The Dr. Kaoutar El Maghraoui Cohort

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, upon his family, and upon all his companions.

Mr. Director-General of the Al Mouwatana Schools Group, the honorable Professor El Abadila Maa El Ainain; esteemed members of the administrative and educational staff; dear mothers and fathers; and my beloved daughters and sons, graduates of the Baccalaureate cohort of 2026, peace be upon you, and the mercy and blessings of God.

Praise be to God, by whose grace all good things are accomplished. Praise be to God, who opens for His servants the doors of knowledge, who places in hearts the light of hope, and who sustains us along the road, however long and however hard.

It is an honor and a joy, from the depths of my heart, to be with you today on this cherished occasion. I extend my sincere thanks and gratitude to the Al Mouwatana Schools Group and to its Director-General for this gracious invitation, and for the great honor of giving my name to the sixteenth graduating class of the Baccalaureate.

Truly, this tribute touches the heart, not because it is a personal honor, but because it binds me to a new generation of my country's sons and daughters: a generation that carries the future in its eyes, great dreams in its heart, and an energy in its spirit that, God willing, can carry it far.

And the most beautiful thing about this cohort is the deep and lovely motto it carries: whoever walks the path, arrives.

This motto is not merely a beautiful phrase. It is a lesson in life. Whoever walks, even in small steps, arrives. Whoever is patient, arrives. Whoever strives, arrives. Whoever trusts in God and takes the means, arrives, God willing.

My sons and daughters, today is not merely a day of celebration. Today is a day of gratitude to God first, and then a day of recognition for everyone who was part of your journey. We remember years of study, of late nights, of anxiety and examinations. We remember moments of exhaustion, perhaps of fear, perhaps of tears. But you carried on. You did not give up.

And today you stand here because God granted you success, then because you strove, and because behind you stood families who believed in you, teachers who walked beside you, and an institution that embraced you. So praise be to God for this achievement, and congratulations to you, from the heart.

And I say to you: the Baccalaureate is not the end of the road. It is a new door that God has opened for you. It is not the conclusion, but the beginning of a new chapter in your lives, a chapter that calls for knowledge, character, patience, and faith.

As I stand before you today, I do not wish to speak to you only as a researcher, a professor, or a scientist working in artificial intelligence and advanced computing. I want to speak to you also as an older sister, as a daughter of Morocco, and as a human being who began, like many of you, from the seats of a classroom, with great dreams, many questions, and a deep faith that God never wastes the reward of those who do good work.

I began from Morocco. And from Morocco I carried with me things beyond price: love of knowledge, respect for family, the value of hard work, pride in identity, and the belief that when a person trusts in God and takes the means, doors may open from where they least expect.

Then life led me to study and work abroad, to universities and research centers, and into advanced scientific fields. Today I work in research on artificial intelligence and computing systems; I teach; and I lead scientific teams building technologies that will shape part of the world's future.

But I tell you honestly: the road was not always easy. There were moments of fear, moments of doubt, moments when I felt the weight of responsibility. In those moments, I needed prayer, and patience, and the reminder that God, glorified and exalted, sees the effort even when people do not.

Faith does not mean the road will be without hardship. Faith means you will not walk the road alone. Faith means you do everything you can, then place your trust in God, confident that the good lies in what He has chosen for you.

My sons and daughters, today you enter a new stage. You will choose your specializations and move on to university or to other paths. And people will begin to ask you: what will you study? what will you become?

These are important questions. But there is a deeper one: what kind of person do you want to be, before God, before yourself, and before your country?

Choose your field with both mind and heart. Do not choose merely because people said this field is best. And do not abandon a worthy dream only because the road to it is hard. Ask yourselves: where has God given me ability? in what field can I excel? and how can my knowledge serve people and leave a good mark?

And at university, remember that success does not rest on intelligence alone. It rests on discipline, on managing your time, on good company, on humility, and on the ability to ask for help. Do not be ashamed to ask. Do not be ashamed to say: I do not know. For knowledge begins with humility.

We are living today in a very fast age. Artificial intelligence, medicine, engineering, energy, education, the digital economy, all of them are changing before our eyes. And so I want to say to you a clear word about the world of artificial intelligence.

Do not fear artificial intelligence, and do not be dazzled by it without awareness. Learn it, understand it, and use it the right way. Artificial intelligence is a powerful tool, but it does not replace the human being who is faithful, hardworking, honest, and of good character.

And to succeed in this era, focus on four things.

First: learn the fundamentals before the tools. Tools change quickly, but the fundamentals endure, mathematics, logic, statistics, programming, and the scientific way of thinking.

Second: learn how to think with data. Ask good questions, verify information, and do not accept everything artificial intelligence produces as truth.

