Virtual Magazine of Morocco on the Web
Morocco Week in Review 
April 1, 2006

World's most giant painting to sensitize on AIDS in Morocco
Spring camps to host 18,000 teens, this year.
National plan to save and develop Moroccan oases.
Morocco, MCA reach agreement on projects to be funded
Top Moroccan businessmen from America to visit Casablanca.
Italy donates Morocco USD 60,000 to fight tuberculosis.
Morocco to set wetland surveillance to monitor migratory birds.
UNDP to help fight poverty in eastern Morocco under a USD 11Mn program.
Culinary Arts Festival in Morocco.
Morocco: World spiritual musicians to turn out at Gnaoua and World Music Festival late June.
12th Fez Festival of World Sacred Music early June.

World's most giant painting to sensitize on AIDS in Morocco
March 31, 2006,

An NGO will exhibit, on April 29-30, the world most giant canvas to sensitize on AIDS in Morocco. Youth will take on their brushes to express themselves on a 250-square meter-long canvas, which will be exhibited in a public square, the NGO "Association marocaine des jeunes contre le Sida" (AMJCS) said.

The new concept project is a way to underline that AIDS is the concern of all and to spread the solidarity message and African youth commitment to fight this plague. The campaign coincides with the international conference against AIDS scheduled this year in Toronto (Canada).
http://www.andnetwork.com/app?service=direct/1/Home/$StorySummary$0.$DirectLink$1&sp=l27390 
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Spring camps to host 18,000 teens, this year.
Rabat, Apr. 1

Some 18,000 girls and boys throughout Morocco are attending on April 7 through 15 spring camps organized by the Youth State Secretariat in cooperation with the National Children Camps Body. The 4th session of the national « holidays for all » program schedules many activities during the camps for 15 to 17-year olds, who belong to youth organisations and associations. The gatherings are meant to instruct and implant the spirit of civics, responsibility, mutual help and commitment to the youth, as well as teach them skills in arts, sports, literature, a communiqué of the Youth Secretariat said.

The teens will be carrying out these activities in 63 camps located either on the seaside or on mountains under the supervision of associations officers, writers, sportspeople, artists and others. The spring camps are also the opportunity to hold training sessions, workshops and other activities to train children supervisors and camp counsellors. Some 55 training sessions are to take place in 33 camps for 2,900 counsellors and other staff. The Youth Secretariat said training sessions were held last January and February attended by 2105 counsellors and overall more than 15,640 counsellors and other related personnel were trained since the beginning of the program.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/box3/spring_camps_to_host/view 
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National plan to save and develop Moroccan oases.
By Hassan Benmehdi 28/03/06

Meeting recently in Errachidia, Moroccan government officials were unanimous about the urgent need to save oases. For centuries, oases have played a major role in the history of Morocco despite unfavourable climatic conditions. They constitute rare phenomena that long ago developed into a model of long-term sustainable exploitation of natural resources. However, the Saharan phenomena are currently endangered and threatened with disappearance if negative conditions persist. The conditions that are killing off the oasis areas have raised the alarm for urgent and effective measures to be taken to save and promote them. Minister for Land, Water and Environmental Development Mohamed El Yazghi recognises the scale of the problem. Outlining the national plan to save the oases, which will be implemented this year around Tafilalet, he explained that oases deserved to be restored.

"The strategy adopted to develop the oases rests on three main independent criteria: optimisation of the use of the available resources, progressive moves towards a more traditional agricultural model and the development of a national oasis tourism strategy," said El Yazghi, adding that "the overexploitation of water resources is endangering the future of oasis areas and this situation will deteriorate further in the case of a lack of rainfall".

El Yazghi's plan consists of controlling the management of the water shortage and reducing wastage, reducing demographic pressure and making the most of human resources. A traditional farming system will also be set up to ensure that the government is involved in managing resources to diversify the economy and to promote employment through the development of integrated rural centres. On a similar note, the Secretary General of the High Commission for Water, Forests and Anti-desertification Measures Hammou Jader pointed out that the success of the plan necessitates the adoption of a countrywide approach, with joint effort from all those involved and monitoring and evaluation of completed projects. Director of the Social Development Agency Mohamed Najib Guédira stated that in his view, the plan should be looked at with a view to keeping the human dimension central, especially as he is working to stamp out poverty.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2006/03/28/feature-01 
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Morocco, MCA reach agreement on projects to be funded
By Bachir Niah. 3/29/2006

Morocco and the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) have reached an agreement in principle for the first part of the Moroccan proposition concerning the projects that will be funded by the MCA, underlined Tuesday Moroccan Premier Driss Jettou in Ouarzazat. During the opening ceremony of the national participative workshop on the programmes to be submitted to the Account, held on March 28-29, Jettou underlined that "we have reached an agreement with our partners in the MCA on the first part of the Moroccan proposition which is made up of three programmes."

