Day: June 21, 2024

The international Blue Flag label, awarded annually by the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection, chaired by Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa, will be flown on 27 beaches, four marinas and, for the first time in Morocco, on a mountain lake during the 2024 summer season.

With a total of 32 sites awarded the label, Morocco ranks 18th out of 43 countries in the Northern Hemisphere and the Arab country with the most Blue Flags and the second most in Africa.

The Blue Flag label is a demanding ecolabel established by the Foundation for Environmental Education and introduced in Morocco in 2002 by the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection.

All 27 beaches awarded the 2023 label have renewed their Blue Flag status, testifying to stakeholders’ commitment to maintaining the label’s high standards throughout the summer season, the Foundation said in a press release.

The beaches in question are Oued Laou, Essaouira, Arekmane, El Haouzia, Sidi Rahal 4th tranche, Bouznika, Ba Kacem, M
diq, Rifienne, Sidi Ifni, Saïdia Municipale, Station Touristique Saidia Ouest, Dalia, Achakar, Bedouza, Safi Municipale, Souiria Lakdima, Aglou, Imin Tourgha, Oum Labouir, Foum el Oued, Skhirate, Sidi Abed /El Jadida, Les nations, Aïn Diab extension, Al Minaa and Est Marina Smir, according to the press release.

For the first time in Morocco, a mountain lake has been awarded the Blue Flag label: Aguelmam Azigza in the Khenifra National Park. Nestled between a long cliff and a forest of Atlas cedars several hundred years old, this “green lake” is a wild pearl of the Middle Atlas, noted the same source.

To boost visitor numbers to this very popular spot in Khenifra and the surrounding region, the local authorities have decided to develop the site, including access roads, service buildings, a camping area and sanitary facilities. A project that the Foundation has supported by awarding it the Blue Flag label.

For Tanja Marina Bay, the fourth marina to hoist the Blue Flag, after Saidia in 2018, Est Marina Smir i
n 2022 and Al Hoceima in 2023, this ecolabel is a natural continuation of its development, stresses the press release.

Opened in 2018 as part of the reconfiguration of the Tangier Port, it is now the Kingdom’s largest marina, with 1,400 berths. Its modern, comprehensive facilities, particularly for waste management, have earned it the ecolabel.

The Blue Flag is highly prized by coastal municipalities, which are responsible for beach management, for the positive image it conveys and its attractiveness to summer visitors.

A total of 49 beaches applied for the 2024 edition of the label, which is awarded on the basis of compliance with four main criteria: bathing water quality, environmental information and awareness, hygiene and safety, and development and management. Unannounced checks are carried out during the summer season to ensure that label-approved sites comply with these criteria.

Blue Flag labeled beaches are all part of the Clean Beaches program, which brings together over a hundred beaches, mainl
y the most popular in the country. 66 local authorities, supported by their supervisory authorities, the Directorate General of Local Authorities, all the administrations involved in coastal management, 26 economic partners and over a hundred local associations, will be mobilizing for almost three months to raise awareness and educate summer visitors, ensure the quality of bathing water and sand, equip beaches, guarantee safety and sanitary coverage, and enforce law and order.

Ocean and beach pollution is a major concern for the Mohammed VI Foundation for of the Environment, which has been rolling out operation ‘bharblaplastic’ (plastic free beaches) since 2019. This initiative aims to raise mass awareness of plastic pollution among summer visitors, collect waste on beaches and recycle it.

In 2024, this operation will be held for the fifth time and has become a benchmark, with all Blue Flag beaches taking part. The initiative is recognized and integrated into the United Nations Decade of Ocean Sciences for
Sustainable Development, of which the Foundation is a stakeholder.

Source: Agence Marocaine De Presse

Customs and police personnel stationed at the Bab Sebta crossing point successfully intercepted an attempted drug trafficking operation on Friday, seizing a substantial 39 kilograms of hashish, as reported by a customs official.

In a coordinated enforcement effort, customs officers at the export terminal, working alongside police and a canine unit, discovered the drugs meticulously concealed as bricks within a specially constructed compartment hidden along the floor of a vehicle registered in Germany. The vehicle was driven by a Moroccan expatriate holding a Dutch passport, who was reportedly preparing to exit the national territory, according to the same source.

Following the operation, authorities confiscated both the vehicle and the illicit substances. The driver of the vehicle was promptly handed over to police custody for further interrogation into the case, under the oversight of the relevant prosecutor’s office.

Source: Agence Marocaine De Presse

The administration of Khouribga’s local prison has categorically denied accusations circulating online regarding alleged mistreatment of visitors and mismanagement of inmate provisions. The controversy, sparked by reports claiming that prison officials humiliated visitors and mishandled food supplies, has been dismissed as baseless by prison authorities.

In a clarification released to the public on Friday, the prison administration addressed concerns raised about a special Eid basket delivery initiative, which had been announced by the General Delegation. They assured the public that all procedures during this operation are conducted in accordance with legal standards, ensuring fair treatment for all visitors.

“The verification of the basket contents adheres strictly to existing regulations, focusing particularly on the quality and quantity of meals served to detainees, without any form of discrimination,” emphasized the prison management.

Responding to allegations of inadequate medical care for inmates,
the administration strongly refuted these claims, asserting that all prisoners receive regular medical attention both within the facility and externally as required.

Regarding the issue of overcrowding within the prison, the statement acknowledged it as an external challenge managed diligently by prison authorities, who strive to operate within the facility’s designed capacity.

Source: Agence Marocaine De Presse

Culture and the humanities now have their rightful place and legitimacy in our universities’ curricula, a first that will mark a milestone in the history of higher education in Morocco,’ André Azoulay, Advisor to HM the King, said on Thursday in Rabat.

“This is a decisive threshold that has been crossed, which will help to consolidate, broaden and perpetuate our country’s leadership, having managed to make its tangible and intangible heritage, its history and the richness of all its diversities, the driving force of its social modernity,’ underlined Azoulay, speaking at the First national university meeting aimed at debating the “Challenges of Culture and Humanities” in the revised and completed roadmap for Moroccan universities.

“Bolstered by the leadership of HM the King and the pioneering and committed vision of our Sovereign, Morocco has taken several steps forward in a Community of Nations in search of landmarks and often weakened by the illusions of withdrawal and the denial of otherness, while on t
he other hand Morocco, in the land of Islam, has been able to protect, nurture and develop its openness to the World without giving up any depth and integrity of its identity and the authenticity of its traditions,’ added Azoulay.

“It is with this in mind, and as an extension and acceleration of this dynamic, that we now need to understand and contextualize the place of Culture and Humanities in the new educational paradigm, on the basis of which the curricula of our universities will help to train those who will tomorrow be able to consolidate and further today’s achievements,’ pointed out the Advisor to HM the King.

For his part, the Minister for Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, Abdellatif Miraoui, stressed the importance of humanities and culture as essential elements of the education system, while highlighting the key role of culture in the reform of higher education, along with openness to other cultures and mastery of foreign languages.

Miraoui also called on young Moroccans to
open up and explore the richness and cultural diversity of the Kingdom’s different regions, citing the role played by the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences in promoting Moroccan cultural diversity.

The Minister for Youth, Culture and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, highlighted the close link between culture and humanity, stating that several disciplines of the humanities, artistic creativity and culture, in its broadest sense, have been identified.

He also pointed out that culture and the humanities have helped build bridges using cultural and creative industries, through universities that are open to their regional, associative and entrepreneurial environment, citing International Book and Publishing Fair (SIEL) and Morocco Gaming Expo.

Source: Agence Marocaine De Presse