VZCZCXYZ0010
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHRB #0716/01 2141605
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 011605Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY RABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8924
INFO RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 4861
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 0566
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 2409
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 9691
RUEHCL/AMCONSUL CASABLANCA 4232
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 1960

UNCLAS RABAT 000716 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA - DAS PATTON, NEA/PI, AND NEA/MAG 
TUNIS FOR MEPI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID ECON PGOV SCUL EFIN KMPI MO
SUBJECT: MEPI UPDATE FOR MOROCCO 
 
REF: 07 Rabat 1724 
 
¶1.  Summary:  This cable highlights MEPI programs 
and initiatives in Morocco from April 1 through June 
¶30.  During the quarter MEPI Women's Pillar Program 
Manager Olivia Ricchi visited Morocco to assess 
breast cancer awareness, and the Mission approved 
two new local grant proposals.  Other activities 
included a corporate ambassadors' event, an 
International Research and Exchanges Board's (IREX) 
workshop on Citizen Journalism in the Maghreb, 
interviews for the MEPI Youth Summer Institute, and 
MEPI Alumni Network and Financial Service Volunteer 
Corps (FSVC) projects.  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 TEAM ASSESSES MOROCCO'S BREAST CANCER SITUATION 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶2.  MEPI Women's Pillar Program Manager Olivia 
Ricchi and Roselie Vasquez-Yetter from implementer 
ICF International visited Morocco on June 4 and 5 to 
conduct an assessment of Morocco's breast cancer 
treatment capacity, explain the Middle East 
Partnership for Breast Cancer to key interlocutors, 
and learn about Morocco's efforts to raise awareness 
and combat the disease.  The assessment team 
succeeded in explaining the Partnership program to 
the Moroccans and whetting their interest.  Morocco 
is actively working on breast cancer issues and is 
interested in participating in the MEPI Middle East 
Breast Cancer Partnership activities, as announced 
at the Economic Forum by First Lady Bush.  Ricchi 
and Vasquez-Yetter learned about Morocco's first 
national breast cancer awareness campaign, which 
took place between April 25 and May 25.  The breast 
cancer effort has the personal support of King 
Mohammed VI's wife, Princess Lalla Selma, who opened 
a cancer treatment center in June and was the 
driving force behind the national campaign. 
Ministry of Health Secretary General El Makkaoui 
told the visiting MEPI team that the MEPI-funded 
breast cancer program would provide opportunities 
for partnering in the fields of training and 
research.  Staff from ECON, POL and PAS contributed 
to the success of this visit. 
 
--------------------- 
NEW MEPI SMALL GRANTS 
--------------------- 
 
¶3.  In April, the Mission approved two new MEPI 
local grants totaling USD 87,406.60.  The first 
recipient, the "Comite de Soutien a la Scolarisation 
des Filles Rurales" (CSSFR) will conduct a broad 
lobbying campaign targeting the representatives of 
the Ministry of Education in three different cities. 
It is aimed at increasing the number of schools in 
rural areas that enable local girls aged between 12 
and 17 to complete their primary and secondary 
education in optimal conditions and to minimize 
school drop-out rates.  In the second, journalist 
Rachid Janakari (MIT Media) will train media 
trainers in 11 different cities on internet drafting 
and publication of multi-media content (text, sound 
and image).  The project aims to reinforce the 
skills of the local and private media in Morocco, 
supporting the efforts of media reform by exposing 
them to new forms of publication and communication 
on-line. 
 
---------------------------- 
CORPORATE AMBASSADORS' EVENT 
---------------------------- 
 
¶4.  The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) 
Businesswomen's Network Moroccan Hub, "Association 
des Femmes Chefs d'Entreprises du Maroc" (AFEM), 
hosted a Corporate Ambassadors' event, June 9 - 10, 
in collaboration with Vital Voices Global 
Partnership through a MEPI funded program.  This 
two-day, highly interactive and dynamic conference 
featured U.S. Corporate Ambassadors Judith Willson 
(Vice President, Bernstein Global Wealth 
Management), Kathleen Diamond (Founder and CEO, 
Language Learning Enterprises, Inc), and Sandra 
Taylor (President and CEO, Sustainable Business 
International LLC), and outstanding Moroccan 
speakers.  The theme of the event was "Women's 
Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Growth," and 
featured business skills workshops on Strategic 
Planning, IT and Corporate Growth, Strategic Human 
Resources, Corporate Social Responsibility, along 
with workshops on Advocacy topics.  AFEM anticipated 
that around 200 business women and men would attend, 
but were only able to attain about half of that 
number.  Nonetheless, the two-day event provided 
business and advocacy capacity building, and offered 
a unique opportunity for both Moroccan businesswomen 
and U.S. executives to network and exchange ideas 
that will help solidify the critical link between 
businesswomen in the MENA region and the U.S. 
 