The first programme aims at improving agricultural productivity in the regions where poverty is rampant. "It is part of the national strategy for the upgrading of the agricultural sector," said the Prime minister. The second targets the safeguard of oases. "This choice is dictated by the awareness that urgent action should be taken to save this national patrimony, especially the palmgroves, which are threatened by desertification, urban expansion and drought." As for the third programme, which relates to the National Initiative for Human Development, he stressed that this initiative "is meant to fight poverty directly in the most deprived rural communes and urban excluded areas."

Jettou underscored that the Moroccan proposition was examined and scrutinised by a body of experts. "The proposed operations and projects underwent deep economic, financial, and technical studies, which confirmed their feasibility and the impact they will have on the population." For her part, Magda Ismail, Joint Director in charge of Morocco in the MCC told MAP news agency that the USD 750 million for funding these three programmes has yet to be confirmed because it all depends on the final proposal that will be submitted in April. She estimated, however, that USD 220 million of the 750 will be earmarked for INDH, 200 for the improvement of agricultural production, and 190 for the safeguard of oases.

In Nov. 2004, Morocco was selected among the 23 countries that are eligible to apply for Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) assistance for fiscal year 2006. Last January, visiting Ambassador John Danilovich, chief executive officer (CEO) of Millennium Challenge Corporation, which provides the funds, said that "Morocco's pursuit of reforms and transparency made it eligible for the Millennium Challenge Corporation."

The MCC is an American governmental corporation designed to work with some of the poorest countries in the world. It is intended to reinforce sound political, economic and social policies that promote poverty reduction through economic growth.
http://www.moroccotimes.com/Paper/article.asp?idr=5&id=13784
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Top Moroccan businessmen from America to visit Casablanca.
By Hassan Benmehdi -- 24/03/06

As part of a Moroccan-American partnership, a number of top young Moroccan businessmen working in high technology in the United States travelled to their home country to take part in a seminar organised in Casablanca on 14 March. Driven by the desire to make a contribution to the socio-economic development of their native country, young Moroccans from major American universities are hoping to forge a link between the United States and their homeland, capitalising on their rich entrepreneurial and managerial experience gained with giant American corporations such as Oracle, Cisco, Citigroup and Lehman Brothers.

Coming from several regions across the United States, the group travelled to Casablanca with the aim of meeting Moroccan entrepreneurs and to explore the possibilities of launching new joint projects to meet the challenges of competition and to respond to the needs of the market. The meeting, called "The Strength of Partnerships: Moroccan-American Bridges", offered a platform for constructive reflection and dialogue between American entrepreneurs of Moroccan origin and Moroccan industrialists on the enormous business opportunities offered by the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries.

According to the majority of participants, the meeting, organised by the Association of Moroccan Professionals in America and the Moroccan-American Circle with the assistance of several public and private organizations, was fruitful at all levels. It featured presentations on the major growth sectors such as telecommunications, information technology, banking and financial services, and biotechnology. Another striking feature was the unanimous wish of the participants to mobilise all the potential of the Moroccan community in the United States to support economic growth in Morocco, which has made off-shore operations, a sector with high added value, a strategic choice.

The speakers also pointed out the importance of greater harmonisation between Moroccan and American business communities to give added dynamism to trade between the two countries, as part of a mutually beneficial partnership following the FTA coming into force in January 2006.
The young Moroccan businessmen from the United States, optimistic about the future, constantly reiterated their wish to act to set up a win-win partnership between the two countries. After two days of work and consideration, they said that the next meetings between the two countries would look at projects that would be of widespread benefit.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2006/03/24/feature-01 
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Italy donates Morocco USD 60,000 to fight tuberculosis.
Rabat, Mar. 28

Italy has approved a USD 60,000 donation to support Moroccan national strategy to fight tuberculosis. According to a communiqué of the Italian embassy in Rabat, the financial aid is part of the Moroccan-Italian cooperation in the health field and aims notably to help Morocco prepare a national strategic plan that will be submitted to the Global Fund to fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) to efficiently fight these diseases. Tuberculosis spreads in several world regions, recording a 1% increase every year, notably in Africa. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) recent report, the disease killed in 2004 some 1.7Mn persons among a total of 8.9Mn new cases.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/social/italy_donates_morocc/view 
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Morocco to set wetland surveillance to monitor migratory birds.
Rabat, Mar 31:

Morocco has decided to set up a surveillance network of the 40 wetlands of the North African country to monitor the migratory birds stopping over in the zones, water and forest high commissioner, Abdelaadim el Hafi, said. The network is to run mainly along the western coasts of the country where important bird movements occur during annual migrations, el Hafi said in a presentation before the commission on productive sectors at the house of representatives. El Hafi said the surveillance is to be carried out permanently and not only during migration seasons, since there could be a risk in the fall of 2006. He recalled morocco has made a series of preventive measures to control the emergence of the bird flu in the country, including monitoring migratory birds and poultry farms, screening dead or sick birds. Morocco is also conducting awareness raising and immunization campaigns among the people working in the sector. Some 323 dead or sick bird samples were screened showing no sign of the presence of the virus causing the avian flu, he said.
http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=285215&ssid=26&sid=ENV 
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UNDP to help fight poverty in eastern Morocco under a USD 11Mn program.
Rabat, Apr. 1

