students. Authors from other institutions can also apply. International English Department students residing in Morocco are also eligible. Baccalaureate students are not eligible.

For more information and to submit, check here.

Best of Luck!