Program Coordinator The world is currently suffering from a major pandemic, and the most effective way to control its spread is through healthy hygienic practices — regular hand-washing, the use of face masks, and social distancing. The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has made October 15 one of the most important days of celebration this year: Global

Arabic version A recent interview of researcher Imane Ismaili Alaoui by High Atlas Foundation President Yossef Ben-Meir explored the ways in which colonialist British diplomats’ writings about their travels to Morocco justified the imperialism of the time. The perspective of writers such as Walter Harris (in 1889’s The Land of the African Sultan and 1921’s

President of the High Atlas Foundation The guiding principle of the High Atlas Foundation over its life of twenty years has remained fixed: sustainability is a function of people’s control over the development that improves their lives. Projects by and for local communities are what is sustainable. This principle has always been both our heartbeat

Mobilizing Decentralized, Participatory Energy Transition in Morocco, Eurasia Review, By Kerstin Opfer, Yossef Ben-Meir, Imane Akhezzane, and Marine Pouget. • Arabic: Al-Watan Voice, 27 Septembre 2020. French version Humankind faces the unprecedented challenge of existing on the warmest earth we have known. A lack of political will and societal awareness has inhibited the necessary, vigorous change to meet this

Weekly Debate: Embracing Digital Cooperation. As a part of the Debating Africa-Europe series, participants debated about the following topic: “A new era of digital cooperation: Embracing Africa and Europe’s 4th industrial revolution.” The debaters for this edition were Jutta Urpilainen, the European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Dr. Amani Abou-Zeid, African Union Commissioner of Infrastructure, Energy,

Errachid Montassir at the United Nations Headquarters in New York during the Climate Action Summit, September 2019. Errachid Montassir, High Atlas Foundation (HAF) Project Manager and Volunteer Coordinator for the USAID Farmer-to-Farmer Program, won the 2020 International Open Eye Award at the Water Journalism Academy organized by Cewas Middle East and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. He is from

French versions Law students plant a tree at the Faculty of Juridical, Economic, and Social Sciences in Fes, January 2020. HAF Director of Development The topic of gender in Morocco is one of considerable debate among the people, and it can often be controversial. In order to make progress toward a Morocco that values and

Tree Monitoring Officer Caption: HAF nurseries, Fes province: tree-planting  skills build good members of society The High Atlas Foundation (HAF) uses land given in-kind by the High Commissioner of Water and Forests and the Fight Against Desertification, local associations, and cooperatives around Morocco to establish organic fruit tree nurseries which provide sustainable projects for the

Reviving a Monastery for Community Development, Qwenu, By Lamia Radi, 14 Septembre 2020. • Arabic:  Al-Watan Voice, 19 Septembre 2020. In Morocco’s Middle Atlas Mountains near the town of Azrou, travelers come for hiking or to see the famed Barbary macaque apes in the Cedar Forest. Near Azrou, nestled high in the mountains and overlooking the green valleys

Project Assistant During the first week of September, representatives of the Multi-Actor Partnership (MAP) project from around the world gathered for their monthly virtual meeting. The participants were from Morocco, represented by the High Atlas Foundation, India, Ukraine, Kenya, Kosovo, Senegal, Sri Lanka, and Madagascar. The meeting’s purpose was to monitor the progress of the

التغييرات المناخية: لا يزال أمامنا عمل كثير, Mustaqila, By Errachid Montassir. HAF project manager On September 9-10, 2020, the Red Cross Red Crescent (Climate Center) network, their partners, and a fascinating array of speakers gathered at a virtual climate summit to inspire climate action. The summit comprised more than 200 engaging sessions to ensure the

Planting trees can reduce poverty and slow climate change, The Daily Guardian, By Jacqueline Skalski-Fouts, 29 August 2020. • Arabic: Beirut Taimes, 30 Aug 2020. Photo by the High Atlas Foundation, Morocco. Humanitarian crises have recently been declared in Sudan, Yemen, Niger, Mali, and Somalia—affecting at least 450,000 people—due to flash floods and landslides. Areas with

آن أوان الاستيقاظ: تصور أكثر إشراقًا لمستقبل المرأة, Maghress, By Ibtissam Niri. HAF Empowerment Trainer | M&E Specialist Photo Caption: During one of the Image Women’s Empowerment Workshop sessions, women discuss how they can paint their vision for the future of their workplace. On August 27, the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) conducted its twenty-ninth 4-day

Cathartic Returns to Morocco: Mark Apel, from Peace Corps to Farmer-to-Farmer, The New Dawn, By Ellen Hernandez and Katie Bercegeay. • Arabic: Voice of Iraq, 18 Septembre 2020. By Ellen Hernandez and Katie Bercegeay Upon hearing the words “Hamdullah wa inshallah,” Mark Apel is transported as if in a time capsule to the many times he and Yossef

HAF Project Manager FRÉ Skincare and HAF Partnering with Argan Cooperatives in Essaouira Argania Spinosa is the only type of argan tree around the world; it’s a tree endemic to Morocco and characteristic of North Africa for its biological, nutritional, socioeconomic, and ecological value. Argania Spinosa wood is an excellent source of charcoal. The tree’s

