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By Mohamed Chtatou - September 25, 2018
Introduction
The agreement on the establishment of Peace Corps in Morocco was affected by exchange of diplomatic notes at Rabat dated February 8 and 9 , 1963 ; entered into force February 9, 1963 and amended by exchange of notes signed at Rabat March 10, 1972 ; entered into force March 10, 1972.
This agreement (1) stipulates that: “The Government of the United States will furnish Peace Corps volunteers as may be requested by the Government of Morocco, upon arrival of the request, to perform in Morocco tasks mutually agreed upon by our two governments. The Volunteers will work under the immediate supervision of private or governmental organizations in Morocco designated by the two governments. The Government of the United States will provide training to enable the Volunteers to perform their tasks more effectively.”
Since the agreement between Morocco and the United States to begin Peace Corps activity in Morocco, about thousands of Volunteers have served there to undertake with its people the search for mutual understanding and peace and to work along with Moroccans to achieve economic and social development in the areas of education, agriculture/rural development/food, renewable energy, health, small business development, wildlife, social services, environmental education, etc.
Read more here: https://themaghrebtimes.com/09/25/a-story-of-moroccan-american-relations-the-magic-window/
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By James Scogin Georgetown News-Graphic Sep 29, 2018
Eastman Johnson, Georgetown, recently earned a Fulbright grant which takes him back to Morocco for 15 months to research solid waste and further his knowledge of foreign language.After working with the Peace Corps in Morocco from 2014-16, helping design their first trash can, designing their first playground and putting those trash cans in all of the schools, Johnson knew he had to return after his time was done with the Corps.
http://www.news-graphic.com/news/johnson-researches-energy-in-morocco/article_a9e05926-c37f-11e8-aa6c-6f6df9114685.html
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By Rod Nordland July 30, 2018
When Kathy Kriger left the American diplomatic service after 9/11, the liberal in her was alarmed at the global war on terrorism and wanted to make a symbolic stand for tolerance by investing in a Muslim country.And when she arrived in Morocco, the entrepreneur in her saw a great business opportunity: She found that Rick’s Café, the cinematic gin joint from the 1942 movie “Casablanca,” did not actually exist. So she opened her own Rick’s Cafe, in 2004, in a converted old house in Casablanca’s Ancienne Medina, or old city, and ran the establishment for 14 years.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/30/obituaries/kathy-kriger-madame-rick-at-her-casablanca-cafe-is-dead-at-72.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fobituaries&action=click&contentCollection=obituaries®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=7&pgtype=sectionfront ================================================
By Morocco World News - September 30, 2018 Rabat
“The adoul (notary) examination results for the year 2018 were unveiled July 21; 299 women candidates passed, making up 37 percent of the 800 successful candidates.” Behind this seemingly anodyne announcement hides one of the most controversial and bold decisions of King Mohammed VI of Morocco, a decision made on January 22, 2018, in his religious capacity as the commander of the faithful to allow women to become adoul. The profession until then had been reserved to men……….
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2018/09/254339/women-adoul-morocco-public-notary/
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Julian Vigo Contributor i Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
Social Media I cover the anthropological intersections of tech, politics & culture
In French Modern (1995), Paul Rabinow analyzes the French colonizers’ implementation of “comprehensive urban-planning legislation” established in April 1914 in Morocco whereby the “native city” (medina q’dima) was separated from the “new city” (la ville nouvelle). The language of the “old” and the “traditional” were separate from that of the new and the “modern”. Rabinow analyzes how this period of the French colony under the leadership of General Lyautey was dedicated to structuring of a “modern” Morocco: a Morocco which would both “preserve the social integrity of [the] cities” while creating a “new, modern social ordonnance.” Lyautey’s controlled planning of the “new” Morocco became the model for constructing a social, physical and bureaucratic systems of the “modern” upon the colonized spaces of society, urban structures and and the systems of communication that had long made up the “traditional” Morocco.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/julianvigo/2018/09/23/the-wests-ecological-failure-of-modernization/#1e5a6fa33428
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12 September 2018
Morocco's law criminalizing violence against women has come into force. The law includes a ban on forced marriage, sexual harassment in public places, and tougher penalties for certain forms of violence. It has been criticised by Human Rights Watch for not explicitly criminalising marital rape and lacking a precise definition of domestic violence. A government survey found that 63% of women between the ages of 18-65 had been victims of violence. ………
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-45496337
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By Rebecca Rosman • SEPT 11, 2018
Most summer days, 14-year-old Manal Taragroum says she would be stuck at home, helping with chores around the house.
