Virtual Magazine of Morocco on the Web
Morocco Week in Review 
October 15, 2005

Centre for the Study of Islam and Democracy to open office in Morocco.
14/10/2005

The US-based Centre for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID) is planning to open a regional office in Morocco. In an interview with the CSID magazine, President Radwan Masmoudi said the centre is launching a new Network of Democrats in the Arab World.
"The purpose of this network will be to share knowledge, experience, and information as well as to provide training to young democracy activists so that their voice and their organisations become better able to reach and attract the masses", he said.
Masmoudi said the CSID is working on publishing a new textbook in Arabic that will be used to train over 2,000 people in Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, and Jordan on the workings of democracy.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/homepage/
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Morocco not immune from avian flu.
10/14/2005

Morocco is not immune from the avian flu, which hit a number of countries and killed an Indonesian last Monday, a Ministry of Health spokesperson said. Mohamed El Youbi, an official at the Ministry's department of epidemics and diseases, told Morocco Times that it is possible that the flu could find its way to Morocco, "since it is a transit country for migrating birds." He added "We might hear about cases of avian flu in Morocco in the future."

He also stressed that a programme prepared by the national committee in charge of combating the epidemic is in its final stages, and that "we will come up with a comprehensive programme able to fight the flu." The official also underlined that no case has been registered so far. Earlier, the Minister of Health, Mohammed Cheihk Biadillah, said that Morocco is immune from the avian flu. However, he pointed out that "we will remain in a state of alert to face any threat."
http://www.moroccotimes.com/paper/article.asp?idr=11&id=10266
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One Moroccan family out of four affected by disability.

The findings of the national study on the disabled people will be used to work out and implement an action plan for the insertion of the handicapped, said Yasmina Baddou, Moroccan Secretary of State in charge of the Family, Children and Disabled people. <<...OLE_Obj...>> She presented on Friday the study results in a colloquium, noting that the number of the disabled people in Morocco reached 1.23 million at the end of September of last year, that is a 5.12% of the total number of the population.

The study, conducted in cooperation with the European Union and based on the 2004 population and housing census and on the criteria set by the World Health Organization to define the disabled, shows that one family out of four is affected by the phenomenon. The findings are a quality step in planning and in working out programmes to enhance development moves in favour of the disabled, said Baddou, adding that the action plan's objective is to improve the means likely to help solve the problems linked to the disabled inabilities through rehabilitation and integration programmes. The ambassador of the European Commission to Morocco said the study will help identify the mechanisms of integrating the disabled in the social and economic life.

The study also shows that the number of the disabled subscribing to the "Caisse Nationale de la Sécurité Sociale" (CNSS) or other health insurance is 12% of the total number of the people with special needs. Some 55.2% of the disabled in working age cannot access the job market, especially women. About 52% of the male disabled are married while the rate is 31.6% among female. The number of non-schooled disabled children aged between 4 and 15 is 68% of the total disabled population.
http://www.moroccotimes.com/Paper/article.asp?idr=11&id=10283
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Illiteracy rate decreases in Morocco.

The rate of illiteracy decreased in Morocco to stand at 43% in the period of 2004-2005 while it stood at 48% in 1998, reported MAP news agency. Over 2.5 million people followed illiteracy fighting courses during the last seven years. Despite the positive results of the efforts made by the government, there are still many measures to be taken to remedy the phenomenon.

Fighting illiteracy and poverty is not only government's task, but also that of NGOs, associations and all actors of the civil society.
http://www.moroccotimes.com/News/article.asp?id=10285
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Moroccan literacy programme to benefit 1 million people.
11/10/2005

The 2006 illiteracy eradication programme in Morocco will benefit 1 million illiterates and 27,000 non-schooled children. Secretary of State in Charge of Literacy and Informal Education Anis Birou say the programme will have a new organisation and high quality management.
The 2005-2010 programme aims to reduce the illiteracy rate to 17 per cent for those over the age of 15. The initiative is part of the National Initiative for Human Development, launched in May by King Mohammed VI to reduce social disparities and fight exclusion.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/homepage/
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Morocco to host first international conference on children's health in Islamic world.
10/10/2005

Rabat is to host the first ministerial conference on children's health in the Islamic world on 7 November. The Organisation of Islamic Conferences, the Islamic Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation and the UNICEF are sponsoring the two-day event.
The three organisations recently published a report on the challenges facing nearly 600 million children in the Islamic world. Participants are to discuss issues including poverty, an increase in mortality rates among children and women, the impact of HIV/AIDS infection, and declining enrollment in primary schools.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/homepage/
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Morocco to train 400,000 young people by 2007 for enterprise.
Casablanca, Oct.11

The "Office de la Formation Professionnelle et de la Promotion du Travail» (OFPPT) plans to train 400,000 young people by 2007 to meet the needs of local enterprises. Director general of the Moroccan vocational training Office, Larbi Bencheikh, said in a statement to the press at a meeting on the OFPPT year's activity results, that the number of trainees has increased 14 % this year. There are now 120,000 new people enrolled, he added pointing out that women represented 42 %, a growth of 28 % from the 220,000 youngsters trained or still in training.
To reach 400,000 trainees in 2007, which is an ambitious program, the OFPPT has decided, among others things, to reinforce its regional working plan, by expanding partnership in order to train workers in their fields.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/social/morocco_to_train_400/view
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Morocco's financial reforms most advanced in Maghreb, says World Bank official.
11/10/2005

