Virtual Magazine of Morocco on the Web
Morocco Week in Review 
May 24 , 2008

African youth Organisation founded in Morocco.

Moroccan students and their counterparts from several sub-Saharan African countries have founded a forum of dialogue and cooperation devoted to African youth. Tagged the "Organisation of African Youth'', the new organisation is an "independent body dedicated to sharing, cultural debate and cooperation in a spirit of togetherness and respect for differences," the Moroccan media reported.

In addition to young Moroccans, students from Mali, Djibouti, Ghana, the Central African Republic, Chad and Mauritania are part of the organisation, which remains open to youths from other African countries. Promoters said the aim of the organisation was to carry out sustained action for the involvement of youths in human development projects.

It is also aimed at becoming a solidarity and mutual support network for African students in Morocco, and will help African students wishing to continue their studies in Morocco. The organisation plans to set up national chapters in member countries and local chapters in Moroccan universities.
http://www.afriquenligne.fr/news/africa-news/african-youth-organisation-founded-in-morocco-200805194218.html
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Food costs push Morocco Apr inflation up to 3.7 pct m/m.
5/19/2008 RABAT, May 19 (Reuters)

Rising food costs pushed Moroccan consumer prices up 3.7 percent last month, accelerating from 3.2 percent in March, official figures showed on Monday. Food costs, inflated by soaring world commodity prices, grew 6.4 percent, according to the government's High Planning Commission. Fresh fruit and vegetables jumped 27.5 percent and 4.9 percent respectively between March and April, it said. Concern over the rising cost of living has overshadowed pay talks between the north African country's government, employers and unions in recent weeks.

The government has offered to raise the minimum wage by 10 percent over two years. Unions plan to hold a national strike on Wednesday to pressure push for a better deal. The state subsidises fuel and essential foodstuffs to make them more affordable for the population but the higher world prices means those subsidies are now costing the government more than health and roads investment. (Reporting by Tom Pfeiffer) http://www.stockhouse.com/News/FinancialNewsDetailFeeds.aspx?n=10803841
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Morocco creates new agency to implement 'Green Morocco plan'.
Rabat, May.20

Morocco has created a new agency that will be in charge of implementing Morocco's plan to promote the agriculture sector's competitiveness dubbed "Green Morocco Plan". The announcement was made by Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Aziz Akhannouch, who was speaking on Monday to the commission of productive sectors at the House of Representatives (Lower house).

The "Agricultural Development Agency" (ADA) will act as an intermediary between farmers, investors and the administration, and will define the organizational framework of professionals, he explained. According to Mr. Akhannouch, the ADA will also be in charge of managing partnerships with institutional and social investors and launching concrete projects. This strategy will have a major impact on the economy and the social field as it aims to benefit 3Mn people and create 1.5Mn jobs in the countryside, he went on to say.

The "Green Morocco Plan" is a pragmatic and ambitious program aimed at achieving a rapid agricultural development at the national level, the Minister explained, underlining that the six-axis strategy also aims at achieving USD 9.5Bn to USD 13.6Bn in GDP. Morocco has decided to allocate up to USD 2Bn per annum to fund this program, which eyes to earmark between USD 1.3Bn and 2Bn to fund 700 to 900 projects annually. It also provides for bankrolling up to 400 social projects, promoting high value-added activities and combating poverty through improving agriculture workers' revenues. http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/last_social/morocco_creates_new3581/view
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Morocco to earmark USD 4.12Bn to subsidize products.
Rabat, May 23

The Moroccan government has revealed plans to raise subsidy to products to MAD 30Bn (USD 4.12Bn) in 2008, and to create more jobs by boosting large-scale projects launched across the country. The cabinet has decided to raise the subsidy budget to weather the impact of the global price surge and its fallouts on the macro-economic balance, and the investment sector, Deputy Minister for Economic and General Affairs, Nizar Baraka said at the House of Representatives.The prices of the subsidized products have not changed, he ensured, adding that the government has devised a four-fold strategy to face the high cost of living in the north African kingdom.

