Youssef Hamdaoui is from El Menzel, a small town in the province of Sefrou. He studied Law at the University Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah in Fez and holds a technical diploma in appliance repair. Youssef has actively and regularly engaged in the educational, recreational, and cultural development of youth in his hometown over the last ten years. He is the vice president of the Amal Association for Sports & Culture, a local scout leader, and the founder of El Menzel News, an online group for sharing local, national, and international news. He was a soccer player with the North Central Moroccan Sports League for five years and has co-organized soccer tournaments for youth in El Menzel semi-annually for the last four years. Youssef has worked with Peace Corps Volunteers in various capacities for more than five years as a volunteer counterpart. In 2018, he co-planned and managed Creating Leaders in the Mountains & Beyond (CLIMB) program, an outdoor leadership program which culminated in a three-day trek to the summit of Mount Toubkal and benefited 30 Moroccan youth from two cities.