Financial sector reforms in Morocco are "relatively more advanced" than other Maghreb countries, said Theodore Ahlers, director of the Maghreb department at the World Bank. In an interview published in the latest edition of international weekly Jeune Afrique l'Intelligent, Ahlers noted that a new banking law is being considered in the Moroccan Parliament and that new statutes of the central bank will reinforce its autonomy.
Ahlers pointed out that the banking sector in Morocco is "mostly privatised" and that the remaining public banks are on their way to privatisation.
Morocco has launched a vast programme of economic reforms that encompasses public administration, the financial sector, housing and education, he said, noting that growth and job creation have slightly improved as well as most social indicators.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/homepage/
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World Children's Festival to open soon in Morocco.

World children's festival will start in Morocco on Nov.17-27. Many Moroccan bands, Sidi Ahmedou Moussa circus and "MC Hollande" Dutch circus will be featured, reported MAP news agency. The festival is meant to bring together children from all over the world to exchange views and discover other's cultures. The event will be initiated by Planet Jr Productions and "Children's Voice". Moroccan children participated in previous festivals in Mulhouse (North-East France), Bale (Switzerland) and Fribourg (Germany).
http://www.moroccotimes.com/News/article.asp?id=10250
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Great spotted woodpecker: a nice, occasionally harmful bird.
Fès, Oct. 14

The great spotted woodpecker, this cute, gorgeous and lovely small colored bird, which you see clinging, usually vertically, at tree trunks, might be neither cute nor lovely in the eyes of some. Indeed, the inhabitants of the locality of El Mechaa, region of Taounate (about a hundred km north of Fès) have a totally different idea about this bird, since it has deprived them of electricity, forcing them light up their nights with candles rather than bulbs.

The great spotted woodpecker, a bird with yellow and black feathers that get red towards the tail, showed a somehow morbid taste when it attacked the electric cables that provide the 1,600 inhabitants of the locality with electricity, said the website of Fès radio station.
An accusation confirmed by the provincial director of the National Office of Electricity (ONE), Mohammed El Kilani, who, quoted by the radio station, said that the work of restoration of the cables would require a fortnight. Meanwhile, the inhabitants of El Mechaa can only pray that the bird goes back to its natural dietary pattern composed chiefly of worms and larva, though it changes according to seasons, without including ONE cables anyway.

The great spotted is separated into a number of distinct sub-species both in size and in plumage as well as in length and shape of bill. As many as 14 races are described in Woodpeckers, Piculets and Wrynecks of the World. The bird might behave mischievously sometimes as in the case of El Mechaa locality, it remains cute, gorgeous and lovely, however.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/box5/great_spotted_woodpe/view
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Essaouira to be endowed with wind power plant.
Rabat, Oct. 12

The installation of a 60 MW wind power park in the region of the town of Essaouira, on the Moroccan Atlantic coast, to be operational in early 2007, will be carried out by the Moroccan Electricity Office (ONE) and the Spanish "Gamesa-Corporation tecnologia" company. The project is to cost USD 88 million, and is expected to help save the equivalent of 48,000 tons of fuel as well as cut down gas emissions by 156,000 tons of carbonic gas.

Moroccan Premier, Driss Jettou, who chaired the signing ceremony of the project between the Moroccan office and the Spanish company officials, stressed the social and economic impact of the project as well as its good incidence on the environment. ONE Managing Director, Ahmed Nakkouch told the Moroccan news agency the wind power plant has a 60 MW capacity with an average output of 210 GWH likely to cater to 1.5 to 2% of the national territory power needs. The energy production of the plant, which will help create 200 jobs during construction and later 20 permanent jobs, will raise the national output of wind power to 110 MW. The German KFW Bank is contributing USD 60 million to the project in the form of a loan to the ONE that will fund the rest of the project cost.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/essaouira_to_be_endo/view
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Aterian camp dating back 50,000 years discovered in Moroccan Atlas Mountains.
Rabat, Oct. 11

An important Aterian camp dating back 50,000 years was discovered in the northern city of Azrou in the Atlas Mountains. The operation was carried out by a group of scientists from "l'Institut des Sciences de l'Archéologie et du patrimoine" (INSAP). Other pre-historical sites were located in ifri Ouberid cave in Ain Elleuh (30Km south of Azrou) dating back 3,000 to 6,000 years.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/culture/aterian_camp_dating/view
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Marrakech International Film Festival hosts American director Martin Scorsese.

The 5th edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival which will be held from 11 to 19 November, will host the famous American director Martin Scorsese Le Matin reports that the program of the Festival will include a special homage ceremony to Scorsese. Born in 1942 in New York, Scorsese is the director of the famous movies such as Taxi Driver (1976), New York New York (1977), the Color of Money (1986), the Age of Innocence (1993), Casino (1995), Gangs of New York (2002) and Aviator (2004).
http://www.albawaba.com/en/countries/Morocco/189883
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