Participatory Governance Training in Dakhla
A collaboration between the US-Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) and the High Atlas Foundation resulted in 150 people trained in project design, proposals, and implementation.
Promoting Community Leadership
Our commitment to advancing sustainable development across Morocco involves equipping communities with the tools to design, propose, and implement their own priority projects. In collaboration with MEPI, we launched a series of workshops with members of civil society organizations and local governments to respond to social, economic, and environmental needs in their communities.
The program launched on December 13th, 2022, in Dakhla. Members of the MEPI team joined Hajiba Boumasmar and Hana Ezaoui from the HAF team as members of civil society met and discussed people’s participation in planning community projects. A series of forums continued to explore this topic and seek solutions to the lack of community engagement and governance.
The Qodwa Association represented the Bir Gandus commune, advocating for improvements in their education system. They discussed the value of a communal space designated for cultural and educational events for students, teachers, and parents. The High Atlas Foundation was able to fund this project, and their proposed project, “Citizenship Tent for Capacity Building,” is now underway.
Sanad, another Civil Society Organization in Dakhla, focuses on healthcare needs, organizing mobile health clinics for people with limited access to hospitals. The participatory governance training supported Sanad’s ability to advocate for practical projects focusing on healthcare provision in the region.
Through the Institutionalizing Participatory Governance project, a number of new CSOs were formed in the Dakhla Oued Ed Dahab region. By equipping local communities with the skills and training needed to design, develop, and advocate for their priority projects, community development work becomes decentralized and truly sustainable.
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