As part of the REFGOLMED project (“Strengthening the role of local authorities in the Mediterranean in favor of good governance and social cohesion”), financed by the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation and led by MedCities, the municipality of Chefchaouen promotes the employability of the youth and the green transition of its touristic, handcrafts and agro-food sector.
Tags: employment, green jobs, economic development, Morocco
The REFGOLMED project in Chefchaouen was born from a diagnosis made by the city council in regards to the promotion of the local economy with a green and socially inclusive vision. The city showed special interest from the beginning in working with young people and, on the other hand, accompanying the local tourism, craft and agri-food sector in its commitment to solutions that reduce the ecological footprint and promote social responsibility.
The project promotes a better access to social and economic opportunities in sustainable and equitable conditions, strengthening the role of the municipality in the promotion of green and socially inclusive jobs in the fields of renewable energy and sustainable tourism.
Specific objectives
Project type Technical Assistance
Partnership
MedCities
Municipality of Chefchaouen
Funding
Catalan Agency for Development and Cooperation
Start date January – May 2021
In strong and close collaboration with the Chefchaouen City Council, the REFGOLMED project has conducted three training modules targeting local tourism operators, restaurateurs, hand-crafts and artisans, local agro-food cooperatives, among others, to raise their awareness about the environmental impacts of their activities, and to strengthen their capacities to deliver more quality, innovative, socially-responsible and environmental-neutral services. Moreover, a specific training was conducted targeting young students and trainers of Electricity of the Chefchaouen Center for Occupational Training about renewable energy production and management. The experimentation with the installation of a solar panel system on the roof of the city council Eco Center has proved useful for the students to understand how this technology works.
As a final activity, the city council of Chefchaouen has exchanged with the municipalities of Olot, Saldes and the development agency of El Berguedà (the three of them in Catalonia) about sustainable tourism strategies through an online exchange initiative which took place in May 2021. The topics of interest of this exchange concern the promotion of the environmental responsibility of the sector, the role of municipalities in the creation and implementation of local strategies, awareness and visibility programs, among others.