The award ceremony, held on December 4th in Barcelona and chaired by President of the Consortium Paul Santilli, was attended by numerous figures, researchers, experts, companies, and institutions representing the world of strategic and competitive intelligence.

This distinction recognizes the career of Professor Driss Guerraoui, who is also President of the Open University of Dakhla and the Forum of African Economic Intelligence Associations, as a teacher, researcher, and man of action, as well as his numerous works published and coordinated in the field of economic intelligence, and his initiatives for its promotion, the source adds.

These initiatives began in Morocco in 2003 in Tetouan with the organization under his leadership of the first international meeting on economic intelligence and strategic monitoring, his participation in founding the Moroccan Association of Economic Intelligence in 2007 as a founding member and member of its first executive board, up to the creation of the Dakhla Open University in 2010 and the Forum of African Associations of Economic Intelligence (FAAIE) in 2018.

Other initiatives include establishing the International Center for Research and Training in Economic Intelligence in Dakhla in December 2023 as part of a partnership initiated by the Dakhla Open University with the International Francophone Association of Economic Intelligence, chaired by Philippe Clerc and headquartered in Paris, SCIP, and FAAIE.

“This distinction actually rewards a country, Morocco, and, through it, a continent, Africa, for their role in the development of training, research, and publication of academic works in the fields of economic intelligence, particularly within the Open University of Dakhla and the Forum of African Associations of Economic Intelligence, as well as the establishment of the Africa Economic Intelligence Award, which recognizes the best Master’s theses, Doctorates, and books produced by African researchers and authors, awarded during the different editions of the FAAIE”, the same source adds.

Headquartered in Virginia, USA, the SCIP is a leading international organization in its field. Founded in 1990, it operates globally with thousands of members from strategic intelligence and competitive intelligence sectors in 120 countries worldwide.

The Consortium is a true global network that fosters exchanges among international experts and the sharing of national and continental experiences between its members. It thus contributes to the dissemination of best practices in a field that has become vital for states, territories, businesses, universities, research centers, consulting firms, and think tanks.