Nearly 20 million DH has been mobilised to support the associative fabric in the two prefectures of Tanger-Asilah and Oujda-Angad, as well as the province of Beni Mellal. This initiative is part of a capacity-building programme for Moroccan associations with the active participation and involvement of the network of Italian NGOs operating in Morocco. To this end, a training workshop was organised on Thursday, 7 February, for representatives of the associations selected and benefiting from this programme in the Tanger-Asilah prefecture. Organised by the regional coordination of the Social Development Agency (ADS) in Tanger in collaboration with the Italian NGO "Cospe", this meeting aimed to present the results of the diagnostic and to introduce this plan, which stems from the Moroccan-Italian cooperation programme. The work of this workshop will be followed by a series of training sessions in management, administration, as well as law, communication, and project support. "This programme is part of the agreement for the conversion of Moroccan debt to Italy into public investments," stated Abdelghani Sadiki, regional coordinator of the ADS in Tanger.

Spanning a duration of two years, this programme will be carried out in five stages. Some 102 associations in the Tanger-Asilah prefecture will benefit from it. They were selected in a first stage according to well-defined criteria, notably the regularity in the organisation of their general assemblies and the compliance of their activities with the objectives set out in their statutes.

According to those responsible for this programme, its overall objective is to contribute to the development and promotion of territorial dynamics by strengthening the capacities of the local associative fabric. "This programme thus includes three specific objectives. These are to strengthen the internal and external capacities of the associative fabric, to support associations in positioning themselves within territorial dynamics for their active participation in the development of their region, and to promote exchanges between Moroccan and Italian civil societies," affirmed Mr Sadiki.