This partnership framework agreement was signed on Tuesday, at the headquarters of the UIR, by the Director General of MAP, Mr. Khalil Hachimi Idrissi and the President of the UIR, Mr. Noureddine Mouaddib.
The two sides are committed, under this partnership, to develop and strengthen their cooperation, collaborate in terms of initial training, hosting trainees, conferences and scientific events and continuing education.
It is also, for the UIR, a cooperation in research, development and innovation, through the mobilization of its UNESCO Chair in Media and Information Literacy and Digital Humanism, its research structures and its partner networks.
“Today is an important day for MAP and the UIR, with the signing of this agreement that will allow for the first time to bring the Moroccan News Agency to the University, on concrete actions including initial training, continuing education, research and teaching on specific axes,” said Mr. Hachimi Idrissi in a statement to M24, MAP’s 24-hour news channel.
MAP’s Director General described this agreement as a “model” in terms of cooperation to get the Moroccan media sector out of “an autism that has imposed itself.”
Mr. Hachimi highlighted MAP’s strategy, as a public pole of information, developing a range of products in perfect harmony with the changing landscape and media sector.
The creation of reflection spaces envisioning media future is necessary to federate in a collective approach and imagine the media of tomorrow, their operation, their business model and how to train their actors, he stressed.
Regarding the importance of training in the persistence of journalism, Mr. Hachimi Idrissi said that in the face of global technological changes, journalism remains a necessary profession.
“With the loss of exclusivity of the word informing, due to the emergence of social networks, it is inescapable to strengthen distinctive skills added to a background of knowledge,” he pointed out.
On its openness to the African continent and in terms of regional cooperation, MAP’s Director General explained that the Atlantic Federation of African News Agencies (FAAPA), which currently includes about twenty African news agencies, is a professional platform to promote the exchange of experiences, information and multimedia products.
This framework partnership agreement affects in addition to the national side, the African side, through FAAPA, to develop a network of African journalists trained in the same framework and create a networking and a common culture, said for his part Mr. Mouaddib.
Welcoming MAP’s singular responsiveness for the signing of this agreement, Mr. Mouaddib considered that the media sector is among the areas most affected by a breakthrough and technological changes, noting that the University is willing through this partnership to establish a reflection with MAP to hold platforms of structured reflection.
The UIR is the first Moroccan University which was created within the framework of a partnership with the Moroccan State in the field of higher education. This partnership enables it to work towards the achievement of its objectives of excellence, training, research and participation in the socio-economic development of the Kingdom and the African continent.
Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse