Morocco to Announce National Earth Charter for 40th Anniversary of Earth Day. March 18, 2010 Lisa Swann, / swann@earthday.net
Morocco to Announce National Earth Charter for 40th Anniversary of Earth Day
Kingdom of Morocco First to Hold Major Earth Day Observance in RegionMarch 18, 2010, Washington, DC – The Kingdom of Morocco will announce an unprecedented National Charter for Environment and Sustainable Development on Earth Day, April 22, the first commitment of its kind in Africa and the Arab World. The charter will guide policy in the country and future laws on natural resources, the environment and sustainability. A high ranking delegation from Morocco joined E.P.A. Administrator Lisa Jackson and Earth Day Network at a Washington, DC press conference today to make the announcement.
Moroccoalso announced it will hold the first major Earth Day observance in the region in April, 2010 as part of the 40th Earth Day anniversary celebration taking place globally.
The King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, personally spearheaded the National Charter forEnvironment and Sustainable Development, which has undergone a nationwide, public consultative process and will form the framework for national environmental laws.
”Morocco, which sits at the crossroads between Africa and the Middle East, is leading these regions in groundbreaking environmental practices, inspiring millions of people to make a personal commitment to the environment for Earth Day and beyond,”said Kathleen Rogers, President of the environmental nonprofit Earth Day Network, which grew out of the original Earth Day and coordinates Earth Day observances globally. “We are thrilled to partner with Morocco for what we hope will be the largest global observance of Earth Day to date.”
The language of the Charterpledges that “everyone is entitled to live in a healthy environment that ensures security, health, economic growth, and social progress, where natural and cultural heritage and quality of life are the preserved.” It also urges environmental education, and a new dynamismthat preservation of the environment must be “a permanent concern of all Moroccans.”
Rabat, Moroccowill be a premier international city hosting an Earth Day celebration on Saturday, April 24 with top international speakers and musical talent.
Moroccois the first African, Muslim and Arab nation to commit, at the highest levels of government, to carry out a national event in honor of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.
This includes the wide participation of Moroccan government agencies, NGOs, community groups, and the broader public in Earth Day and Earth Day Network’s Billion Acts of Green™ campaign, which seeks to quantify environmental service programs around the globe in an online community. Morocco’s recent $9 billion investment in solar energy, demonstrates the country’s ongoing dedication to harnessing renewable energy to build a green economy. By 2020, Morocco expects to have renewable energies account for 42 percent of the country’s total power installed; this major solar project will reduce, by 3.7 million tons, the emissions of carbon dioxide per year. King Mohammed VI has also launched a project to plant one million palm trees by 2015.
A delegation from Morocco headed by Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa, sister of HM King Mohmmed VI and President of Mohammed VI Foundation for the Protection of Environment, travelled to Washington, DC for the ceremony presentation of Rabat as a premier city for the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Speakers at the press event included Mrs. Zoulikha Nasri, Adviser to His Majesty the King; Mr. Abdelkebir Zahoud, Secretary of State in charge of Water Resources and Environment; Mr. Fathallah Oualalou, Mayor of Rabat, Mrs. Miriem Bensalah Chaqroun, Commissioner, President of the Executive Board of theAssociation de Gestion de la Journée de la Terre. Also included in the delegation are Mr. Hassan Amrani, Wali of Rabat, Salé, Zemmour, Zaer Region and Mr. Faïçal Laraichi, President of the National Broadcasting Corporation.
A dinner honoring Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa including her keynote address will be held this evening, with members of the Moroccan delegation and high-ranking Washington leaders in attendance.
Morocco has a long history of friendship with the United States, beginning in 1777, when Morocco became the first nation to recognize the independence of the American colonies.
http://www.earthday.org/press-releases/morocco-announce-national-earth-charter-40th-anniversary-earth-day
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Washington highlights Morocco's achievements in women rights.
Washington - The US Department of State has highlighted the achievements made by Morocco in the area of women rights, mainly with regard to political representation and amendments made to the Family Law.
