I am very proud to announce that the fourth book to which I have contributed on Morocco was published earlier this month. The Demographic Dividend and the Power of Youth is an anthology of essays from around the world about harnessing the energy and potential of younger generations.
My chapter takes case studies of successful interventions on youth and women’s employability undertaken by The Challenge Group in sub-Saharan Africa and applies them to Morocco. Although in many ways North African countries are economically more advanced than those of sub-Saharan Africa, they face similar challenges in their youthful populations. They also share dual needs to ensure young people have marketable skills while stimulating micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, as the backbone of any economy, to create jobs. Continue reading
I attended the Edinburgh launch of Benita Matofska and Sophie Sheinwald’s “Generation Share” book not really understanding what the “Sharing Economy” was, but feeling some kind of resonance and a desire to learn more. I not only learned what it was, but I was inspired and I realised that sharing is a key aspect of my life. 
The other weekend, my husband and I attended an induction session for prospective volunteers at Edinburgh charity, 
I find 
One of my favourite Arabic songs is the Algerian chaâbi classic, Ya Rayah, which was revived and brought to a new generation of North Africans, Europeans and Arabic speakers by the now almost mythical 1,2,3 Soleils concert of 1998. I heard the original by Dahmane el Harrachi (from the 1970s) on the radio in a taxi in 
The 20th Essaouira Gnaoua Festival gets underway on 29 June 2017. For an overview of this year’s format and programme, see my post 