Morocco, je t'aime

I am now back in London after an emotionally intense week in Morocco.

You all read about my work at the International Conference on Water, Energy, and Climate Change. That was a fun three days of attempting to follow hydrology and reverse osmosis chemistry in French (ha!).

That conference was in Marrakech Wednesday-Friday. Saturday I drove with one of Dar Si Hmad's staff members to Agadir and was privileged to attend the RISE & THRIVE graduation. The Integration Day and programme launch for over 200 urban youth happened my first week in the office back in November. The students have since invested seven months in weekly training around professional development skills. They've been following and encouraging my adventures in Kuwait and Lebanon via Facebook, as I've been following their modules online. Sharing their success was such a joy!

Then a heartfelt few days in the office, getting updates on Dar Si Hmad's programming. Most cool is the start of a new initiative. The Environmental Youth Ambassadors are RISE participants selected to be journalists and community advocates. They attended some of the Water School and are creating videos and blog posts about Moroccan environmental issues. They are also organising a series of public engagement activities around Agadir - including a film screening, a rubbish pick-up day, more youth education programming, and a media campaign for ocean health. Follow their activities on Facebook to hear more!


Back in London, I am happily reuniting with the various kids I occasionally baby-sit. Mostly, though, I am attempting to bully myself into cracking down on transcribing and analysing interviews. The far less glamorous part of the PhD! A very happy summer to all...