In its 2009 annual report of Human Rights Practices in the world, released on Thursday in Washington, the State Department noted that women's representation in local government and political parties' decision making structures increased in 2009.
In this respect, it noted that before the June elections, women held less than 1% of elected positions at the local level, and only two women served as mayors.
It added that following an agreement in November 2008 between the government and political parties, a minimum of 12 percent of the local council seats were reserved for women, that more than 20,000 female candidates ran for office, with 3,421 winning seats (13 percent of the total), and that twelve women were selected in subsequent indirect elections to head local councils as mayors.
In addition, "women are able to travel, receive loans, and start businesses without their husband's or father's permission," it said.
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Morocco, USA to consolidate cultural cooperation.
Rabat - The consolidation of the Moroccan-American cultural cooperation was at the centre of the meeting held, Wednesday in Rabat, between Morocco's Culture minister Bensalem Himmich and the American Ambassador to the Kingdom, Samuel Kaplan.
Himmich highlighted the long-standing friendship relations between Morocco and the United States, adding that his department aims to boost and diversify bilateral cultural cooperation, a statement of the Culture ministry said on Thursday.
For his part, Kaplan said the Moroccan-American relations are "excellent", underlining that his country is ready to bolster bilateral cooperation in many fields, notably music.
Cooperation could also include the field of publication, through the translation of the Moroccan books and vice versa.
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American filmmaker 'impressed' by Morocco's cultural diversity.
Rabat - American director Amie Williams said she was "impressed" by Morocco's richness of cultural diversity.
The American artist, who was speaking at a meeting on Tuesday in Rabat's Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Art (ISCA), hailed the spirit of openness of Moroccans and their passion for the art of cinema.
She highlighted the remarkable development in the film making industry in the kingdom and said she intends to shoot or produce a film on Morocco.
The meeting, initiated by the cultural service of the US embassy in Morocco, focused mainly on the cinema discourse and the contribution of new information technologies to promote the art of film making.
Amy Williams founded her film production company Bal Maiden Films 1992 and received a degree of Film Production from the University of California at Los Angeles.
She benefited from the use of new technologies which have had an impact on her substantive work and helped her explore new approaches to storytelling and develop projects across different cultures.
Among her works are “No Sweat” in 2006 and “Deadly Oasis” in 2004, and “Tales of Women from Las Vegas” in 2001 and other works.
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In changing times, Moroccan women play dual role. By Sarah Touahri 2010-03-14
- Morocco's working wives see progress on the job front but little change at home.
While women have acquired some freedom in the working environment, attitudes have not changed as regards the role of a woman within the family. The equality they seek has not yet been achieved on the domestic front.
However, generalisations should be avoided, since an increasing number of young husbands are attempting to counter tradition by helping their wives perform daily tasks.
"Women have more responsibility than men. When men come home, they relax, whereas women must cook and take care of the house and children on their own. Women have gained freedom, but attitudes have not kept pace. Equality must come about in the home," said bank clerk Halima Bernoussi.
A similar view is shared by a number of women who accept their daily lives with resignation. They blame the hypocrisy of Moroccan society in this respect.
Fatima Moustaghfir, a lawyer and Member of Parliament, said that tradition is very important and that only women themselves can change this. In her view, they must teach their children that boys and girls are equal so that the future will be different. "In Morocco, it's still taboo for a man to help his wife with the cooking. Others take a ruthless view on this. Often, even those who help their wives with chores avoid doing so in front of other people," she said.
Sociologist Hamid Ghoulam explained that Morocco is going through a transitional phase, and that women may feel pressure in their daily lives due to their conservative upbringing.
"Many women who work feel deep down that their dual mission is a duty that they must accomplish without batting an eyelid," he said. "Moroccans raise their daughters to be good cooks, whereas it is instilled into boys that they must avoid these womanly tasks."
Nevertheless, Ghoulam said, the current generation is behaving differently.
