The Ministry of Youth, Culture, and Communication launched, on Monday, January 6, 2025, at the International University of Rabat (UIR), the “Video Game Creator” training program dedicated to careers in video game development, which will benefit 40 young Moroccans.
Organized in collaboration with the French Embassy in Morocco, this program is part of the implementation of the Declaration of Intent signed between the two countries last October, under the auspices of His Majesty King Mohammed VI and French President Emmanuel Macron, aimed at supporting and structuring the ecosystem of the video game cultural and creative industry.
The training, which spans nine months (from January 6 to October 3, 2025), aims to strengthen the professional and managerial skills of young Moroccans in order to foster the development of the gaming industry in Morocco and to consolidate the Kingdom’s position as a key player in this field.
On this occasion, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, Minister of Youth, Culture, and Communication, stated that Video Game Creator “illustrates the full potential offered by prestigious collaborations between institutional and academic partners from both shores of the Mediterranean,” adding that this program “is intended to become a model of what Euro-African cooperation can produce in terms of excellence.”
Highlighting the importance of the gaming sector and the opportunities it offers in terms of employability with qualified and high-value-added jobs — Mr. Bensaid emphasized that with a quality program like Video Game Creator, “we can hope to reverse the brain drain, as gaming is an art of storytelling, drawing from our cultures, imaginations, and memories.”
“We are now in a position to produce a high-quality African cultural and creative industry that can confidently compete in the global market and export its excellence,” he added.
For her part, Agnès Humruzian, Cultural Cooperation and Action Counselor at the French Embassy in Morocco, stated that the program is the result of several months of cooperation with the Ministry, UIR, and the French school ISART Digital, specializing in the video game industry.
Both France and Morocco are convinced of the significant potential offered by gaming as a sector at the intersection of technological and creative challenges, cultural diversity on the international stage, and youth employability issues, Ms. Humruzian, who is also the director of the French Institute of Morocco, emphasized in her speech on this occasion. The cultural industry, both in France and Morocco, she added, is both attractive and conducive to creating employment opportunities and fostering innovation. Hence, it occupies a central place in the cultural partnership between the two countries, which encompasses training and startup incubation aspects.
In the same spirit, Karin Houpillart, co-founder and co-director of ISART, stated that the Kingdom, with its promising talents and exceptional cultural, historical, and artistic wealth, has a “unique opportunity to become a key player in the video game industry, not only in Africa but also on the international stage.”
This training is part of a larger project with a structured and sustainable ecosystem, capable of attracting studios from around the world, as well as investors, and generating new professional and economic opportunities for Moroccan talents, she explained.
The Video Game Creator Program is carried out in partnership with three institutions: ISART DIGITAL, the second-best video game development school in the world, responsible for training through its academic team; UIR, which hosts the training cycle; and the Higher Institute of Audiovisual and Cinema Professions, which will provide the necessary logistical support.
In order to reduce social and territorial disparities, young Moroccans will benefit from full coverage of tuition fees typically very high for this type of training, thanks to the partners, and will be offered job opportunities as well as housing solutions.
