The city of Lille and the municipality of Oujda have taken a new step in their decentralized cooperation with the launch of the project “Mostakbalouna (Our Future) – Lille-Oujda for Climate and Sustainable Energy.” With a total budget of 3.75 million euros over three years, this initiative is co-financed by the French Development Agency and continues a partnership that has been established for nearly twenty years between the two localities.
This new chapter in a relationship that began in 2005, fueled in part by a significant Moroccan and Oujda diaspora in the Lille metropolis, addresses contemporary challenges related to climate adaptation, energy transition, and sustainable construction. The project aims to equip Oujda with operational tools to structure and manage a local climate-energy policy, while promoting the dissemination of this approach across the Oriental region.
The project is based on a coherent framework centered around several complementary axes. It includes strategic support for the municipality of Oujda in developing its climate and sustainable energy strategy, the establishment of a Climate Energy Information Cell linked to the renovation of the city’s old train station—which is set to become a reference point for public information and awareness—and the development of territorial innovations centered on a sustainable city through pilot projects on showcase buildings. University cooperation also plays a crucial role, involving higher education institutions, associations, and residents from both territories.
By the end of the three years of implementation, the partners aim for structuring results: a better-equipped Oujda municipality to drive its climate and energy transition, strengthened regional dynamics, and the emergence of concrete solutions in sustainable construction and urban management. Beyond institutions, the project places a central focus on citizens through awareness-raising actions, exchange spaces, and direct involvement of residents.
The governance of the program relies on an expanded ecosystem that brings together public, technical, and academic actors, including the city of Lille, the municipality of Oujda, the Oriental Development Agency, the local development company “Oujda Animation et Développement,” France Volontaires, and the universities of both cities. Through “Mostakbalouna,” Lille and Oujda reaffirm their commitment to making territorial cooperation a concrete lever for climate and sustainable development.