-------------------------------- 
IREX CITIZEN JOURNALISM WORKSHOP 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  A group of 22 journalists and bloggers from 
throughout the Maghreb region attended IREX's 
workshop on Citizen Journalism in the Maghreb in 
Casablanca, May 23- 25.  Overall, the workshop was 
well-received.  Virtually all of the participants 
commented on the quality of the other participants, 
and they appreciated the opportunity to strengthen 
their networks.  There had been a discussion in the 
Tunisian blogosphere prior to the workshop, with 
some urging a boycott due to the connection with the 
United States and MEPI.  After the workshop, 
everyone praised the free flow of ideas, open 
discussion, and the way the participants were 
encouraged to drive the agenda.  During the week 
following the workshop, many bloggers who attended 
posted positive commentary about the workshop 
content and the networking opportunity with fellow 
bloggers.  One of the Tunisians took the initiative 
to create an IREX alumni group on Facebook for 
workshop participants as a means of keeping everyone 
connected and sharing resources and information. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
MEPI YOUTH SUMMER LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  The Public Affairs Section (PAS) in Rabat 
interviewed more than 70 undergraduate students from 
all over Morocco.  Ten of them, representing 
different geographic areas and socioeconomic 
backgrounds, were selected to participate in the 
seven-week intensive leadership training program in 
the U.S. for undergraduate students, from June 30 to 
August 13.  One of those selected is an alumnus of 
the Access micro-scholarship program.  PAS arranged 
pre-departure briefings for the students and 
explained that the Institute consists of leadership 
training workshops, academic sessions, site visits, 
community service projects, home stays and other 
cultural activities.  The program includes a two-day 
orientation in Washington, D.C., a four-week 
academic residency program at a U.S. university or 
college, and a two-week educational study tour to 
other regions of the U.S.  A MEPI grant will be 
awarded to the student who designs the best 
community project. 
 
¶7.  As part of the international book day 
celebration, the Information Resource Center 
scheduled a series of programs with the 
participation of Ms. Hind El Hasbaoui, university 
student and summer 2007 alumna of the MEPI "Study of 
the U.S. Institute," who shared with attendees her 
experiences in the U.S. and conducted a workshop on 
leadership. 
 
------------------------------ 
MEPI ALUMNI NETWORK ACTIVITIES 
------------------------------ 
 
¶8.  During this quarter, the MEPI Alumni Network 
focused on civil society reforms.  MEPI Alumni 
received training in the following areas:  youth and 
volunteerism, fundraising, advocacy and lobbying. 
These events are a great networking opportunity and 
aim to enhance the professional and personal 
development skills of the MEPI Alumni. 
 
------------- 
FSVC PROJECTS 
------------- 
 
¶9.  In April, FSVC provided two volunteers to 
consult with Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM) working group 
focusing on effective supervision approaches for 
microcredit associations (MCAs), given the 2006 
extension of its legal supervisory responsibilities 
to include such institutions.  Volunteers from 
Bolivia and South Africa provided an overview of 
their countries' approaches to the regulation of 
MCAs.  As a result of the project, BAM has advanced 
its efforts to develop a viable regulatory framework 
applicable to MCAs, considering current legislation 
and regulation.  It is now in a better position to 
interact with other stakeholders in the ongoing 
debate over the direction of the microfinance sector 
in Morocco. 
 
¶10.  In May, the Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP) 
central management unit requested FSVC to assist its 
Internal Audit and Compliance department with a 
training and consultations program which would 
complement ongoing assistance to BCP on the 
development and strengthening of their Internal 
Audit and Risk Management functions.  FSVC provided 
two volunteers to conduct a five-day consultation 
and training program on the skill sets and 
techniques required to effectively audit BCP's 
credit departments responsible for disbursement of 
loans to businesses of different scales, including 
small and medium enterprises and larger 
institutions.  The volunteers' case-focused training 
helped the BCP Audit team launch a program to 
improve audit practice to international standards by 
improving internal organization and applied audit 
practice. 
 
¶11.  In June, BAM Supervision sought FSVC assistance 
on improving applied practice in oversight of 
consolidated accounts of Financial Conglomerates. 
BAM has instituted obligatory consolidated 
accounting using international accounting standards 
(IAS) to replace the prior French Accounting 
Standard as part of its program to move the 
financial sector to compliance with international 
practices.  Building on prior FSVC consultations the 
volunteers via practical practice-based insights on 
addressing supervisory- oriented IFRS related 
reporting problems helped BAM Supervision teams work 
through analytical issues regarding implementing 
effective supervision using IAS/IFRS reporting. 
Volunteers also identified general structural 
approach issues that BAM should address for both 
consolidated accounts for financial conglomerates 
and for general bank reporting. 
 
¶12.  A detailed description of MEPI programs in 
Morocco can be found on the Mission unclassified 
Internet web page at www.usembassy.ma. 
 
RILEY