The strategy rests on improving salaries, fighting poverty, controlling prices and creating more jobs.
The last portion of the strategy, he explained, consists in speeding the achievement rhythm of Morocco’s large-scale projects. The government, he said, will raise the money earmarked for these projects to over USD 39Bn in the period 2008-2012.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/box4/morocco_to_earmark_u/view
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Child abuse cases examined by courts up 44% in 2007, Minister.
Rabat, May 22

Morocco's courts have examined some 9,093 cases of mistreatment and violence against children in 2007, that is a 44.38% increase as compared to 6,298 cases examined in 2006, Minister of Social Development, Family and Solidarity said on Wednesday. Speaking at the House of Representatives' (lower house) question time, Nouzha Skalli underlined that the increasing number of the cases examined by the courts does not mean that there is an increase in the number of the victims of violence, but rather a greater awareness of the citizens.

To cope with this phenomenon, she said, the ministry has developed a strategy that allowed the establishment of two pilot units, in Casablanca and Marrakech, which take charge of children victims of violence on administrative, health, and legal grounds. She also noted that under this strategy, consultations are underway with various players and the civil society representatives to establish of a legal framework, intended to stiffen penalties on perpetrators of sexual abuse against children.

Mrs. Skalli also reported that Morocco has launched a campaign to raise the parents and children's awareness of the dangers of this crime, stressing that the upcoming National Congress of the Rights of the Child, scheduled for May 28 and 29 in Marrakech, will provide an opportunity to assess the 2006-2015 Children National Plan of Action.

Dubbed "A Morocco Worthy of its Children", this action plan has a fourfold objective: promoting healthy lives, providing quality education, protecting children against abuse, violence and exploitation, and combating HIV/AIDS. It also provides for eliminating child labor through the implementation of specific activities including a strong communication component to promote changes in attitudes and practices towards child labor.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/social/child_abuse_cases_ex/view
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Morocco to create 16 social centers to fight beggary in 2008-2010, minister.
Rabat, May 21

Minister of Social Development, Family and Solidarity, Nouzha Skalli, announced the creation of 16 pilot social centers, part of a nation-wide strategy to fight beggary for 2008-2012. Speaking at the House of Advisors' question time about the proliferation of beggary in Moroccan cities, the minister stressed that this strategy, which includes several programs, aims to eradicate this phenomenon, especially among children.

There are a number of programs which aim to protect children in a precarious situation, such as "IDMAG" meant re-integrate street children; as well as a national program to fight employment of little girls as maids, she added. Skalli also noted that throughout Morocco, there are 2,200 centers benefiting around 210,000 people, 35% of which are in charge of the elderly (3,500 people).

Some 195,950 persons are practicing beggary in Morocco, revealed a national survey on beggary conducted among 3,400 beggars by the department of Social Development, Family and Solidarity. The survey shows that 62,2% of these beggars are professionals, 51.1% are women, while 11.5% are 18 or below. According to the survey findings, the region of Rabat tops the list with 21,8% of beggars, followed by Casablanca 17.8%. 93.7% of beggars prefer to ask for charity alone, the study added, stressing that poverty is seen as the main reason for beggary (51.8%), followed by disability (12.7%), diseases (10.8%) and scarce job opportunities (9.3%). It also noted that a large portion of beggars (66.7%) is illiterate and only 20.1% have been to school.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/social/morocco_to_create_16/view
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Morocco to expand pre-school education in rural areas.
By Sarah Touahri 2008-05-23

Morocco hopes to end the growing divide in education and opportunity between urban and rural areas. A new team at the education ministry has been tasked with making pre-school education more widely available. The proportion of children enrolled in pre-school education programmes remains small in Morocco. Fewer than 60% of children overall aged 4 to 5 were in school during the 2006-2007 academic year, with the rate in rural areas as low as 45%. The national average for girls is even lower, at around 30%.

Nearly all of Morocco's pre-schools are privately operated: 98%, according to government figures. There are a few state schools which include nursery classes, but their numbers are very limited. Investors have established private institutions in many rich areas, but tend to leave out rural or poor areas, contributing to the divide in education and opportunity between urban and rural areas.

Latifa Abida, Secretary of State for School Education, has stressed that the situation absolutely has to change. To this end, a new team at the education ministry has been tasked with pre-school education, which the ministry has called the "bedrock of educational success". Abida said pre-school education supports family cohesion, guarantees children better chances to flourish, and brings any developmental challenges the children may face into view at a younger age. She hopes the new plan will breathe new life into education reform.

