VZCZCXYZ0028
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHRB #0036/01 0091431
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 091431Z JAN 06
FM AMEMBASSY RABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2453
INFO RUEHCL/AMCONSUL CASABLANCA 1062
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 8560
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 3653

UNCLAS RABAT 000036 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/MAG, NEA/PI and PDAS Cheney, DRL 
TUNIS FOR MEPI RO 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID ECON PGOV ETRD EINV KMPI MO
SUBJECT:  MEPI UPDATE FOR MOROCCO 
 
REF: Rabat 02509 
 
¶1.   Summary:  This cable highlights MEPI programs and 
initiatives in Morocco from October 1 to December 31. 
Activities included visits by MEPI Washington, the 
Ambassador's meeting with Global Rights, English ACCESS 
Microscholarships, capacity building using ICT, Nomadic 
Craft Caravan, a Family Code baseline study, the Family Law 
Regional Conference, NCSL's Regional Parliamentary Workshop, 
NDI's Legislative Research training, IRI's public opinion 
poll, roundtables on the draft Political Parties Law, and 
ABA's Women Legal Professionals training. Implementers are 
partnering with local NGOs at the grassroots level to 
support numerous programs committed to reform in the four 
MEPI pillars.  End summary. 
 
------------- 
MEPI Visitors 
------------- 
 
 
¶2.   MEPI/PI Women's Pillar Program Manager Olivia Ricchi 
visited Morocco on November 29-December 4 to attend the 
ABA/Demos family law conference. Ricchi met several NGOs and 
women representing different segments of society. 
 
 
 
------------------------------- 
Ambassador Meets Global Rights 
------------------------------- 
 
¶3.   In addition to regular contact between the mission and 
MEPI implementers at the working level, Ambassador Riley has 
been meeting with resident MEPI implementers to receive 
briefings and updates on their programs in Morocco. 
 
-- On October 21, Global Rights Resident Director Stephanie 
Willman-Bordat briefed Ambassador Riley on Global Rights 
(GR) programs. MEPI funding for the GR program to promote 
women's legal rights, administered by USAID, will end in 
February 2006.  Willman-Bordat reviewed the progress of the 
GR programs to date, highlighting the national nature of the 
project's outreach via seven regional coordinator NGOs. 
Emphasizing the train-the-trainers aspect of the program, 
she noted that there are now thousands of trained 
facilitators and estimated that over a nine-month period, 
approximately 7,000-10,000 women had been trained in their 
legal rights, including the new family code.  As a result of 
the meeting, the Ambassador requested that an Embassy team 
visit a GR project and report on its results (septel). 
 
----------------------------------- 
Ambassador Kicks Off English Access 
Microscholarship Program 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶4. Ambassador Riley visited Meknes and Kenitra to honor the 
newest recipients of English ACCESS Microscholarships. 
Thirty five young people from the Meknes area and 42 from 
Kenitra received certificates of award from the Ambassador, 
who also spoke with the students and discussed additional 
educational opportunities provided by the Regional English 
Language Office (RELO) in Rabat and the Embassy's Public 
Affairs Section. 
 
¶5. The English ACCESS Microscholarship program provides 
support to youth from disadvantaged parts of the world to 
study English and learn about American culture and values. 
It began in Morocco in 2003 and is now found in more than 40 
countries. A total of 573 scholarships have been awarded in 
Morocco for FY 2005-06 to study at the 10 American Language 
Centers, AMIDEAST Casablanca and Rabat, and the Ajef de 
l'Oriental in Oujda. 
 
--------------------------- 
Capacity Building Using ICT 
--------------------------- 
 
¶6. Association Tanmia.ma received MEPI funds to develop an 
Internet portal www.Tanmia.ma. The portal's primary mission 
is to strengthen the capacity of Moroccan Civil Society 
Organizations using Information Communication Technology 
(ICT) tools. The portal is designed to be a communication 
platform that enables government agencies, the private 
sector, civil society actors and the general public to share 
information, resources and opinions about socio-economic 
development initiatives and to develop strategic 
partnerships. 
 
