Inaugural “Carte Blanche” Event Covers Water Crisis, Fake News, and Democratic Participation

Rabat — President of the Economic, Social, and Environmental Council (CESE), Ahmed Reda Chami, touched on a variety of issues that concern current Moroccan society at the first “Carte Blanche” event organized by the Club of Accredited Journalists in Morocco (CJAM).

“Moroccans may not yet be aware that water will become a rare commodity,” warned Chami at the event, calling for awareness of consumption habits that deplete the vital resource.

CJAM invited Reda Chami to speak at the inaugural “Carte Blanche” in Rabat on Wednesday, a monthly event designed to stimulate debate on topical issues which is open to the public.

Attendees at the event

Morocco is one of five countries projected to have a declining trend in precipitation as a result of climate change, Chami pointed out during his remarks, referencing a study by Australian researchers published in the journal “Nature.”

In his remarks, he discussed several solutions for the water crisis, including the continuation of dam construction and the reuse of water in green spaces. He also touched on desalination, which requires several considerations as to its impact on marine life and high cost, he explained.

“Fortunately, Morocco is equipped with extraordinarily abundant and inexpensive renewable energy. So if we combine renewable energy and desalination, we can have a good balance,” assured Chami.

On another note, Chami was prompted to speak on the difficult task of combating fake news, especially when the public’s access to information comes primarily from social media.

CJAM’s event in Rabat

“We still need to sort out what is good content and what is bad content. There are fact-checking platforms — thanks to SNFD, AMAP, ACA — and there are also private institutions that do this, but it’s not enough. These people need to be supported and paid,” Chami said, also pointing out a concerning lack of fact-checking in published media.

Chami stressed the crucial role that critical reasoning should play for citizens when encountering media online.

He further transitioned back to his opening remarks on the importance of democratic participation, calling upon citizens to become more politically involved and for government organizations to help build an interest in public affairs.

“For example, today, none of [the CESE’s] reports are finished before there is a citizen consultation. We also have citizens’ workshops where we sit down with citizens to listen to them, to challenge them, to ask them questions about issues that we haven’t yet clarified in the drafting of our reports,” explained Chami.

“At the end of the day, what you need to understand is that we see ourselves as complementing the participation of society.”

This sentiment aptly extends to the purpose of the “Carte Blanche” series, which promises to invite other Moroccan and international personalities with expertise in various fields to continue to catalyze public debate in Morocco and the world.