Field Train Students, CSOs & Officials in Morocco

The High Atlas Foundation presses on in its endeavors to implement and support sustainable human development in communities in Mohamedia and Boujdour. As a Foundation, we believe wholeheartedly in the participation of local communities and neighborhoods in identifying, planning, and implementing the socio-economic and environmental projects they need the most. We believe that the enormous potential of Morocco and its people is something worth investing in and nurturing. The High Atlas Foundation sees tremendous opportunity for Morocco to lead and guide the region through community democratic or bottom-up development. However, there are internal challenges in Morocco that lie at the catalyst of its future, such as rural poverty, youth despondency, economic disparity, and exploited labor. 

With this in mind, the Legal Aid Program (LAP) in partnership with the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), has been extended to include communities in Western Moroccan Sahara, specifically in Boujdour. In Boujdour, HAF transitions activities to the local context and focuses on training Civil Society Organization Members in the participatory approach to democracy. There is a pressing need to address regional challenges in this area, including challenges involving migration, the environment, and security. The High Atlas Foundation, in coordination with our partners, has extended to Boujdour because we believe maintaining the status quo in the region is not in the interests of anyone involved in the epicenter of this issue. 

Communities know what they need and want; it is a matter of them meeting and planning as well as the dedication of financing the initiatives they together determine. This Program trains CSOs (civil society organizers) to help identify needs, barriers, and opportunities for their achievement. In Boujdour so far, the team has conducted 7 meetings with officials from the municipality, the governor’s office, the provincial department of agriculture, and the department in charge of the national initiative for human development. These meetings introduced and shared project documents and secured necessary authorizations to launch the initial meetings with 47 CSOs. The continuation of  the collection of base line data will assist in the realization of potential projects through identifying existing knowledge and skills.

In Mohamedia this past quarter, 243 CSO activists and university students (75 women and 168 men) participated in weekly training workshops and roundtable discussions covering participatory planning and development, specifically highlighting logical frameworks, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting. Subsequent interviews have showed that of the 243 participants, 85% expressed positive changes in the realm of civic activities through taking tangible initiatives in their communities. Interviews also showed positive change in behavioral intentions regarding upcoming elections, both in terms of their attentiveness to reforms and their intentions to vote.

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