Caption: The invitation to the conference organized by the Center for Middle East Studies During the last week of September, the Center for Middle East Studies at Brown University organized a conference on “Decolonization, Development and State Building in North Africa”. The panels were facilitated by Ph.D. researchers who are interested in the North African

F2F Finance Officer | Lead Empowerment Trainer Photo by: i-Tree One of the High Atlas Foundation’s (HAF) USAID Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) team members, Fatima Zahra Laaribi, was selected from a competitive pool of applicants to attend the “2020 i-Tree International Academy” —a three- month online training organized by the US Forest Service International Programs, Northern Research Station, and

اليوم العالمي للقضاء على العنف ضد المرأة: عندما يصبح الرجل حليفا لقضية المرأة, Beirut Times, By Errachid Montassir (HAF project manager). On November 25th, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, HAF celebrates its community partners who work tirelessly toward gender equality. November 25th marks the International Day for the Elimination of

HAF Office Manager & Volunteer Coordinator Caption: High Atlas Foundation, Tassa Ouirgane Nursery “Trees are poems the earth writes upon the sky, We fell them down and turn them into paper, That we may record our emptiness.” -Kahlil Gibran I always believed that trees are the source of life for humans. HAF encourages the Moroccan

HAF Programs Assistant  Caption: BORGEN Magazine is an initiative of The Borgen Project. “To save lives, stay at home!” These words are an injunction to avoid the worst of the health crisis. It was the necessary collective response to the outbreak of a virus whose human-to-human transmission caused the first pandemic of the 21st century.

Caption: November 19th is the UN International Day of Toilets On the 19th of November each year, the United Nations celebrates the International Day of Toilets. This day is meant to raise awareness about the situation of 4.2 billion individuals who do not have access to hygiene services such as toilets and also showcase their

Errachid Montassir & Said El Bennani HAF Project Managers HAF staff member Hassan Ait Ouatouch  and HAF volunteer Houria Chouhab planting an Argan tree with the members of Mogador Argan Women’s Cooperative in Essaouira – 2019 Photo by: Ilyas Dkhissi The concept of gender as a social construct is often met with resistance. While attempts

Errachid Montassir at the United Nations Headquarters in New York during the Climate Action Summit, September 2019. Errachid Montassir, High Atlas Foundation (HAF) Project Manager and Volunteer Coordinator for the USAID Farmer-to-Farmer Program, won the Water and Energy Award at the Mediathon organized by AMWAJ, CEWAS and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. Water and Energy ‘Mediathon’, a capacity-building event,

A wrinkled tree Analogy To care for the people or for your own wellbeing is by no means a contradiction to protecting the environment. While conventional agriculture ensures efficient food production, it still risks the health of many billion people by polluting ground waters, emitting CO2 and further reducing overall biodiversity. But strikingly, the dichotomy

Morocco at a Crossroads: The Time Is Now, Qwenu, By Yossef Ben-Meir and Ellen Hernandez. Harnessing the experiences and the history of religious and ethnic minorities in Morocco must be a priority before the holders of that knowledge are lost to time. Moroccan-based civil associations, with the right support, are in an ideal position to gather

Migrants face “double threat” amid Coronavirus pandemic, Media Monitors Network, By Jacqueline Skalski-Fouts. • Arabic: Akhbaar, 22 Octobre 2020. French version As an economic recession looms, migrants vulnerable to poverty, facing conflict, displacement, or unsafe working and living conditions require greater economic support as unemployment rises, access to PPEs, and legal assistance. Migrant workers have been at the

The High Atlas Foundation relies on its partners for successful sustainable development projects. Public and private, local, national, and international – the agencies, companies, universities, groups, and individuals who support HAF make possible the fulfillment of its mission. By Yossef Ben-Meir The High Atlas Foundation would not have survived for the past twenty years without

Program Coordinator Friends of Europe invitation for the online debate On the 24th of September, a debate about “Health, welfare, and prosperity: an EU-Africa partnership for a people-centered approach to human development” was held as part of the weekly virtual debates that Friends of Europe organized to strengthen the African-European relations. They invited decision-makers from

بقلم: محمد القادري تأتي عملية التتبع والتقييم كأخر مرحلة في المشاريع، بعد الثلات مراحل الأولى ، حيت تعتبر مرحلة مهمة وحاسمة في المسار والأشواط التي يقطعها المشروع، كما تعتبر كركيزة أساسية لانجاح اي مشروع تنموي، من خلال مقارنة الأهدافه بالنتائج، ومعرفة مدى ملائمة المشروع للفئة المستهدفة،  تقف كذلك مرحلة التتبع والتقييم على الفعالية والكفاءة ثم

Bringing Poverty to Heel, The New Dawn Liberia, By Yossef Ben-Meir (HAF President). • Arabic: Maghress, 15 Octobre 2020. • French: Libération, 20 Octobre 2020. Agricultural cooperative members planning their local projects in Morocco’s Oujda Region (High Atlas Foundation, 2020). October 17 marks the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The commemoration of this day suggests that the way to end poverty