Third: make artificial intelligence your assistant, not your substitute. Use it to understand, to research, to program, to create, but do not let it take from you the blessing of thinking.

Fourth: build something that serves people. Do not settle for being a spectator. Build an application, an idea, or a tool that helps a student, a teacher, a doctor, or a farmer; that serves the Arabic or Amazigh language; or that solves a problem in your city or your village.

And always remember: the world needs artificial intelligence, yes, but it needs conscience even more. Be a generation that unites knowledge with faith, technology with ethics, ambition with humility, and openness to the world with pride in a Moroccan Muslim identity.

Not everyone will become a specialist in artificial intelligence, and that is natural. But everyone will need to understand it. The doctor will need it, the engineer will need it, the teacher will need it, the entrepreneur will need it. So do not say: this field is not for me. Say: I will understand enough of it to make me stronger in my own field.

And I tell you from experience: the future will belong not only to those who hold a degree, but to those who can keep learning. Whoever learns every day, even a little, arrives, God willing.

Allow me to share with you three short pieces of counsel, from the heart.

The first: make your relationship with God the source of your strength. When you feel the road is greater than you, raise your hands to God, then rise and work. For trust in God is not waiting without effort; it is sincere work joined to complete confidence that success comes from God.

The second: dream big, but purify your dreams with intention. Do not say: we are from Morocco, so our limits are small. Morocco has produced great minds, and, God willing, it will keep producing generations able to compete globally. But make success a means to serve your families, your country, and the people around you.

The third: do not let failure break your belief in yourself. You will stumble at times. Your plans will change at times. But failure is not a final verdict. It may be a lesson, or another door, or a new beginning. Do not say: it is over. Say: O Lord, teach me, strengthen me, and open for me a door of good.

My sons and daughters, you are not merely the graduates of a school. You are part of Morocco's coming story. Your country needs your knowledge, your character, your honesty, and your creativity. Morocco needs the compassionate doctor, the meticulous engineer, the devoted teacher, the honest researcher, the courageous entrepreneur, and the citizen who is mindful of God in their work and in their dealings with people.

Love of country is not a slogan alone. Love of country is to master our work, to serve our society, to bring benefit back to our families, our cities, and our villages, and to take pride in our Moroccan Muslim identity, an identity that unites faith, knowledge, dignity, and openness to the world.

And I want to say a special word to the mothers and fathers. This day is your day too. How many prayers you raised in silence. How many sacrifices you offered without asking for thanks. Perhaps your names do not appear on the Baccalaureate certificate, but God knows, and your children know, that this success carries your fingerprint, your patience, and your prayers. May God reward you with good, and congratulations to you.

And to the teachers and the administration, I say: may God reward you for all you have given. A teacher does not merely produce grades, a teacher shapes a human being. A student may forget some lessons, but never forgets a teacher who believed in them, a word that lifted their spirits, or a stand that made them trust themselves.

As for you, graduates of the Baccalaureate cohort of 2026, I say to you: do not fear the future. The future is in God's hands; yours is to strive.

Begin with what you have. Read. Learn. Ask. Try. Choose company that reminds you of God and pushes you forward. Do not compare your beginnings with other people's endings. And do not let social media measure your worth. Your worth is in your character, your knowledge, your honesty, and your relationship with God.

You are not mere numbers in exam results. You are a trust. You are projects of good. In each one of you lies a great potential that God has placed there.

And I dream of seeing you, years from now, raising Morocco's name high: some founding a Moroccan company that competes globally, some discovering a cure, some developing a beneficial technology, and some returning to their community to serve it.

My sons and daughters, I hope with all my heart that your motto, whoever walks the path, arrives, becomes a covenant between you and your future: that you walk, that you persevere, and that you arrive, God willing. Do not stop at the first difficulty. For every great achievement began with a step, every scientist began with a question, and every great dream began with a heart that believed God is able, and that sincere striving is never wasted.

In closing, I congratulate you from the depths of my heart on this blessed achievement. I ask God the Almighty to open for you the doors of knowledge, provision, and goodness; to make your coming steps blessed; and to grant you beneficial knowledge, righteous work, a faithful heart, and sincere intention, and to make you the joy of your families' eyes, a pride to your country, and a source of good wherever you are.

Make this day a beautiful memory, but do not make it your greatest achievement. Make it only a beginning.

Go forward with confidence. Go forward with faith. Go forward with knowledge. Go forward with character.

And know that whoever walks with God, strives sincerely, and does good work, God will never let them be lost.

Congratulations to you, congratulations to your families, congratulations to your institution, and congratulations to Morocco, in you.

And peace be upon you, and the mercy and blessings of God.