Phare Nador: Avanz@ project ends with more than 1,000 beneficiaries

Last December 16 took place the closing ceremony of the project “Avanz@ pour l’égalité numérique” that we have carried out for two years in Phase Nador, our first headquarters in Africa,  thanks to the financial support of the Spanish Cooperation for International Development. The event was attended by the Consul of Spain in Nador, Mr. José Leandro Consarnau Guardiola, representatives of the government of the Province of Nador, AECID and local partners such as OFPPT, P2P, Mohamed I University, as well as the Regional Academy of Education and the Academy of Oujda Ain Ghazal 2000.

The “Second Chance” program of the Moroccan Ministry of Education aims to tackle school dropout rates among girls, adolescents and young women in rural areas in the eastern region of the country. Phare Nador has complemented the Ministry’s work over the past two years through the Avanz@ project, which focuses on bridging the gender digital gap and offering new opportunities to women in the region. In the Phare’s computer classroom, equipped with more than 20 computers, as well as in two centers in the city of Oujda, more than 1,000 beneficiaries of the state program, aged between 13 and 20, have received ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) training that prepares them for a job market in which digital skills are essential. Our director, Teresa Langle de Paz, highlighted during her speech how “women are the great engine of progress, and equal opportunities are the best guarantee of a country’s progress and the best factor of social transformation towards development. The project that we are closing and celebrating today demonstrates this, because we have opted for the main vehicle of empowerment: education”. During the event, a debate was held with students, tutors and trainers, and the most outstanding students of the project were awarded with a tablet that will enable them to continue their learning.

This socio-educational project has included courses in office automation to create, edit, share and work collaboratively. After the training, the young women have become fluent in PowerPoint, Excel and Word. However, not all of the project focused on technical skills. Through 12 workshops, the trainers worked with the beneficiaries on concepts such as awareness of emotions and how to control them, conflict management and resolution, aspects of communication, self-esteem and leadership for their professional future. Many of the adolescents who have been part of the Avanz@ project dropped out of school at some point and are in a process of readjustment and reintegration into the educational system, where training in soft skills has been very important.

Thanks to this project, the Nador Lighthouse has become a key training center for women in the region. In addition, we have the support of our patron the Akwa Group, which is essential for the work carried out by the foundation and our Moroccan association “Femmes pour l’Afrique” in the Eastern region. Last December 20, Khalid Abaraoudi, HRD of the Akwa Group was in our offices in Madrid to renew his support until 2027.