Date: 19 December 2009
Country: Morocco
The intellectual journal ‘Nawafid’ together with the UK-based Media Diversity Institute (MDI) invited around 30 leading professionals from the world of law, media, education and civil society to participate in a discussion on ‘The Media and Regionalization in Morocco’, held in Marrakesh on 19 December 2009.
The event was opened by former Moroccan Minister of Education, Prof Abdellah Saaf. Fifteen participants provided further comment. One key theme in the debate was the question on how far the local authorities had been consulted to ensure they were ready to accept increased responsibility and whether the decentralization process was genuine or a further form of central control.
This international event also included six guests from Algeria, Mauritania and Tunisia, who provided comparison and insight into the debate on how the media can support the local democratization process in an era of increasing regionalization.
The roundtable discussion is one of a series of discussions to be hosted by MDI around Morocco. In July MDI held a similar roundtable in Rabat on the need for a public space in the Moroccan media. MDI’s activities in Morocco are in part funded by the British embassy in Rabat. The full debate will be published as a complete edition of ‘Nawafid’ in the near future. For more info contact mona.elhamdani@media-diversity.org
