Journey Beyond Travel...going beyond the destination

Touring the maritime and fisheries during his visit in Morocco, Commissioner Joe Borg from the European Union will meet with Moroccan leaders including Prime Minister Jettou, and Fisheries Minister Laenser. During his first visit, he will discuss mutual concerns that Morocco and the EU have about sustainable fisheries. He will inform the Moroccan leaders about the move towards maritime policy for the EU, strengthening the cooperation of Morocco and the EU under the Fisheries Partnership Agreement (FPA) and in other regional fisheries organizations. Mr. Borg will invite Morocco to be part of the consultation process.
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Imagine driving your car or boarding a train, going under the Mediterranean Sea and arriving on another continent. The straight tunnel project between Spain and Morocco is coming closer to being a reality. A high speed tunnel connecting Europe and Africa is dream of engineers who see this as a possible engineering marvel rivaling the Panama Canal or the English Channel Tunnel.
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Morocco has been fervently working with its neighbors in Europe all along the Mediterranean in order to gain the respect it needs to receive grants and funding from the European Union. In a recent statement, the ambassador of the EU in Morocco has said that Morocco’s relationship with the west has never been better. He went on to describe that the EU is looking forward to a bright and fruitful future with the nation the ever-growing nation.
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A group of volunteers from an organization in England called FISSSC are heading to Mount Jbel Toubkal in Morocco in order to raise money for the children with disabilities. The volunteer organization is hoping to raise thousands of dollars in hopes to support their Families in Support of Special Needs Swimming Club. The association’s alternative approach to dealing with disabilities has caught the eye of world-wide media. The FISSSC’s mantra is to “challenge disability through adventure”.
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Morocco, a country that has always held a strong notion of religious tolerance, saw well over 400 Jewish families in Marrakesh for the annual celebration of Passover. Over 75% of the Jewish families present were of Moroccan origin.
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Morocco will be hosting the Men’s Junior Volleyball World Championship this summer for ten days in July, from the 7th until the 13th. The chairman of Morocco’s Volleyball Federation was proud that Morocco was chosen to host such an esteemed event.
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A group of students from Portland State University have been chosen to help change the stereotypes of a country that some believe isn’t well known in the United States. In fact, when someone mentions Morocco, a common response is “Where, Monaco?”. However, with a goal and valiant effort, the students will change the view of Morocco as an exotic travel destination to show the other side of the diverse country: information technology and manufacturing potential.
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A concert held Friday to raise money for refugees in Darfur was put on by the Muslim Student Association at Stanford University in California. The concert that was titled Melodies From the Muslim World, featured many artists playing traditional music from Muslim countries. Among the artists, featured, was Yassir Chadley and his band. Mr. Chadley, originally from Morocco, realized his long held dream of mixing Western and Moroccan music together last year with his Mo Rockin Project album, Sahaba. He collaborated with trumpeter Kahlil Shaheed to blend together jazz improv, and R&B with sounds from Morocco.
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Just west of Marrakech in Morocco, a group of international scientists are collaborating on an amazing discovery that suggests early homo sapiens had a longer childhood than what was once thought. A prolonged childhood, which separates humans from others in the animal kingdom, is one essential element in not only the survival, but also the development of complex societies.
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With groups such as Handicap International working in Morocco, the country is able to focus more of its resources on children with disabilities. Moroccan students, who would have had to once resort to menial labor, or even begging, might now be given the chance they deserve. A new program that will be implemented over a five-year time span will see that Moroccan children with disabilities are given an equal chance in society and life.
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The all-too famous kiteboarder Kirsty Jones astonished her fans and the Guinness Book of World Records with her solo nine-hour and 140-mile (85km) crossing from Lanzarote to Morocco. Her course took her past Tarfaya and along the Northern Western Sahara of Morocco. Not all of her trip was smooth sailing. Choppy waters, flat sails, and quirky wind nearly caused her to forfeit.
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Working to raise money for the Link Community Development (LCD), an organization working to raise funds for schools in Africa, Adam Brown, age 22 of Snells Mead, England will be hitchhiking to Morocco in April.
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When travelers think of Morocco, they rarely think of vast forests of cedar and oak trees filled with Barbary Apes. However, in scattered regions across the country, forests are alive, but aren’t doing so well. In a recent attempt to get agencies and the government to take emergency action, those in the Forest Department claim that they are losing tens-of-thousands of hectares annually. For most cases, the loss is a direct result of human activity, something that can be controlled.
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Morocco will send its Minister of Industry and Trade, Salah Edinne Mezouar, and Mayor Dahman Derman of Tangier to Brazil to seek support of Morocco’s hope to host the International Exhibition of the Bureau International Exhibitions (BIE) in 2012. Established under UN guidelines, BIE has its headquarters in Paris. Brazil is one of the ninety-eight member countries that will vote, next December, on the location of the next exhibition.
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With the recent death of writer Driss Chraibi, who passed at the age of 81 in Paris, King Mohammed VI in Morocco gave a personal message to his family. Publicly, the king announced, Driss Chraibi is one of the pioneers of the Maghreban Literature in French, a language that he mastered so brilliantly that his works appear among the World Literature wonders.
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With the banning of a recent newspaper due to its views, a new Moroccan tabloid called Au Fait is launching its free, full-color daily in an attempt to gain widespread distribution that will first be available in Casablanca, Rabat, and Marrakesh.
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In what might be called the Tour de France of the Sahara Desert due to the astounding athletic and endurance needed to compete in the international Marathon des Sables each year in Morocco, Lahcen Ahansal has came out victorious once again. In what is his tenth win in the 22-year event, he has won each of the last nine races. His twin brother, Mohamed, came in second and the duo are regarded as undefeatable in what could be the most extreme race on Earth.
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A vision of cooperation between developing countries is of importance to King of Morocco, Mohamed VI, along with other leaders in South America, such as the President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva. The two leaders relize how future collaborations will benefit both sides of the Atlantic. Representing Morocco, Mohamed Benaissa, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, started his tour in Brazil and will visit ten other Latin America countries before returning to Morocco.
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Morocco will go to the polls in September to cast ballots on the modernization program of King Mohammed VI. This may prove to be a referendum of the King’s current program. The Islamist PJD (Party of Justice and Development) expects to win at least 60 seats in the election even though a governmental movement might keep the Islamists out.

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