The plan aims to offer all Moroccan children equal access to pre-school programmes by 2015. Also a priority is the inclusion of children with special needs. The ministry intends to build 6,307 classrooms between 2009 and 2011; 5,904 of these will be in rural areas. As a related employment benefit, the initiative will also require one teacher per classroom constructed and a total of 160 new administrators. The construction budget is estimated at 1.5 billion dirhams. Awareness campaigns will begin in 2009 across all regions, to make parents aware of the growing importance of pre-school education.

Civil society is also doing its part in education reform. Laila Meziane Benjelloun, chairperson of the BMCE Foundation, has underlined the importance of pre-school education in learning, in establishing links with other children and with adults. The foundation has set up a network of some sixty schools in rural communities. The programme, Medersat.com, was established in co-operation with the education ministry and other national and international partners. The schools are located in all 16 regions of the kingdom and employ some 300 teachers to serve more than 11,000 pupils.

However, civil society can't fix the problem alone. Marouani Salah, head of a private nursery school, said the ball is in the government's court. He explained that pre-school education was largely ignored by the state for years. "At the present time, there is a feeling that the government wants to boost the sector by integrating more and more nursery classes into the state schools. This will certainly create competition for the private sector. But it will allow families who cannot afford it to educate their children. It will also be able to draw on the experience of the private sector," he said.

The future of pre-school education, according to teacher Mourad Batal, depends on rigorous planning and close collaboration between the private and public sectors. He said it is time to work out a strategy to develop the sector around clear objectives with precise and realistic deadlines. http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2008/05/23/feature-01
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World Bank to finance e-government initiative in Morocco.
2008-05-18

The World Bank approved a $100 million loan aimed at supporting public administration reform in Morocco through the introduction of e-government, MAP reported on Saturday (May 17th). By supporting electronic programs such as a new wage and personnel management system, the funds are intended to ease procedure delays and make public resource management more effective.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2008/05/18/newsbrief-05
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Morocco's call centres generate over $270m annually.2008-05-18
Morocco's call centres generate more than $270.3 million per year, Senior Adviser to King Mohammed VI André Azoulay said on Friday (May 16th) at the opening of the 5th International Exhibition of Call Centres in Morocco (SICCAM). Driven by international companies increased interest in outsourcing call centres to the country, the sector currently employs more than 20,000 people, with an average of 250 new jobs created every week, Azoulay said. Dell Inc., which employs nearly 2,000 people at its Morocco-based call centres, reportedly plans to increase the number of its positions in the country, he noted.

http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2008/05/18/newsbrief-06
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Morocco plans major transport infrastructure overhaul.2008-05-20
Morocco will soon launch a $16.3 billion transport infrastructure program, MAP quoted Transport Minister Karim Ghellab as saying on Monday (May 19th). The plan calls for development at the Tangier-Med port complex, modernisation of the rail network and the installation of a high speed train connection between Tangiers and Casablanca. Morocco's airport capacity will also increase to accommodate 30 million passengers. More than 2,000km of new expressways and highways are to be put in place.

http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2008/05/20/newsbrief-07
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Frenchman creates Islam-compatible cabaret in Morocco.
MARRAKECH, Morocco (AFP)

You will not see g-strings, revealing leotards, or nudity at Claude Thomas' newly-created cabaret revue in Marrakech. Instead, dancers' bodies are demurely hidden and kisses are only allowed on the cheek. "Les Folies de Marrakech", launched earlier this month, is an unusual blend of Western decadence and Islam. "This is the first time I have so many beautiful bodies to show and I have to hide them. Here I am doing a cabaret in the Muslim style because the goal is to have an end result that is 100 percent Moroccan, but also 100 percent Folies," said Thomas.

For the producer, the change was a radical one. Throughout the past 15 years, he put on music-hall performances -- first in the northern French city of Lille, then in Japan, Canada, Reno and Las Vegas. Now it is time to create a new category of such shows for Muslim audiences, he said.
"This is not Moulin Rouge because we are not in Paris, this is not the Cirque de Soleil because we are not in Las Vegas, here I'm offering a dream while still respecting the country's culture," said 49-year old Thomas.