An increasing number of young husbands are attempting to counter tradition by helping their wives perform daily tasks.
Siham M., a public-sector worker, said that the mothers of the future will face less stress, since the way in which children are being brought up is changing. The mother of two boys and a girl, she tries to teach her children the important of equality in the home: "I treat my boys and my daughter just the same. I involve all of them in the housework. In future, I think my sons will help their wives."
Women's arrival in the workplace has enabled them to broaden their horizons and improve their skills, said Rachida Benmasoud, writer and member of the political office of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces.
Change will take time to occur in the home, Benmasoud conceded. Society, she said, is certain of women's role in development, but the cultural system retains a strong presence with regard to traditional roles. She concluded that the state should play a greater role in boosting equality.
An increasing number of young husbands, however, are attempting to counter tradition by helping their wives perform daily tasks.
Many men oppose the notion that women are victims, said teacher Hicham Choubami.
"Women's access to jobs has enabled them to strengthen their position both in society and at home," Choubami noted.
He claims that men are increasingly helping their wives go about household chores. "The attitude of Moroccans is changing. Women should not make a drama out of the situation. It's simply a question of organisation."
Halima Essaid, a nurse, agrees. She said that women must organise their time so that they do not fall victim to daily pressures. In her opinion, discussing this subject with their husbands should help women.
"At first, my husband didn't help me; I had to do everything myself," she said. "When I talked things over with him, I persuaded him to get more involved around the house for the happiness of our family."
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Moroccan women's group to host int'l forum. By Imane Belhaj 2010-03-19
- Women's Tribune, an organisation that encourages the discussion of gender equality throughout the Mediterranean basin, will convene an international forum in March.
Fathia Bennis said the two-day event would welcome key activists from countries around the region, under the banner of "Women and Authority: From Saying to Doing". Participants from Algeria, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, France, Italy and Spain will discuss the role of women in politics, mass media and the marketplace.
Women still face many obstacles to achieving total gender equality, Bennis told reporters. "We're not victims. We have responsibilities that we want to live up to, until the end. Our liberation means liberation for men, too," Bennis said.
Women's Tribune was founded last year to promote discussion about gender equality around the Mediterranean basin, and the organisation actively recruits the participation of both men and women.
The forum will focus on the realisation of two key projects: establishing a nursery in every Moroccan workplace, and creating a national observatory to monitor and follow up on gains in women's rights, Bennis said. The new observatory will also be charged with studying new project recommendations to submit to the government.
In line with the first project, Bennis plans to use the upcoming conference to spotlight Morocco's first company boasting a nursery on its premises. She praised Webhelp Maroc for taking its employees' concerns into consideration, especially in terms of childcare.
"It boosts the productivity of enterprises, as employees will feel more comfortable working in close proximity to their children," Bennis said.
Salwa Karkri, an MP and active member of Women's Tribune, said the forum's discussions would be inclusive, with the opinions of both men and women solicited and debated.
Karkri added that gender equality was critical to Morocco's economic development.
The "advanced status" granted to Morocco by the EU makes it necessary for the country "to engage women in all development initiatives", Karkri said, adding: "Countries that assume a good position in terms of equality are also those that are advanced in terms of development."
Participants in last year's conference raised 400,000 dirhams to donate to the Zakoura Education Foundation, which works to provide access to schooling for girls in low-income and rural areas.
Youssef Saibi, a Women's Tribune member who attended the March 16th press conference, said he believes women's rights have come a long way in Morocco. Saibi said recent elections had resulted in many women taking positions of power.
"When women are determined to undertake a social, economic or political job, nothing stops them," he told Magharebia.
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Japan loans Morocco over $261mln for road, drinking water projects.
Rabat - Japan granted Morocco two loans of up to 2.16 billion dirhams ($261mln) to fund projects related to roads and drinking water.
The loan agreements were signed on Friday by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Moroccan Economy minister Salah Eddine Mezouar and director general of Morocco's national water utility (ONEP) Ali Fassi Fihri.
