Article publié en 2009 à Arizona /USA lors du congrès annuel de l'Association Internationale de la lecture "." the 2009 IRA Annual Convention West in Phoenix, Arizona"

Morocco

            In the Kingdom of Morocco, IRA is discussing ways of helping with an ambitious project whose goal is to reach all 13,000 teachers involved in adult education. The project hopes to improve adult literacy rates among all people, but especially among girls and women in rural areas, where nearly two out of three (64.4%) are illiterate. Morocco's overall illiteracy rate is 38.5%.

            Educators Kaoutar Soussi Ahmadi and Fatima Yacine of the Literacy Department in Morocco's Ministry of National Education attended the IRA Annual Convention in Phoenix, Arizona, in February 2009. There they attended sessions, met with colleagues, and presented information about their project.

            They also worked on an overview paper for their project with IRA's Director of International Development, Sakil Malik, and with Betty Sturtevant, whom they had met through involvement in the Literacy Hub, an online forum for sharing information about literacy activities in the Middle East and North Africa (www.literacyhub.org). Moroccan educators are developing the framework and materials for the two-year project, which is funded by the Moroccan government. IRA volunteers will help develop other materials and provide "train the trainer" workshops.

            "We want to get more professional training for adult educators," said Ahmadi. "We want to improve their levels of instruction, experience, and training."

            "We want to motivate more adults and encourage them," added Yacine. She noted that the project is aimed at helping learners ages 16–45 because they represent the bulk of the workforce and especially need adequate literacy skills. A separate program focuses on learners ages 9–15.

            Morocco's adult educators have widely varying levels of education and training, and some have no professional training at all. "We need to give them professional experience and training so they can give their learners the competencies they need," concluded Ahmadi.

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Photo caption: Moroccan educators Fatima Yacine (left) and Kaoutar Soussi Ahmadi attended the 2009 IRA Annual Convention West in Phoenix, Arizona, where they picked up valuable ideas for the literacy project they are leading.