¶7. Association Tanmia's portal has been very successful.  On 
average nearly 1,500 individuals visit the portal daily; 
nearly 1,000 individuals subscribe to Tanmia bi-monthly e- 
newsletter and on average (over 12 months), 320,000 pages 
are viewed monthly. Tanmia has also created an active 
calendar, news, employment offers, and forum sections to 
benefit its 800 on-line registered non-governmental 
organizations (NGOs). The NGOs database shows a strong multi- 
regional participation - less than a quarter these are based 
in the Rabat/Casablanca corridor. 
 
¶8. Association Tanmia has undertaken training and outreach 
activities enabling NGOs to access online services. Tanmia 
held four NGO workshops in collaboration with Kabissa 
benefiting 67 participants; partnered with other 
organizations to give training in ICT to 80 teacher 
supervisors and 40 local NGO employees/managers of girls' 
dormitory facilities and trained 25 NGOs in train-the- 
trainers workshop. Tanmia has also launched two community 
access centers to provide NGOs in remote regions with 
Internet access. 
 
--------------------- 
Aid to Artisans 
Nomadic Craft Caravan 
--------------------- 
 
¶9.   Since its debut in May 2005, Aid to Artisans (ATA) 
Nomadic Craft Caravan has offered rural artisans basic 
training in business and marketing techniques. In December, 
the caravan participated in the Rabat International Women's 
Association (RIWA) annual holiday festival where artisans 
displayed their wares and gained experience selling directly 
to clients. The artisans' sales totaled $4,273 at the 
festival. 
 
¶10. The day before the festival, ATA organized a training 
class covering basic accounting, sales techniques, and 
product development. Twelve rural artisans and 10 Peace 
Corps volunteers participated in the daylong event. The RIWA 
event was the fifth and final nomadic caravan event of the 
year. ATA notes that the artisans have made significant 
progress since the first event in May. Artisans have been 
incorporating the trainings and actively creating new and 
more interesting products in order to gain market share. 
 
----------------------------------- 
Family Code Baseline Study Released 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶11. World Learning's (WL) Director of Civil Society and 
Social Change, Preeti Shroff-Mehta, visited Morocco November 
12-23 to review the status of the WL project, conduct 
strategic planning for the sustainability of the project, 
review the recently released baseline awareness study, and 
consult on the February 24-25 regional conference being 
planned by WL on the family code. 
 
¶12. In early November, WL released a baseline study 
assessing current awareness of the family code in both urban 
and rural areas.  Using questionnaires and focus groups, WL 
surveyed approximately 1,000 people coming from four 
different regions.  Findings indicate that 88 percent of 
people have heard of the new code; however, amongst the 
illiterate, 91 percent of women and 80 percent of men are 
not aware of the actual changes in the code.  Many people 
considered the new law a "women's reform," and not a new 
"family code."  In February, WL is planning a regional 
conference that will bring women from Algeria, Tunisia and 
Morocco together to discuss lessons learned during the 
campaign for a new family code.  According to WL, the 
Moroccan Ministry of Family and Solidarity will also support 
the conference. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
Demos/ABA Family Law Regional Conference 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶13. Demos Consulting and the American Bar Association (ABA) 
hosted a regional conference for Arab women on "NGO Capacity 
Building and Reform of the Family Code," in Casablanca on 
December 2-3.  Women from 13 different Arab countries 
attended the conference to discuss the status of family laws 
in their countries and possible advocacy efforts for 
reforming them.  The successful Moroccan experience was 
highlighted by Moroccan participants.  Demos will use the 
results of the conference in a manual it is producing to 
advocate for reforming family laws in these countries. 
Poloff and MEPI Women's Empowerment Pillar Program Manager 
Olivia Ricchi attended the conference. 
 
----------------------------------- 
MEPI-Funded NCSL Regional Workshop: 
A Huge Success 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶14. On November 14-16, the National Conference of State 
Legislatures (NCSL) held a regional workshop for Members of 
Parliament (MPs) and senior staffers on the topic of 
"Working with Staff and Using Research in the Legislative 
Process" (Ref A). The workshop included representatives from 
the Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian parliaments and featured 
the participation of three state senators from Alaska, 
Illinois and Nevada. Six Algerian and two Tunisian MPs 
traveled to Morocco to attend the conference while a total 
of 20 MPs from both houses of the Moroccan parliament 
participated. At the conclusion of the workshop, the 
Ambassador hosted a reception in honor of the participants. 
 