The first loan ($ 93 million) provides for completing the construction of a road linking the northern cities of Jebha and Tetouan (120 km).
The second loan ($ 171 million) will finance the construction of waste water treatment stations and the reinforcement of the drinking water network.
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Morocco's economy grew 5.3% in 2009 thanks to monetary policy -report.
Addis Ababa - Morocco's economy grew by 5.3% in 2009 thanks to "bold" fiscal and monetary stimulus measures taken by the government, a report by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) said.
The report entitled "Overview of Economic and Social Conditions in Africa in 2009," pointed out that North Africa was affected by the global downturn, as it achieved a 3.5% growth in 2009 after having achieved 4.1% a year earlier.
"This sub-regional average reflects the remarkable adaptability of Egyptian and Moroccan economies, whose growth of 4.7% and 5.3% respectively has been made possible by bold steps of fiscal and monetary stimulus," the report said.
The report noted that the other countries of North Africa achieved a growth of or below 3%.
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The Economist highlights Morocco's renewable energy potential.
London - The British weekly magazine "The Economist" highlighted, on Wednesday, Morocco's renewable energy potential.
The Moroccan government's efforts in the field of renewable energy aim to make good use of the Kingdom's good weather "by spending $9 billion to build five solar-power plants capable of producing around 40% of the kingdom's energy by 2020," the magazine said in an article published on its website.
"The Economist" added that foreign investors have already started building the first plant near Ouarzazate (central Morocco).
Many experts seem to be optimistic about these plans. Bernhard Brand at the University of Cologne says that the capacities at the planned plant near Ouarzazate and the timetable for getting it going are ambitious, the paper said.
The magazine also recalled that the Kingdom set up the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy to coordinate between investors and the government.
A sunny disposition: Morocco looks to the sun to meet its energy needs Mar 16th 2010
DESPITE an unusually rainy February, Morocco is not generally short of sunshine. Its government wants to exploit the good weather by spending $9 billion to build five solar-power plants capable of producing around 40% of the kingdom's energy by 2020. Foreign investors have been bidding to build the first plant, near Ouarzazate, south of the Atlas mountains.
A solar-powered bonanza beckons. Morocco has virtually no oil or gas of its own and imports 98% of its energy, which leaves it vulnerable to price fluctuations and skews its trade balance. In 2008 it spent $9.2 billion, about 11% of its GDP, on energy. Hence its interest in solar power, as well as other sources of renewable energy, such as wind turbines.
Some people think the plans are optimistic. Bernhard Brand at the University of Cologne says that the capacity at the planned plant near Ouarzazate and the timetable for getting it going are ambitious. Much smaller projects, such as a hybrid plant at Ain Beni Mathar, which combines gas and solar power, have experienced delays and complications.
The government has set up a solar-energy agency to coordinate planning between investors and the government in an effort to cut out bureaucracy and red tape. But finance may be a problem. Investors are still nervous about the economic viability of solar power, so Morocco must cast its net wide. The World Bank's Clean Technology Fund has pledged $200m to show its support for the technology. King Muhammad, Morocco's ruler, may, reportedly, back the scheme with some of his own fortune. That is just as well: solar energy is much costlier than the oil- or gas-powered sort and would need subsidising.
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Morocco, among world leaders in microfinance, French economist says.
Marrakech - Micro-credit is witnessing a sustained development in Morocco, which is one of world leaders in the field of microfinance, Jacques Attali, founding president of the ONG PlaNet Finance, an international solidarity organization, has said.
The holding of the second international conference "Microfinance and new technologies" in Marrakech is "a great success for Morocco insofar as it attests to the importance of microcredit in the Kingdom, one of world leaders in this field, and also of the new technologies where Morocco has a very efficient computer science industry," Attali told MAP on the sidelines of the event.
