Project Launch:

Established in the fall of 2011 by a Peace Corps Volunteer with 20 years of experience in international journalism and a grant from World Connect, this youth-led club in Ouarzazate, Morocco, a city of 70,000 known as "the door to the Sahara Desert," quickly became an important voice of daily life in Ouarzazate. The Dar Chebab (youth center) is home to an impressive youth journalism club that was formed as a result of this project. Youth received multimedia training, gained hands-on experience creating blogs, writing and reporting news events and incorporating video and photography as well as an Arabic/English website to better showcase their work. The skills they gained are not only useful for future jobs and careers but also foster a culture of communication and transparency, particularly among youth.

 

Testimonials

"My goal for this project was to inspire Moroccan youth to take an interest in citizen journalism and learn how to use it to give voice to issues in their community." - Maureen Sieh, Peace Corps Volunteer
"We the youth have the potential to openly express our needs and give voice to our community through Ouarzazate eNews by using the skills we've learned during the [media] workshop. I'm sure that each one of the new members have more self confidence, more self esteem and a different perspective." - Nissrine, 19
"We have never had a project like this in our community that has energized young people. Our youth are now participating in something that could help them in the future. Thanks to Peace Corps and World Connect for supporting this project." - El Hassane Ameskane, Project Leader