But not today. That’s because the energetic teenager is one of 20 young girls who has been selected to participate in a tech camp where they are learning the fundamentals of social media, digital photography and even basic coding. “This is an opportunity for them to discover something totally different from their world,” says Jamila Bargach, the head of Dar Si Hmad, the local nongovernmental organization that’s organized the 10-day tech camp………
Continues here: http://world.einnews.com/article/461733502/hucsjsqYS4cVCBZi
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By Morocco World News - September 25, 2018 Rabat
A new issue of Language and Linguistics has been published as Morocco is battling over the language in school books.
The Languages and Linguistics journal, edited by Moha Ennaji of the International Institute for Languages and Cultures in Fez, published its Issue 41 last week. In one article, Koussaila Alik from Mouloud Maammeri University in Algeria deals with the place of word borrowing in relation to the development of the Tamazight vocabulary used in schools in Algerian and Moroccan textbooks. The article analyzes in detail, with examples, the issue of loan words and the different types of borrowing and their origins. Also in the issue, Mohamed Yeou of Morocco, Kiyoshi Honda of Japan and Shinji Maeda of France report three experiments investigating the phonetics of the Tamazight dialect of Figuig in eastern Morocco………..
Read more here: https://world.einnews.com/article_detail/463004572/4aaDWWULbqGu31yGn=1&code=F0A6UI8SDeLVJB2O&utm_source=NewsletterNews&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Morocco+News&utm_content=article
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By Hamza Guessous - September 24, 2018 Rabat
While the primary school drop-out rate in urban areas is 1.1 percent, it is 5.7 percent in rural areas. In response to allegations that the drop-out rate of 5.7 percent in the 2017-2018 school year had doubled compared to the previous year, the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training explained in a press release that the rate only concerns rural areas. The urban drop-out rate of 1.1 percent represented 38,740 students.
For the secondary school, the drop-out rate reached 12 percent nationally—183,218 students.
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2018/09/253967/primary-school-morocco/
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Jean R. AbiNader September 18, 2018
National military service for young Moroccan men and women should be part of an integrated youth development strategy less concerned about vague ideals and more about preparing youth for work and dignity in a country that opens doors to opportunities. The commitment must be mutually beneficial…………
Follow it here: https://moroccoonthemove.com/2018/09/18/moroccos-new-national-service-can-build-generations-of-employable-patriots-jean-r-abinader================================================
Ambassador Edward M. Gabriel (ret.) September 26, 2018
Much has been written about the Finnish education miracle, so much so that I decided to examine if it makes sense for a country like Morocco. In doing so, I found that the Finnish model is an amalgamation of the best practices from other countries. There are other models in East Asia, as well, which together provide a fuller appreciation of the best models in the world.
The World Bank’s Education for Global Development blog provides us with a close view of the Finnish model, as well as others from around the world that have succeeded in efforts to become among the best schooling systems in the world.
More here: https://moroccoonthemove.com/2018/09/26/finding-the-right-education-model-for-morocco-ambassador-edward-m-gabriel-ret/================================================
Jean R. AbiNader September 27, 2018
In 2017, the number of terrorist-related arrests decreased in Morocco, in large part due to the effectiveness of its counter-terrorism strategy, according to the Department of State’s 2017 Counterterrorism report. “Morocco has a comprehensive counterterrorism strategy that includes vigilant security measures, regional and international cooperation, and counter-radicalization policies.” While sporadic threats continue, Morocco’s efforts have generally sustained a high level of stability throughout the country.
Morocco participates in the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS and continues to serve as co-chair of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) with the Netherlands. An important dimension of its cross-border activities is coordination with the EU both to track suspected terrorist activity emanating from Moroccans living abroad, and returning fighters from Iraq, Syria, and elsewhere.
The report noted that “Morocco’s counterterrorism legislation is in line with UN Security Council resolution (UNSCR) 2178 (2014).” Its law enforcement units “coordinating with the Ministry of Interior, aggressively targeted and effectively dismantled terrorist cells by leveraging intelligence collection, police work, and collaboration with international partners.” The primary counterterrorism law enforcement agency is the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ).