Micro-credit in Morocco "is in fine fettle and is well developed," the French economist and writer said, noting that microfinance is "an excellent tool of development" and that new technologies constitute "a factor of the financial system’s growth".
He added that microfinance cannot on its own resolve the plight of poverty, and that this mission requires also democracy, education, health infrastructures and new technologies.
The two-day meeting gathered some 300 experts and decision-makers from around the world.
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INDH, an example to follow by many African countries, official.
Marrakech - The large-scale anti-poverty programme the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH), as a successful experience in Morocco, is an example to follow by many African countries, State Secretary to the Foreign ministry Mohamed Ouzzine said on Wednesday.
Speaking at a joint press briefing with participants in the International Conference of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ouzzine said that many African countries were largely inspired by this experience through adopting policies encouraging proximity and investing more in the human element.
He recalled that the state has earmarked 55% of its budget in carrying out development projects that aim at fighting poverty, strengthening infrastructures and improving the living conditions of citizens across Morocco.
He deplored the existence of countries which are still facing a number of obstacles that rob them of achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), notably the lack of good governance, climate change issue, wars or natural disasters.
Initiated under the patronage of HM King Mohammed VI, in partnership with the Moroccan government and the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, this event (March 17-19) brings together world leaders, thinkers and practitioners, as well as bilateral and multilateral partners and experts in local development.
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Washington highlights Morocco's achievements in women rights.
Washington - The US Department of State has highlighted the achievements made by Morocco in the area of women rights, mainly with regard to political representation and amendments made to the Family Law.
In its 2009 annual report of Human Rights Practices in the world, released on Thursday in Washington, the State Department noted that women's representation in local government and political parties' decision making structures increased in 2009.
In this respect, it noted that before the June elections, women held less than 1% of elected positions at the local level, and only two women served as mayors.
It added that following an agreement in November 2008 between the government and political parties, a minimum of 12 percent of the local council seats were reserved for women, that more than 20,000 female candidates ran for office, with 3,421 winning seats (13 percent of the total), and that twelve women were selected in subsequent indirect elections to head local councils as mayors.
In addition, "women are able to travel, receive loans, and start businesses without their husband's or father's permission," it said.
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Morocco, USA to consolidate cultural cooperation.
Rabat - The consolidation of the Moroccan-American cultural cooperation was at the centre of the meeting held, Wednesday in Rabat, between Morocco's Culture minister Bensalem Himmich and the American Ambassador to the Kingdom, Samuel Kaplan.
Himmich highlighted the long-standing friendship relations between Morocco and the United States, adding that his department aims to boost and diversify bilateral cultural cooperation, a statement of the Culture ministry said on Thursday.
For his part, Kaplan said the Moroccan-American relations are "excellent", underlining that his country is ready to bolster bilateral cooperation in many fields, notably music.
Cooperation could also include the field of publication, through the translation of the Moroccan books and vice versa.
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American filmmaker 'impressed' by Morocco's cultural diversity.
Rabat - American director Amie Williams said she was "impressed" by Morocco's richness of cultural diversity.
The American artist, who was speaking at a meeting on Tuesday in Rabat's Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Art (ISCA), hailed the spirit of openness of Moroccans and their passion for the art of cinema.
She highlighted the remarkable development in the film making industry in the kingdom and said she intends to shoot or produce a film on Morocco.
The meeting, initiated by the cultural service of the US embassy in Morocco, focused mainly on the cinema discourse and the contribution of new information technologies to promote the art of film making.
Amy Williams founded her film production company Bal Maiden Films 1992 and received a degree of Film Production from the University of California at Los Angeles.
She benefited from the use of new technologies which have had an impact on her substantive work and helped her explore new approaches to storytelling and develop projects across different cultures.
Among her works are “No Sweat” in 2006 and “Deadly Oasis” in 2004, and “Tales of Women from Las Vegas” in 2001 and other works.
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Laila Lalami, A Moroccan touch in the English-language literary universe.
