Moroccan NGO Launches Empowering Women in the Atlas

The EWA project will bring together a 100 women participants from impoverished areas of the middle Atlas in its launch ceremony.

November 20TH 2016, Ifrane, Morocco: The Association of Women for Rural Development will launch its one-year project during a kick-off event on November 27th in partnership with the US Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) and the Al Akhawayn Hilary Clinton Center for Women’s Empowerment at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco.

The event will bring together 100 beneficiaries from rural and small urban communes of  the Middle Atlas region, who will participate in a one-year project for economic growth and sustainable development. The program beneficiaries were selected among active cooperatives in marginalized areas of the Middle Atlas such as: Imouzzer Kander, Adghagh AinMarsa, Ifrane, Azrou and El Hajeb.

Empowering Women in the Atlas aims to promote the leadership of rural women by taking concrete measures towards their integration in the country’s economic growth and sustainable development. The project includes workshops and interactive training sessions as well as a full support in the creation and the optimization of cooperatives, through the provision of equipment, seed funds, and the access to markets for commercialization purposes.

The primary objective of this kick-off event is to inform the project beneficiaries about the spirit, scope, and aim of the EWA project, to create networking opportunities for selected women, and give them the opportunity to participate in interactive workshops on the topic of personal development.

In addition to the project beneficiaries, the event will bring together key stakeholders in the region and other partners of the initiative such as the Al Akhawayn University Hilary Clinton Center for Women’s Empowerment, Greenside Development Foundation, representatives of the National Development Initiative from the Ifrane, Sefrou and El Hajeb provinces, Al Akhawayn Executive Education and Regional Development Center as well as key representatives from the US Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) and the Al Akhawayn University.

Speaking ahead of the event, the founder of the initiative, Lamia Bazir commented: “We are excited to announce the launch of our one-year project for 100 rural women entrepreneurs in the Middle Atlas region in collaboration with the US Middle East Partnership Initiative. This project is very timely: As we are closing COP 22, this project invests in rural women leaders and entrepreneurs by training them in entrepreneurship, environmental awareness, and financial autonomy and helping them optimize their income generating projects. This program does not only assert the role of rural women in sustainable development; it also takes concrete measures to provide them with the knowledge and tools to undertake this role successfully”.

The event will start at 11:00 AM with an introductory speech and an information session by the founder of the initiative and the “Empowering Women in the Atlas” team, followed by an introduction of the selected women and cooperatives and a presentation of their projects. After a lunch break, women beneficiaries will take part in various trainings and workshops facilitated by the Al Akhawayn University Hilary Clinton Center for Women’s Empowerment, and followed by interactive sessions to share lessons learnt.

ABOUT EWA THE INITIATIVE:

The EWA project specifically targets the marginalized areas in the Middle Atlas region. It aims to raise awareness and take concrete actions on the need to engage rural women in economic growth and sustainable development through the provision of basic financial tools, business and environmental skills to be effective and well trained in running income generating activities in their villages. Ultimately, the program aims to increase economic opportunities for rural women in the Middle Atlas region.

For reminder, the Founder of EWA Lamia Bazir had already launched an exchange program in the region in April 2016, enabling youth from the Middle Atlas Mountains to travel abroad for the first time and get training in solar energy in Norway!

For more information about the project:

Please visit our website: www.ewatlas.org

or contact our Project Manager Maha Tazi:

Tel: 06 62 82 83 79

E: maha.tazi91@gmail.com

 

 

 

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