النسخة العربية أسفله 

In the context of the co-implementation and monitoring of the recommendations related to the “Open, Smart Communities” Forum, held in February 2020 in Sefrou and organized by “Impact For Development”, the latter expresses its satisfaction on the engagement of the commune of Ighezrane in its involvement to adopt the culture of openness through launching a website to share territorial information. This milestone is an occasion to congratulate the council and administrative staff of the local commune of Ighezrane, as well as association “Tafra” for its technical support in terms of the development of the website, with the support of the US-Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI).  

Ighezrane is part of the municipality of Sefrou and located in the northern mountains of the middle Atlas. Ighezrane extends over an area of 620 km² and has a population of 9626 people. The commune’s agrarian economy heavily relies on its agricultural sector and livestock, however, the commune’s economy could potentially benefit from ecotourism.

The website contributes to the fulfillment of the two complementary goals:

1. The proactive publication of information in accordance with Law 31- 13 regarding the right to access information, as well as Law 14-113 specific to local communes, with considerations to good international practices.  

2. The encouragement and stimulation of the commune’s tourism sector nationally and internationally by showcasing the potential of the territory. 

“Impact For Development” considers this step to hold symbolic significance for various reasons, including the following:

1. The Ighezrane commune is one the smallest communes to engage in proactive publication. This is an invitation to all territorial actors across the Moroccan territory to join efforts for digitalization and promotion of the right to access information. In this context, the association “Tafra” will be providing, at the request of local communes, technical support to develop the website for free.  

2. The adoption of a participatory approach with the active involvement of the local municipality and civil society organizations. In fact, the website is the result of a fruitful collaboration between the local municipality and the association “Tafra”, the association “Femmes Bladi” and “Impact For Development”. This indicates the importance and effectiveness of cooperation between civil society and institutions.  

3. The effective launch of the adoption of proactive publication as a pillar of the respect of the Right to Access Information and Law 13-31.  

4. The contribution to the implementation of the recommendations of the “Open, Smart Communities” Forum in Sefrou, which was organized by “Impact For Development” in partnership with the Sefrou municipal Council, the ICT4Dev Research Center, the American Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), the International Center for Non Government Law (ICNL) and the Moroccan Organization for Human Rights-Sefrou Branch. The forum recommendations included the stimulation of rural tourism and the increase of the Ighezrane region’s exposure nationally and internationally through the creation of a digital platform for the community. 

“Impact For Development” expresses its appreciation for the initiative taken by the Ighezrane local municipality and considers it as the continuity of the chain of participatory work between the local commune and civil society.

We take this occasion to affirm our firm willingness to spare no effort to contribute, along with the various actors, in the openness of our country, including initiatives related to openness for development.