Article: سيدات تعاونية تاخرخورت بتسا ويركان, Beirut Times, By Amina El Hajjami. HAF’s Director of Projects After building an organic tree nursery and a well, and after facilitating participatory meetings and trainings concerning environmental protections with the farmers and the men’s association in Tassa Ouirgane village (Al Haouz province, Marrakech-Safi region), a project financed by the

20 Years: A Generation and a Day in Development Life – Happy Anniversary HAF, Global Research, 6 September 2020. • French: Libération, 07 Septembre 2020. • Arabic: Al-Watan Voice, 09 Septembre 2020. Dear Friends, As so many of us ask when we commemorate an anniversary of decades: where have all the years gone? Have we done all we

Project Assistant In order to realize more and more renewable energy achievements, the High Atlas Foundation has added a new and exciting collaboration to the list. This partnership is with Alliance Marocaine pour le Climat et le Développement Durable (AMCDD) and Association des Enseignants de la Vie et de la Terre (AESVT), who also share

COMPTE RENDU DE LA REUNION DE L’EQUIPE DE LA CLINIQUE JURIDIQUE DE LA FACULTE DE DROIT DE FES (CJDF), DE LA FONDATION DU HAUT ATLAS ET DE L’ASSOCIATION DES EXPERTS BENEVOLES POUR LE DEVELOPPEMENT. EN DATE DU 2 SEPTEMBRE 2020 Présents : Mme Katie Bercegeay Directrice de développement Fondation du Haut Atlas Mme Imane Akhezzane

The High Atlas Foundation (HAF) is reconnecting with former Peace Corps Volunteers to serve as volunteer experts as part of the USAID Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) Program in Morocco, which is being administered by HAF through 2023. RPCVs are invited to apply for assignments of two weeks or longer to help build the capacities of Moroccan cooperatives,

Project Assistant On August 12th, representatives from the High Atlas Foundation (HAF), the Moroccan Alliance for Climate and Sustainable Development (AMCDD), and the Association of Teachers of Life and Earth Sciences (AESVT) held a meeting in order to finalize their new partnership and also to prepare and plan for the first regional meeting which is

HAF Intern and UVA Student Through a Zoom meeting with Moroccan law students from University Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah in Fes who have been trained to deliver pro bono legal aid to underserved persons, I had an amazing opportunity to discuss current topics and issues as well as acquire a better understanding of Moroccan culture

On August 10-11, 2020, the High Atlas Foundation (HAF) team went to Ait Ourir in order to attend the evaluation of the Future Association for Development and Work Camps (AFCD). The purpose of the meeting was to evaluate each stage of the Oxygen project implementation and draft project recommendations that can be implemented in the

Cool News in a Warming World: Why Invest in Future Forests, Daily News, By Finn Grundmann. HAF Volunteer, Plant Enthusiast, and Scientific Assistant in Ecosystem Restoration Projects Forests capture more than carbon. While through the mechanism of photosynthesis, plants are experts at retrieving carbon dioxide from the air, they have also perfected strategies to retain

On July 27-28, a HAF team composed of Field Technician Abdeljalil, driver Mustapha, and I hit the road to Taroudant Province for the distribution of food and hygiene materials, a project implemented in partnership with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy as an act of social solidarity with people who have been severely impacted, economically and socially,

Critical Outlooks of the Community Approach to Global Development, Scoop World, By Yossef Ben-Meir (HAF President), 5 August 2020. • Arabic: Al-Watan Voice, 11 Aug 2020. Systems devised to organize local community participation in development emerged more than 70 years ago as a means to address poverty by involving people in designing their own initiatives and activities. Today,

Yossef Ben-Meir, Amina El Hajjami, and Ellen Hernandez HAF Colleagues The High Atlas Foundation (HAF) has been working with farming families in Morocco since 2000 to plant trees for sustainable agricultural development. The first question we are often asked is “Why plant trees?” Let us address that question as well as exploring other questions about

Spreading the Seeds of Multiculturalism: A Moroccan Perspective, Qwenu, By Jacqueline Skalski-Fouts, 11 August 2020. • Arabic: Al-Watan Voice, 12 Aug 2020. • French: Article19, 26 Jul 2020. Since early June, an estimated 15 to 26 million people across the United States have participated in protests against the death of George Floyd and the persistence of systematic racism

Project Assistant The Multi-Stakeholder Partnership (MSP) for an African energy transition towards “all-renewable” is a project that the High Atlas Foundation is working on alongside GermanWatch, a non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Bonn, Germany. GermanWatch seeks to influence public policy on trade, the environment, and relations between countries in the industrialized north and underdeveloped south

HAF Project Manager We, the youth, have a vast and important role in development and nation-building. Societies that have a large percentage of youth are strong ones. This is reflected in the tremendous energy of young people, which clearly contributes to driving and managing global matters and development projects. Climate change is an example. It