Multiculturalisme et Unité : une alchimie dont le Maroc a le secret, Libération, Par Yossef Ben-Meir et Kati Roumani. Arabic version HOUSE OF LIFE est une initiative agricole innovante dont les implications sont profondes et ont un écho avec l’actualité mondiale. La particularité du programme réside dans son aspect interculturel. HOUSE OF LIFE organise le prêt

Earthday’s Climate Literacy webinar  announcement During the last week of September, the Earth Day organization held a webinar entitled “Igniting Climate Literacy: Creating a Citizenry Ready and Willing to Act Now and Build a Sustainable Economic Future” to celebrate the 50th annual Earth Day. Organizers of the event gathered notable panelists from around the world

Program Coordinator The world is currently suffering from a major pandemic, and the most effective way to control its spread is through healthy hygienic practices — regular hand-washing, the use of face masks, and social distancing. The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has made October 15 one of the most important days of celebration this year: Global

Arabic version A recent interview of researcher Imane Ismaili Alaoui by High Atlas Foundation President Yossef Ben-Meir explored the ways in which colonialist British diplomats’ writings about their travels to Morocco justified the imperialism of the time. The perspective of writers such as Walter Harris (in 1889’s The Land of the African Sultan and 1921’s

President of the High Atlas Foundation The guiding principle of the High Atlas Foundation over its life of twenty years has remained fixed: sustainability is a function of people’s control over the development that improves their lives. Projects by and for local communities are what is sustainable. This principle has always been both our heartbeat

Mobilizing Decentralized, Participatory Energy Transition in Morocco, Eurasia Review, By Kerstin Opfer, Yossef Ben-Meir, Imane Akhezzane, and Marine Pouget. • Arabic: Al-Watan Voice, 27 Septembre 2020. French version Humankind faces the unprecedented challenge of existing on the warmest earth we have known. A lack of political will and societal awareness has inhibited the necessary, vigorous change to meet this

Weekly Debate: Embracing Digital Cooperation. As a part of the Debating Africa-Europe series, participants debated about the following topic: “A new era of digital cooperation: Embracing Africa and Europe’s 4th industrial revolution.” The debaters for this edition were Jutta Urpilainen, the European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Dr. Amani Abou-Zeid, African Union Commissioner of Infrastructure, Energy,

Errachid Montassir at the United Nations Headquarters in New York during the Climate Action Summit, September 2019. Errachid Montassir, High Atlas Foundation (HAF) Project Manager and Volunteer Coordinator for the USAID Farmer-to-Farmer Program, won the 2020 International Open Eye Award at the Water Journalism Academy organized by Cewas Middle East and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. He is from

French versions Law students plant a tree at the Faculty of Juridical, Economic, and Social Sciences in Fes, January 2020. HAF Director of Development The topic of gender in Morocco is one of considerable debate among the people, and it can often be controversial. In order to make progress toward a Morocco that values and

Tree Monitoring Officer Caption: HAF nurseries, Fes province: tree-planting  skills build good members of society The High Atlas Foundation (HAF) uses land given in-kind by the High Commissioner of Water and Forests and the Fight Against Desertification, local associations, and cooperatives around Morocco to establish organic fruit tree nurseries which provide sustainable projects for the

Reviving a Monastery for Community Development, Qwenu, By Lamia Radi, 14 Septembre 2020. • Arabic:  Al-Watan Voice, 19 Septembre 2020. In Morocco’s Middle Atlas Mountains near the town of Azrou, travelers come for hiking or to see the famed Barbary macaque apes in the Cedar Forest. Near Azrou, nestled high in the mountains and overlooking the green valleys

Project Assistant During the first week of September, representatives of the Multi-Actor Partnership (MAP) project from around the world gathered for their monthly virtual meeting. The participants were from Morocco, represented by the High Atlas Foundation, India, Ukraine, Kenya, Kosovo, Senegal, Sri Lanka, and Madagascar. The meeting’s purpose was to monitor the progress of the

التغييرات المناخية: لا يزال أمامنا عمل كثير, Mustaqila, By Errachid Montassir. HAF project manager On September 9-10, 2020, the Red Cross Red Crescent (Climate Center) network, their partners, and a fascinating array of speakers gathered at a virtual climate summit to inspire climate action. The summit comprised more than 200 engaging sessions to ensure the

Planting trees can reduce poverty and slow climate change, The Daily Guardian, By Jacqueline Skalski-Fouts, 29 August 2020. • Arabic: Beirut Taimes, 30 Aug 2020. Photo by the High Atlas Foundation, Morocco. Humanitarian crises have recently been declared in Sudan, Yemen, Niger, Mali, and Somalia—affecting at least 450,000 people—due to flash floods and landslides. Areas with