HM King Mohammed VI laid, on Wednesday in Casablanca, the foundation stone to build a center to promote women's competences in the medina, and a socio-educational center for the youth in the Moulay Rachid neighborhood, to be built by the Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity for a total cost of 10.5 million dirhams ($1.2 million).

Both projects are meant to promote social and vocational integration notably through offering training with the aim of developing the beneficiaries’ capacities to run themselves their own projects.

The center to promote women's competences in Casablanca's medina, to benefit 500 women annually, will notably offer courses in literacy, provide support relating to establishing cooperatives and help the beneficiaries improve socio-economic conditions through promoting their access to revenue generating activities.
 Spanning over an area of 400 square meters, the center will have three floors, theoretical classrooms for family's services, traditional sewing, literacy and preschool teachers' training.

The cente, to be built for a total cost of five million dirhams, will also house catering halls with a teaching kitchen, bakery, a nursery and an area devoted to the marketing of the beneficiaries’ products.
 The socio-educational center for the youth will contribute to the development and socialization of the youth from disadvantaged backgrounds in the Moulay Rachid and Sidi Othman neighborhoods. It will enable the beneficiaries to develop skills for a better integration into the labour market and participate in educating children in the targeted neighborhoods.

The 1963 square meter center will include training workshops in culinary and pastry arts, classrooms for tutoring, languages, training of teachers and theoretical courses in culinary arts in addition to halls for tapestry’s training, traditional sewing and computer maintenance.

 The 5.5 million dirham center also includes multipurpose and computer rooms, an exhibition hall, a refreshment area, a nursery, an office and two businesses to generate steady income for the center's management.

HM the King to preside over new religious lecture Thursday in Casablanca

 HM King Mohammed VI, Commander of the faithful, will preside, on Thursday at the royal palace in Casablanca, over a new Ramadan religious lecture.
   The lecture will be delivered by Said Oukail Serraj, President of the renaissance association of Indonesian Ulema ( Muslim scholars) , on "protecting faith and religion in the democratic state,” drawing on the Koranic verse: “Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error."