The eastern region of Morocco is embarking on a MAD 100Mn program, about USD 11Mn, to reduce poverty and secure good local governance, under an agreement protocol signed here on Friday by the UNDP and the Agency for the economic and social development of the eastern region (ADO). The Integrated Local Development program (Delio) aims at upgrading the production fabric of the Moroccan eastern region, skill and know-how acquisition and accompanying players in income generating projects, as well as supporting private enterprise in agriculture, tourism, handicraft and trade.

The Delio also provides for capability building in local structures part of the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH), incepted last May by King Mohammed VI to fight poverty and exclusion. ADO Managing Director, Mohamed Mbarki, told the Moroccan News Agency MAP the agreement « opens a new era of cooperation between the agency and international bodies". The UN Development Program contribution is to go for local Agenda 21 urban development in the region's towns: Nador, Oujda, Figuig, Berkane, Taourirt and Bouarfa.

Fighting poverty in the region is also part of the program that particularly targets the towns of Jerada, Taourirt and Figuig, where initiatives to create income generating activities are to be carried out, notably in favour of rural women. Environment protection issues are also to be dealt with within the program.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/box4/undp_to_help_fight_p/view 
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Culinary Arts Festival in Morocco.
Fès, Mar. 27

Fès Culinary Arts Festival will take place on April 28 through 30 in the imperial city of Fès (200km east of Rabat). Entering its third year, the festival will again highlight the culinary expertise of acclaimed national and international chefs with entertaining and informational food seminars and tasting events. Organized by Moroccan specialist in culinary arts, Fatéma Hal and "Esprit de Fès" Foundation, the festival is a unique event in Morocco bringing together culinary arts writers, historians and journalists, in addition to hotel business managers.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/culture/culinary_arts_festiv/view 
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Morocco: World spiritual musicians to turn out at Gnaoua and World Music Festival late June.
March 31, 2006,

Top world spiritual musicians will turn out at the 9th Gnaoua and World Music Festival slated for June 22 to 25 in Morocco. Once again, Essaouira (central Morocco) will live on the vibrations of musical bands emanating from the five corners of the globe to offer a rich menu where Gnaoua Maalems' Guembris and crotales echo in symbiosis with Jazz, Rock and other universal musical rhythms. 15 Gnaoua maâlems will take turn on the scene, including the very known Mahmoud Guinea, Hamid El Kasri, Omar Hayat, Mustapha Bakbou and Abderrahim Benthami. These big guns will share the scene with emerging stars, such as Hassan Boussou and Hicham Merchane.

Music connoisseurs will discover the mythical guitarist Pat Metheny, who fuses world music, techno, heavy metal and Flamenco, quartet of Roman brilliant saxophonist Stefano Di Battista and the American pianist Scott Kinsey, adept of electric jazz. The world music aficionados will tame the mysterious world of Pakistani Qawwali of Mehr Ali and Sher Ali brothers, and their ten singers. Guinean magician kora Ba Cissoko, Malian jazzy Ali Keita, Brazilian percussionists Luis Conte and Zé Luis Nascimiento, Algerian Gâada Diwane of Bechar will also be part of the party. In its latest edition, 400,000 aficionados sampled the already-world class festival menu.
http://www.andnetwork.com/app?service=direct/1/Home/$StorySummary$0.$DirectLink$2&sp=l27206 
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12th Fez Festival of World Sacred Music early June.
RABAT, Mar. 29

Top world spiritual musicians are expected to turn out at the 12th Fez Festival of World Sacred Music slated for June 2 to 10. The Fez festival, which aims to give a "soul to globalisation," will feature several renowned artists like William Christie (France), Hassan Haffar and Omar Sermini (Syria), Missa Criolla (Argentina), Za Ondekoza (Japan), Yungchen Lhamo (Tibet), Jordi Savall and Monserrat Figueras (Spain), Antonella Ruggiero (Italy), Lotfi Bouchnak (Tunisia) and Aygun Baylar (Azerbaijan), in addition to three female voices Karima Skalli (Morocco) Leila Hejaiej (Tunisia) and Nassima (Algeria) who will play Maghreb mystic songs.

The event will take place in the famous sites of "Bab Makina," "Musée Batha" and the archaeological city of Volubilis. Under the sign "Giving Soul to Globalisation," Fès 6th annual Colloquium "Harmonies" will handle questions like: Can culture and spirituality influence human development, and change our attitude towards the environment? And how can we find ways of harmonising today so that we can work together to resolve the conflicts that plague various parts of the globe, or indeed, prevent them altogether?
More on www.fesfestival.com
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/box5/12th_fez_festival_of/view 
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