Dialogue between cultures passes through the youth

Bettina Schabus and Monika Spoettl are two young Austrians who stayed for six months in Matmata, a small village at the intersection of Taza and Fès. They just returned home at the beginning of April, after having learned to live with the modest people of the hamlet. That is not all; as they know perfectly well that community life is built on the basis of two verbs: to give and to receive, these two volunteers provided free computer and English language support classes from Monday to Thursday for the young girls of Matmata. Most of their weekend was reserved for creativity: painting, guitar lessons, and discussion sessions around various themes that interest young people.This individual volunteering, outside of any organisation or association, allowed the two Austrians and the 18 Moroccan girls who benefited from their classes to get to know each other and to conduct a dialogue that wil…