Read more here: https://moroccoonthemove.com/2018/09/27/department-of-state-2017-counterterrorism-report-commends-moroccos-efforts-jean-r-abinader/================================================
( SERVES 6 )
How often have you bitten into a chicken breast and wondered if you're actually eating cardboard? In our paranoia to ensure we won't get food poisoning from undercooked chicken, we tend to cook it to death, so it's beyond dry and utterly tasteless.
The Chinese are masters of chicken cookery, and one of their famous recipes involves putting a whole chicken in a pot with a sprinkling of salt and a bunch of aromatics such as spring onions, star anise, slices of ginger or a couple of kaffir lime leaves. Water is added to the pot so it covers the chicken by about 5cm (about two finger-widths), the pot is covered and just brought to a boil, then dropped to a gentle simmer. The bird simmers for just 20 minutes before being taken off the heat and left to cool fully for a couple of hours in the cooking liquid……………..
Check it here: http://www.bite.co.nz/hot-topics/in-season/3549/The-best-chicken-salad-ever--recipes/
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Dave Zakarian | September 21, 2018
Everyone wants to move”, says Issam, 19 years old, hidden near the Spanish port of Melilla. Like him, they are thousands of the “harraga”, these illegal migrants moroccans ready to do anything to win the “paradise europe”. This bachelor looking frail has climbed over the last month the fence surrounding the tiny Spanish enclave in Morocco -one of the only land border separating Europe from the african continent – for “escape from poverty and injustice”. “This is not over”, blows this young native of Fez (center), hood on the head, pants covered in grease truck: it remained for him to cross the Mediterranean, clinging to the chassis of a truck or the ropes of a ferry bound for Spain.
Follow it here: https://kozpost.com/blog/the-harraga-in-morocco-clandestine-burners-of-borders/7695/
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Struck by meningitis, Radwan lost both legs and right hand.
Manama: A Moroccan mother, who has been carrying her handicapped son on her back for five years so that he could attend school, has been hailed as an “amazing heroine”.
Rabiaa Roumaili was keeping a promise she made to her son Radwan Sahraoui five years earlier, when his legs, right hand and three of his left hand fingers were amputated when he was nine years old because of complications from meningitis. “When the blood vessels of his legs and hands died, the doctors of the university hospital in Fez were forced to amputate them. I cried afterwards and suffered a lot,” she told the Hespress news site, while literally picking up her son from his school……….
More here: https://gulfnews.com/news/mena/morocco/amazing-mum-carries-son-on-her-back-to-school-in-morocco-1.2283356
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By Morocco World News - October 2, 2018 Rabat
An education committee met Monday to discuss how to increase youth employment through vocational training centers.
The committee, chaired by King Mohammed VI, reported on its progress on the new plan for youth employment and training, According to the Maghreb Arab Press (MAP). The session included updates on the restructuring of vocational training, the creation of new training centers, the generalization of vocational counseling, and the reinforcement of youth entrepreneurship programs.
https://world.einnews.com/article_detail/463678274/TU8am6PTH1ygsKFL?n=1&code=F0A6UI8SDeLVJB2O&utm_source=NewsletterNews&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Morocco+News&utm_content=article ================================================
An insight into a Moroccan adventure in the Atlas mountains
Rachael Gurney Oct 2 2018 News
After meeting the guys at the guiding company H+I Adventures we were intrigued by their recent trip to Morocco with Diamondback pro rider, Eric Porter. They sent us over photos and video from what looks like a truly epic trip in the Atlas mountain range, full of stunning landscapes in an incredible country. Read the story from a rider on the trip here...
http://off.road.cc/content/news/riding-ancient-berber-trails-in-morocco-2893
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October 3, 2018
In the desert scrubland of Morocco's Tangier region, a donkey laden with water bottles trots down a pebble lane chased by two small children. A farmer herds his cows in the near distance. Crickets leap in the dry grass.
It's within these gently undulating hills, just inland from the coast, that China plans to build an entire city that will stand in monument to its expansion into a North African nation on Europe's doorstep.