---------------------------------- 
Legislative Research Training for 
Parliamentary Interns 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶15. On November 17, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) 
collaborated with the NCSL to organize training for NDI 
parliamentary interns who are working with caucus groups in 
the Moroccan Parliament's Chamber of Representatives (lower 
house). The directors of legislative research at the Nevada 
and Virginia state legislatures served as expert trainers. 
 
¶16. NDI's Parliamentary Internship program, which is the 
first of its kind in the parliament, seeks to assist MPs 
with legislative research, expose students to the work of 
the parliament and MPs, and promote an image of the 
institution as accessible to the public. The program now has 
12 interns working in conjunction with three of the seven 
caucuses. 
 
-------------------------------- 
NDI Consolidates a Core Group of 
Political Party Trainers 
------------------------------- 
 
¶17. From December 12-13, NDI conducted a capstone training 
event to complete a year-long project. The program provided 
political party trainers with advanced instruction in 
conflict resolution, negotiating skills, strategic planning 
and group facilitation. Thirty four youth and female 
participants representing 14 political parties took part in 
the event, all with the consent and support of their parties 
to form a core group of formal trainers. 
 
¶18. Participants had the opportunity to review skills 
acquired throughout the year-long program, sharing their 
recent training experiences in Rabat, Marrakech, Safi, 
Oujda, and Fes. By critiquing the real-life experiences of 
their colleagues, participants honed their own training 
approaches in the hopes of perfecting their skills to 
execute future trainings for their parties. 
 
---------------------------- 
IRI Continues Training, 
Releases Public Opinion Poll 
---------------------------- 
 
¶19. On September 17-18, IRI organized two training sessions 
for local and regional party members and local elected 
officials in Agadir. The training seminars assisted local 
party structures in strategic planning in preparation for 
the 2007 parliamentary elections, and covered the topics of 
party structure and organizational planning, voter outreach, 
and electoral list development. 
 
¶20. Working with a local research firm, IRI conducted a 
public opinion poll that included 1,500 respondents. The 
poll provides benchmark political data as well as in-depth 
look into Moroccan's attitudes towards political reform and 
governing institutions. The research offers political 
leaders and decision-makers an opportunity to learn about 
priorities and opinions of their constituents. During the 
month of December, IRI shared polling results with political 
partners and plans to provide a series of training sessions 
to party officials and local party activists. Training 
discussions will center on how polling results can be used 
in electoral and parties strategies. 
Post will summarize the poll's findings in a separate 
reporting cable. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
Roundtables on Draft Political Party Law 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶21. In October the mission organized two roundtable 
discussions on the draft political party bill.  The 
discussions addressed a critical shortcoming in the national 
debate on the party bill by providing a space for 
stakeholders - civil society, academics, political party 
representatives, and parliamentarians - to examine the key 
provisions of the law and debate its consequences and impact 
on the Moroccan political landscape.  Both events were well- 
attended and well-received by participants. 
 
---------------------------------- 
Women legal Professionals Training 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶22. On October 14, in cooperation with the ABA, two women's 
rights associations organized a study day to commemorate the 
royal speech of October 10, 2003 announcing the amendment to 
the Moroccan Family Code. The day's activities included a 
round table attended by legal specialists to discuss various 
rights established by the new law and a question-and-answer 
session on the new family code for local women. 
 
¶23. The Tetouan Bar Association (TBA) organized a training 
session for women legal professionals on November 11-12 in 
Tetouan in northern Morocco. The ABA provided the 
participants with training on fundamental principles of 
gender equality. The Tetouan training session is part of a 
series of training programs planned by the ABA in 
cooperation with local associations. The ABA's "Women and 
the Law Program" encourages women legal professionals to be 
involved in the effort to raise awareness on women's rights 
and gender equality. 
 
¶24.  A detailed description of MEPI programs in Morocco can 
be found on the Mission unclassified Internet web page at 
www.usembassy.ma. 
 
RILEY