Rabat – An English-language digital library launched Tuesday in Rabat for the benefit of Moroccan students and with the aim of strengthening Morocco-UK cooperation in the fields of higher education and scientific research.
The Ministry of Education and the British Council in Morocco led the initiative to grant Moroccan students, teachers, and researchers free access to the British Council’s vast digital collection of cultural and scientific teaching resources and distance learning programs.
During the June 9 launch, Minister of Education and Government Spokesman Saaid Amzazi highlighted the “excellent” relations between Morocco and the UK, adding that “the higher education and scientific research sector is a driving force behind the exceptional bilateral cooperation between the two Kingdoms.”
Amzazi said the first meeting of the Morocco-British Joint Commission on Higher Education and Scientific Research on January 22 in London confirmed the two countries’ strong cooperation in the academic field, as did Morocco’s participation in the Education World Forum in London from January 19-22.
The minister delegate for Higher Education and Scientific Research, Driss Ouaouicha, celebrated the British Council’s “generous gesture.” The digital library offers nearly 100,000 digital resources in various academic fields, including anthropology, business, economics, information technology, engineering, fine arts, history, law, medicine, and physical sciences.
“In these difficult times, we want to provide young Moroccans with access to a carefully organized set of British resources,” said the director of Morocco’s British Council, Tony Reilly.
“Now more than ever, it is important to facilitate cultural exchange and collaboration,” he continued, inviting “all Moroccans to discover and benefit from the rich resources we have gathered in this unique collection of the British Council digital library.”
Library registration is free for all Moroccans aged 18 and older. Its digital resources include newspapers, magazines, films, music, and other educational tools.
The British Council is set to launch a mobile app later this month to allow users to access the digital library from their smartphones anywhere, anytime.
The launch of the digital library follows an agreement the Ministry of Education signed with the British Council on April 24 to accelerate the teaching of the English language and culture in Morocco through remote education avenues.
The agreement promotes the ministry’s remote education plan with English teaching programs, including the “World on the Street” television show and the “Obla air” radio program, which began airing in Morocco on April 27.
The academic collaborations fall under the framework of the September 2019 Memorandum of Understanding on higher education between Morocco and the UK and are in line with the recommendations of the Moroccan-British Higher Education Commission.
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