Field Train Students, CSOs & Officials in Morocco

On Thursday July 4^th, 2013, the High Atlas Foundation held a conference with university students, members of civil society organizations (CSOs), representatives of government, and community participants.

The event took place at the local Cultural Center and was an opportunity for the newly created Coalition of over 30 CSOs in the city of Mohammedia that benefited from HAF program (funded by the Middle East Partnership Initiative) in participatory democratic planning and project management – to present their strategic plans and advocate for their social and economic opportunities.  The President of the Coalition, Mr. Ben Kacem El Yamani, presented their mission, goals and objectives and a detailed action plan for the upcoming six months.

During the conference, HAF’s President Yossef Ben-Meir signed partnership conventions with two local NGOs; the newly created Coalition of Associations in Mohammedia, and the Association Salma for Development and Integration, a leading association in the Commune of Sidi Moussa Ben Ali, represented by its President, Mr. Sdafi Abdelillah. These two new partnerships came to ensure and support a long-term and structured collaboration between HAF and CSOs in Mohammedia, where HAF offers the capacity-building and guidance necessary for CSOs to become ‘schools of democracy’, a place where the citizens learn democratic ideals and procedures, advance of diversity and pluralism, promote mutual acceptance and willingness to compromise, trust and cooperation, and where CSOs and citizens can influence government officials to adopt positions supporting their members and follow formal rules that facilitate open, free and fair social debate and decisions.

The conference was a great opportunity for participating CSOs to contribute and effectively play their role as a key player in developing, implementing and evaluating government programs and policies, particularly those related to key services and decisions that affect people lives, as Morocco’s constitution clearly defines the role of CSOs as crucial in evaluating government policies and proposing reforms (Article 12).

The event also presented an opportunity for representatives of government agencies and elected officials to share their feedback and suggestions on the programs and activities presented. They commended the CSO initiatives and invited them to coordinate efforts and resources in order to address key social and economic issues of their city.

The culminating part of the conference was when Professor Khalid Mayar El Idrissi facilitated a discussion on CSOs’ contributions towards achieving the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Morocco. After presenting the goals and the country’s present status towards achieving them as highlighted in different reports, many questions were discussed: Is the CSO community rising to the challenge? Are the partnerships among NGOs and with the government and the private sector productive and optimal?

At the end of the session, Dr. El Idrissi summarized several recommendations for the CSOs, including working towards improving:

• Local capacity, in terms of knowledge and skills to implement the MDGs
• Local information and public awareness about the MDGs
• Capacity to undertake integrated and participatory planning (horizontal coordination)
• Skills in introducing performance budgeting for effective implementation
• Capacity for creating a framework of MDG indicators and monitoring mechanisms
• Local procurement capacity which acts as an impediment for high quality and the efficient delivery of public services
• Lack of a national enabling environment for effective local development (e.g. legal and regulatory framework supporting decentralization, financial resources, organizational systems and mechanisms, values, norms and social practices that influence people’s decision and behavior)
• Support from international agencies and donors to promote local governance and local poverty reduction activities

A very special highlight and reason for celebration of the conference was the presentation of Certificates of Completion to students and representatives of CSOs, and recognizing them for their civic engagement, volunteerism and active participation and contributions to the HAF-MEPI capacity building program. Congratulations, and thanks for your support for enabling, sustaining, and expanding this program! I hope we continue to do so together. 

The High Atlas Foundation recognizes that good governance with the partnering civil society organizations (CSOs) is critical for enhancing democratic governance, improving service delivery, and fostering empowerment.

CSOs that apply good governance systems for organizational management and development are able to not only provide quality services to their constituents but also hold the local government and state accountable and make it responsive to their needs and create partnerships to address key social, political and economic issues.

This week, the HAF project team focused the capacity building program for CSOs and University students on a very powerful message “Good Governance within CSOs”.

During a meeting with the director of Dar Chebab (Youth Center) in Ain Harrouda to discuss a partnership agreement between HAF and the Dar Chebab in order to benefit Youth in Ain Harrouda from the capacity building program, the project team advanced the principals of good governance as a way to enhance the role of Youth. During this meeting, the Director of Dar Chebab was very pleased and welcomed HAF’s initiative to bring such valuable and necessary capacity building program to benefit CSOs and Youth in Ain Harrouda. He assured the project team of his full support and welcomed us to use the Dar Chebab premises as a platform to interact and partner with CSOs and Youth in Ain Harrouda.

Following an invitation by members of Association Salam for Integration and Development in the commune of Sidi Moussa Ben Ali, the project team visited the site and met with the association to discuss ways HAF could support their efforts to recruit and mobilize constituents for community action plans. The project team, once again, advanced the principles of good governance within the association structures, including the use of the participatory approach and democratic planning for project development and management.

Meeting with Association Salma for Integration and Development, Commune of Sidi Moussa Ben Ali:

At the end of the meeting, both parties agreed on an ambitious capacity building program for the association members and extensionists.

During a follow up meeting with representatives of associations in Beni Yekhlif commune at the local Dar Chebab, where representatives of associations reported on their efforts to create a “Federation of Associations” as way to consolidate resources and create synergy and effective partnerships, the project team advanced ways effective board of directors could contribute to providing good governance and leadership by working effectively both as individuals and as a team. The meeting was an opportunity to meet with representatives of new associations and to invite them to join our capacity building program.

Meeting with representatives of Associations in Beni Yekhlif Commune:

At the end of the meeting, it was decided to invite other Associations (both newly created associations and old associations) to join the “Federation of Associations” project and to allow them time to review the drafted bylaws and regulations. It’s important to note that the constitutive general assembly will be organized as soon as these new Associations share their feedback and suggestions to the working committee and a final and agreed upon bylaws is drafted.

Training session at the University on effective organizational development and management:

The last activity implemented by the team this week was the first part of a training workshop at the University on effective organizational management and development as way for good governance within CSOs structures. The training session, which focused on effective administrative management was very well received by 23 participants, who expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to learn these principles and techniques and to apply them within their associations.

Thanks for your interest, and supporting us to expand capacity in civil society to make good governance part of the democratic process. 

Links:

• HAF Website