Building Capacity, Engaging Youth, and Promoting Human Rights in Morocco

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ADFM is a leader in participatory leadership development.

WLP's partner organization in Morocco, Democratic Association of Moroccan Women (ADFM) held three training workshops in the spring of 2016 targeted at distinct groups of activists and facilitators promoting women’s equality in the country. 

ADFM’s trainings are adapted to the needs of its participants using WLP’s versatile curriculum. From the grassroots level and up, Moroccan groups working for women’s rights have benefitted from ADFM’s workshops and movement-building activities since 2000. Below is a summary of the most recent programs.

Human Rights Instruments Workshop

ADFM convened an advanced training on International Human Rights Instruments and Mechanisms on April 16 and 17 in Rabat. Participants included six women and five men from community and development organizations who are members of ADFM’s monitoring committee for the Moroccan Government Plan for Equity (GPE). 

The committee is responsible for tracking the GPE through data collection and analysis and publishing annual reports on the state of its implementation. This process of national reporting is a significant part of the multi-level monitoring of Morocco’s progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The committee’s reports cover the SDGs addressing poverty, inequality, and violence against women, with many targets specifically recognizing women’s equality and empowerment. 

The goal of the training was to impart and reinforce knowledge, skills, and positive attitudes on women’s rights protections in International Human Rights Instruments so that the trainees continue to protect human rights through their professional duties. To meet this need, ADFM facilitators largely used the content and the methodology in WLP’s Beyond Equality manual

Youth Participatory Leadership and Citizenship Workshop

ADFM convened a grassroots workshop on March 5 and 6 at Club od Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech with 21 young women and men from community and development organizations. 

The workshop was facilitated by youth members of ADFM affiliate organizations and focused on engaging youth in participatory leadership and citizenship. ADFM used its curriculum Youth for Equality and Participatory Democracy: A Guide for Leadership Training. The manual builds on the methodology and structure of WLP’s cornerstone manuals, Leading To Choices and Leading to Action

ADFM tailored the manual to individuals aged 15 to 30 and included interactive sessions that emphasize creativity, knowledge sharing, and partnership building. The curriculum is designed to help young women and men develop greater self-confidence, learn how to communicate effectively, build leadership skills, and identify areas in which they can exercise leadership. 

The manual also includes guidelines for facilitators, with an emphasis on creating a positive environment that promotes mutual respect, dialogue, and collaboration. The guide supports ADFM’s ongoing capacity building program for young women and men on leadership, gender, human rights and citizenship. 

Organizational Capacity Building Workshop

On February 20 and 21, ADFM gathered 12 facilitators for an internal Training of Trainers (TOT) workshop focusing on WLP’s new manual, Beyond Equality. The curriculum was developed to stimulate frank conversation about the contradictions and conflicts that arise in promoting human rights and to help advocates develop new strategies for addressing them.

The TOT aimed to familiarize facilitators with the material covered in the manual, improve practice of its methodology, and gain understanding of how, when, and where to use the manual to maximize impact for future workshops. This training followed up on learning outcomes from a shorter workshop in December 2015 that conducted initial test sessions of the manual.

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