End of the Year Issue
By Samy Bennouna
September 28, 2022
What did your Parcours Civique entail?
I interned at the permanent delegation of Morocco to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). My internship allowed me to understand the functioning of this UN body from an internal perspective, and I was pleasantly surprised to see how active the organization was. I had the opportunity to participate in many conferences within the headquarters of UNESCO — Fontenoy — aiming not only at protecting heritage but also at promoting cultural, scientific, and educational cooperation. I was able to participate in drafting several reports on conferences such as “Strengthening the Fight against Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Property,” the “Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission,” the “Man and Biosphere Program,” and the “Transforming Education Pre-Summit.”
I also had the pleasure of meeting three other interns — including a doctoral student at Sciences Po Paris — and we learned how to divide the tasks more efficiently while collaborating in the report-writing process. We also had the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with various other people with backgrounds and influence on the fight for humanitarian and social causes, such as Corrado Catesi, Coordinator of the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) Works of Art Unit, and Ernesto Ottone, Assistant Director General for Culture at UNESCO.
Through this internship, I approached this organization from multiple perspectives, all of which have been equally enriching. It turns out that the Moroccan delegation was elected to the presidency of the Intangible Heritage Committee of UNESCO for the year 2022, a coincidence that allowed me to participate in the organization of an international symposium on the universal scope of the prehistoric heritage of Morocco in the presence of the Minister of Culture, Youth and Communication of the Kingdom, Mr. Mehdi Bensaid, as well as the Moroccan Ambassador to France, Mr. Mohamed Benchaaboun.
Why did you choose this Parcours Civique?
The value of intangible cultural heritage lies not only in the cultural event itself but also in the richness of the skills and knowledge it conveys from generation to generation. This knowledge transfer has a certain economic and social value for all actors within a country and is equally indispensable regardless of the territory’s economic development level.
To this end, I wanted to join the Permanent delegation of Morocco to UNESCO for a month-long internship headed by His Excellency Ambassador Samir Addahre.
Did you have trouble finding your Parcours Civique?
It took me approximately one month to find it, and I contacted the Moroccan delegation by mail to apply and send my motivation letter.
Was your Parcours Civique paid or unpaid?
My civic course was a month-long, and I was not paid as UNESCO is an international organization.
Did you get a lot out of your Parcours Civique?
Despite the short duration of the internship, I had the impression that I had been handy to the delegation because of my involvement in all sectors. Perhaps my utility was derived from the particularly hectic June schedule for the delegation this year. My only regret is not having been able to organize a training workshop on the importance of intangible heritage in schools in Morocco since it was not logistically possible to arrange.
If you could offer one piece of Parcours Civique advice to a 1A, what would it be?
If I could offer one piece of advice to the 1As, it would be to optimize the small amount of time you have to do internships. Get involved in activities you are interested in while ensuring that these pastimes add value to your academic and professional projects.