2004 North Africa Programs

Algeria:

Cercle pour l'Action et Reflexion autour de l'Enterprise (CARE): Fundamentals of Economic Reform and the Global Market Training Sessions for Algerian Decision-Makers - This grant will build understanding and support for economic reform among those who mediate the public's perceptions of economic reform issues but who may have little grounding in basic economic concepts. This project will include seminars, taught by an economist from the IMF or World Bank, covering the principles of a market economy, globalization, and trade, while focusing on the costs of opening Algeria's closed economy.

Sakai: Educational Partnership Program - This grant provides the Government of Algeria with another tool to meet its ambitious education goals, by bringing a technical team of Sakai experts to Algeria to conduct a training workshop on the architecture of the software and the design of Sakai eLearning tools. Senior Sakai software architects and programmers will visit Algeria to conduct a series of training sessions to help build Algerian capacity to participate in the ongoing development and use of the Sakai system - a community source software development effort to design, build, and deploy a new Collaboration and Learning Environment (CLE) for higher education.

"Algerian Women Today" Film Documentary - In this grant, Algerian film director Hocine Saadi will produce and distribute a 30-minute documentary motion picture describing the life and struggles of three Algerian women - the president of a non-governmental organization (NGO) for the disabled, the publisher of an Arabic-language daily newspaper, and the youngest Deputy in the Algerian National Assembly. The director will use this film to demonstrate how the role of Algerian women has changed since the rampant terrorism in the country during the 1990s, as well as the ability of these women and others to affect positive change in Algerian society.

Morocco:

Tangier American Legation Museum Society (TALM) - Tangier American Legation Museum held a two-day conference gathering key players in Tangiers to discuss economic development of the port city.

American Chamber of Commerce - This project expands the existing FTA website to improve its capacity to support local civil society, foster networks of reform, and expanding public understanding of the economic benefits of the FTA and free trade.

Zagora Technology Project - Through the Zagora Technology Project, women members of local NGOs have an opportunity to develop computer literacy skills. Each woman will receive basic computer training and become an assistant so she can teach computer skills to her fellow association members. Forty women from associations in Zagora (two from each association) will receive training in specific computer technology programs over the course of one year.

Tunisia:

Tunisian-American Chamber of Commerce (TACC) - This project creates a US-Tunisia TIFA/FTA website, explaining the process and benefits of an FTA. The TACC will also hold a regional free trade conference in Tunis.

Junior Chamber International (JCI): Empowering Women and Implementing Positive Changes - This grant will provide eight training courses on leadership, business, and entrepreneurial skills intended to spark interest in civic activism among women and youth. Additional components of this project will include supporting participation by new members in local and national events related to the JCI activities; providing training in marketing, accounting, banking, and management techniques for rural businesswomen; and supplying micro-grants to women artisans.

IPSI University Newspaper - The Institute of Journalism in Tunisia (IPSI), which produces most of the journalists in the country, will establish a student-run newspaper and conduct a student-exchange program. This project will be used as a means of promoting analytical thinking and problem solving skills, empowering students to undertake projects of their own creation, and providing practical training to future journalists, including the notion of objective reporting and freedom of expression.

MEPI Regional Office - Tunis:

Strategic Planning Workshops for NGOs - A series of workshops throughout the North Africa region that focus on strategic planning for local NGOs. The workshops stress developing of a mission statement and translating a vision into a project, as well as developing a funding strategy. The workshops will also help organize work and implement projects, and will initially assist in building organizational capacity.