By Aziz Rami
London - With a vast linguistic knowledge, a diversified education and broad imagination, Laila Lalami has managed over the years to cleave a safe path through the demanding world of English-language literature. After only a few years, Lalami was able to ensure an honorable place in this fascinating, seductive yet non-complacent world of literature.
Having made her first steps into the world of writing through her experience as a journalist in a French daily in Morocco, Lalami decided to change course to venture into the English-speaking world, fascinated, then absorbed, by the language that she perfectly commands. Back from London, where she had earned a Master's degree in linguistics, she has worked for Al Bayan. "But shortly afterwards it became increasingly difficult to go back home and write in French (...) and so I turned to English, because I had anyway to prepare my PhD dissertation in English, and there began my story with the language of Shakespeare," she says in an interview with MAP.
Only Moroccan English-language fiction writer, Lalami has attracted the attention of major U.S. and U.K. newspapers. Latest example, The Independent wrote last week about the two novels of the young writer, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits and Secret Son, from which she made readings in the Lecture Theatre One in London in presence of a large number of students, journalists and writers.
Yet it was not easy to embark on the writing adventure, she says. "It's a totally new area, because there's really no script, no tradition for what I'm doing. There was nobody that I could look up to for advice, so I just had to create all the elements as I go along."
+ First novel, first award +
Despite the difficulties, Lalami was able to engrave her name amongst international writers. Her first try, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, a collection of short stories, tells the story of two women and two men who embarked on the risky journey of crossing the Mediterranean to the European Eldorado. Through them, she depicts the anatomy of hope and struggle for a better future. In 2003, the collection was awarded the British Council award for short stories, and has since been translated into six languages.
Her debut novel, Secret Son, was released in 2009. It tells the story of this young Youssef, from a Casablanca slum, who gullibly followed the story by his mother of his late father, a respected school professor. Youssef had one day to face up the reality of his father, a wealthy Casablanca businessman living in a luxurious penthouse in the posh neighborhoods of the north-African country's business capital.
Today, Lalami is working on a new novel about the life and experiences of a Moroccan university professor. With pride and modesty, Lalami speaks of her contribution to this mosaic that forms the image of Morocco, and to changing "the simplistic idea of others." “Novels are the opposite of simplistic,” she says. “A novel offers you the opportunity to live the life of the character. So you get to feel those emotions. And during that process of identification with the character, the reader gets to see things from the character's point of view.”
+ The writer, the critic, the professor +
Beyond her passion, writing, Lalami has also made a strong reputation of a critic. She is frequently approached by major publishers in the United States. From the Boston Globe to The Washington Post, the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, her criticisms and essays are published in the prestigious U.S. papers. She wrote a number of critiques on the work's of international writers like Christopher Coldwell and Abdourahman Waberi.
With a Masters in Linguistics from the University College London and a PhD in the same branch from the University of Southern California, Laila is currently professor of literature and writing at the University of California, Riverside.
+ An unprecedented expansion in the number of Moroccan writers abroad +
Highly interested in the development of the literary and intellectual scene in Morocco, Lalami follows closely the news on this topic, but seems more attracted by the growing number of Moroccan writers abroad."It is very interesting to see all these novelists of the Moroccan Diaspora writing in multiple languages," she says. "In addition to Arabic, French or English, we find Moroccans writing in Dutch or Italian." This diversity gives a plural image of Morocco. "When talking about Moroccan literature it is a literature in Arabic, French, English and in all these languages, and it's really interesting because the story, the image, the characters would be rendered differently in all these languages. This is absolutely exciting."
+ A significant development in women rights +
Although she is thousands of miles away from Morocco, Laila Lalami has never lost this link with her homeland. She follows very closely the changes, the developments, and thoroughly examines news about the social and political situation. The writer, whose works are based largely on the difficulties of Moroccan society, stresses that the reforms made in recent years to improve the legal rights of women are "significant." “It's a significant change and a great development in the rights of women,” she says, referring mainly to the Family Code and the Nationality Code.
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