After facing tough French social laws and unforeseen challenges, he sold his cabaret in France in May 2006, and came to spend a few days in Marrakech where he found a "new Las Vegas". Advised by the Moroccan consul in Lille to call the event a "music hall" instead of a "cabaret", Thomas' production lasts an hour and a half and takes the audience on a world tour with magicians, acrobats, pirates, a falconer, magic fountains, dance, music and comedy.

While Thomas may be the creative force behind the show, it is Islam that really lays down the law here. As such, his performers also serve as in-house consultants who let him know during rehearsals what will fly with local mores and what will not. "When she tells me the costume could shock I modify it while still keeping its magic," said Thomas. Along with his cousin, he bought five hectares (12 acres) of land and constructed a 2,000 square metre (21,500 square foot) hall to host an audience of 1,100 for a dinner show costing 550 dirhams (50 euros, 78 dollars).

Thomas auditioned 300 acrobats, flame throwers, acrobats and break dancers from across the country -- finally selecting 47 from among them, of which 12 are girls aged 17 to 32. "They come from all walks of life, from the Casablanca bourgeoisie to street kids from Sale," he said.
Thomas also recruited five choreographers to train the troupe for fourteen hours a day for nine months. While the gruelling physical training was a challenge, perhaps harder still was overcoming mental obstacles. "The most difficult thing is that Moroccans do not think they are capable of feats and so are astonished when they succeed," said Canadian choreographer Santiago Martinez.

He has also had to adapt his choreography to the rules of Islam. "One day, I had asked them to hold their arms in second position (resembling a curved cross), but they refused because they said it was too much like the Christ. So I told them to lift their arms higher," said Martinez cheerfully. However, on issues of gender equality, Thomas won't budge and refuses to have only women clear the tables."I respect your religion and I've even created a prayer room, but here everyone is an artist regardless of their gender," he said.

Nineteen-year-old Imad al Machriki was a tightrope walker at a circus school in Sale before joining Thomas' troupe. Now, while training, he is also taking up school work again, after having dropped out at 13. "It was very hard to become a professional, but today I think we are about to succeed," said Machriki.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hdWf2Oc5EvwdzBDhI3dU4cVixsTQ
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Anna Lindh Foundation promotes dialogue.
5/23/2008

It is a real public relations' shot for Morocco. The Anna Lindh Foundation has brought together, Thursday 22 in Rabat, not less than 39 Euro-Mediterranean countries, in order to promote dialogue between cultures. The event, titled “Euro-Mediterranean Dialogue Night”, initiated the first real dialogue between the countries around the Mediterranean.

This dialogue has to result in mobilising the parties concerned. Participants debated the Barcelona Process, especially the last initiative taken by Morocco for resuming dialogue among the countries concerned. It is a fact. Bona fide exchange entails the success of such an initiative. “Exchange can be constructive only if each of the parties concerned is sensitive to the other's culture,” stressed André Azoulay, the king's Advisor and president of the Anna Lindh Foundation.

This event presented the opportunity for a select number of opinion leaders to express their views about the fundamentals, values and principles of each of the Mediterranean countries. Social meetings, public debates and cultural exchange will bring people together and promote business partnerships.

The foundation's initiative is designed to transmit a clear message to a number of countries, which have the political and economic willingness to establish a space for exchange. The representatives of the 39 countries will thereby have to create a “community”. The same event took place in synchronisation across the countries of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, from intercultural concerts in Beirut and Barcelona to public debates and cultural/social gatherings in the squares of Naples and Rabat. “The enthusiasm inspired by this Dialogue Night is a testimony of the Anna Lindh Foundation's mobilisation capacity and the wishes of our civil societies that want to express themselves and act to say their commitment towards rebuilding the spaces for exchange,'' stressed Azoulay.

The president of the foundation will personally present the initial outcomes of the Night to representatives of the governments of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership who are convening in Athens at the end of May for the first ever ministerial on intercultural dialogue. The Anna Lindh Foundation is a unique organization, resourced by and reporting to the governments of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership and acting as a network of civil society organizations working for dialogue in the region. http://www.moroccobusinessnews.com/Content/Article.asp?idr=18&id=117
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