At a grand signing ceremony presided over by Morocco's king in March of last year, Li Biao, the CEO of the Chinese Haite Group, outlined the ambition: a city of gleaming high towers and industrial zones that will attract as many as 100 Chinese companies and expected investment of $10 billion over the next decade. According to a promotional video, the area is expected to cover 7.7 square miles — about six times the size of Central Park in New York
https://www.npr.org/2018/10/03/638297986/will-moroccos-chinese-funded-tech-city-ever-break-ground
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(Tunis)
Morocco should take steps to ensure compliance with its new domestic workers law, which took effect on October 2, 2018, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should ensure that there are robust labor inspections, provide domestic workers with improved access to an adequate dispute-resolution system, and raise awareness about the new law.
Parliament approved the law on July 26, 2016, but the authorities delayed its enforcement to pass related implementation decrees. It provides new worker protections including a requirement for a standard contract, limits on working hours, a weekly rest day, and a minimum wage. While it still offers weaker protections to domestic workers than other workers, it is an important step forward. Additional steps are needed to ensure that domestic workers can realize their rights. In a memorandum to the authorities, Human Rights Watch sets out key measures to enhance access to justice and implementing mechanisms for the new law.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/10/04/morocco-new-domestic-workers-law-takes-effect
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Named a 'best value destination for 2018' Essaouira offers a breather from the hustle and bustle of nearby Marrakech - and could be the perfect budget honeymoon getaway, writes THEVOW.ie editor Karen Birney
Disembarking from our bus after a surprisingly comfortable three hour ride from Marrakech, our first thought is to head straight for the sea.
The flock of taxi and rick shaw drivers that greets us as we pull our bags from below deck is standard in any bus depot (if you can call the single desk transport office at the coastal town a depot) and after one or two polite but firm declines from us, we're happily strolling in the direction of the Atlantic.
The sometimes frustrating but always intoxicating streets of Marrakech (a city named one of TripAdvisor's Top 10 Destinations in the World for 2018 and our first port of call on this Moroccan adventure) already a distant memory, we're immediately refreshed as we hit the promenade with no idea yet as to where our riad is located. We're not in a hurry, of course, and neither is anyone else it seems, as we take the crisp sea air into our lungs and struggle to make out the horizon in the mist.
https://world.einnews.com/article_detail/463838619/qztoMhnRZmBBHS5g?n=1&code=F0A6UI8SDeLVJB2O&utm_source=NewsletterNews&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Morocco+News&utm_content=article
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The European Parliament has approved the “Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area” (PRIMA) sealed with Morocco, which has been involved in this project since its inception.
PRIMA is supported by Horizon 2020, the EU’s research and innovation framework program. It is the first public-public partnership under Horizon 2020 enabling participation of non-EU countries that are not associated to the EU research framework program on an equal footing with Member States and Associated Countries.
http://northafricapost.com/25672-eu-enhances-scientific-technological-cooperation-with-morocco.html
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By Matt Meltzer Published On 10/03/2018 @mmeltrez
To most American tourists, Morocco is the Tooth Fairy of travel destinations -- mythical, colorful, and otherworldly. Snow-capped mountains overlook open-air spice markets. Unforgiving deserts are flanked by ecstatic music festivals. Sand dunes meld into bustling souks and towering minarets, all of which function harmoniously within the same glorious province.
Sitting at the crossroads between Europe and the Middle East, the expansive country is a spectacular, disorienting mix of old world and new age culture. It’s the sort of place you come alone to do a little soul-searching. Or with your person to test some boundaries. Or with your roommate, for that matter, to purchase some truly exceptional home goods without the Urban Outfitters markup.
https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/visit-morocco-things-to-know#
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BY Kylie Ora Lobell | Sep 26, 2018 | Community
My husband, God bless him, has many crazy ideas. But unlike most people with lofty dreams, he actually follows through with them.
Own a rooster? Check. Have a comedy festival in our backyard? Yup. Reside off a dirt road in Florida for three weeks and live like old people who dine exclusively on buffets and watch “Everybody Loves Raymond” before falling asleep at 9 p.m.? That was us.
So earlier this year, Daniel and I decided we’d go to Morocco after his month-long stint performing stand-up at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August.
http://jewishjournal.com/news/los_angeles/community/239524/magical-jewish-morocco-mystery-tour/
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Critic Mia Stainsby checks out Moltaqa Moroccan Restaurant, which opened on West Hastings earlier this year.
Mia Stainsby
Updated: September 26, 2018
https://vancouversun.com/life/food/local-food-reviews/moltaqa-evokes-shimmery-vignette-of-morocco
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