The study days organised in Laâyoune on the theme "The film industry and training in the audiovisual sector", from 8 to 11 April by the Ministry of Communication in partnership with the Club of Audiovisual Producers in the Sahara, were crowned by the signing of three partnership agreements aimed at promoting the media in the Southern provinces.

In a statement on this occasion, the Minister of Communication indicated that "the rehabilitation of the particularity of the Sahrawi Hassani culture requires a true professional and advanced media, film, and audiovisual industry".

The first agreement concerns the establishment of a Press Tent in Laâyoune as a local socio-cultural centre dedicated to welcoming and training journalists. This structure, which will resemble the Maison de la Presse in Tangier, will be equipped with state-of-the-art technological means. It will require a budget of 14 million dirhams, financed in partnership between the ministry, the municipal council of Laâyoune, the wilaya, and the Agency for the Development of the Southern Provinces, as well as other professional actors. According to a statement from the ministry, the second agreement aims to support the capacities of production companies in the fields of audiovisual and cinema, as well as the promotion of these fields in the region through a partnership between the Higher Institute of Audiovisual and Cinema Professions and the Club of Audiovisual Producers in the Sahara. As for the third and final agreement, it is intended for the promotion of the capacities of journalists in the region, within the framework of a partnership between the ministry and the Press Club in the Sahara, the statement indicates.

At the end of the ceremony, which took place in the presence of the president of the municipal council of Laâyoune, the governor of the province of Tarfaya, directors of the Moroccan Cinematographic Centre and the Higher Institute of Audiovisual and Cinema Professions, as well as professionals, the Minister of Communication, who insisted on the involvement of local actors in efforts aimed at the development of the fields of press and communication in the Southern provinces and the accompaniment of regional growth, affirmed that the three agreements aim at the promotion of the press field in the Southern provinces through the improvement of the social situation of journalists and sector personnel in the region, as well as the strengthening of professional capacities through continuous training with a view to establishing a "strong media industry" in the region.

Taking advantage of the occasion, the minister announced a set of projects planned to promote the press field and defend the territorial integrity of the Kingdom against the manoeuvres of enemies, including the launch of an audiovisual training programme in partnership with the Higher Institute of Audiovisual and Cinema Professions.

He also recalled the projects in progress, including the creation of a Sahara portal and the launch of a support programme for documentary films on Hassani culture and history for an annual budget of 15 million DH, as well as the multiplication of broadcasting hours for the regional television channel of Laâyoune and the support of its human capacities and its extension project.