By Allan Siao Ming Witherick
Driving in to Fez it was clear that the city was still in a period of expansion, our discussions with the President of Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University had shown how their own ambitious plans included the vision of creating a university town; comparable in their own words to something like Cambridge in the UK. They had worked hard to improve links with other countries and other universities and saw the creation of effectively an international educational hub a key goal.
Of note was their increasing focus on business and the potential for monetisation of skills in the private sector, a reassuring reflection of possible progress compared to the protests that we had witnessed in Rabat about lack of employment of graduates. When we look at the drive towards a higher skilled workforce it reflected clearly the desire to ensure that the skills matched the economic drivers rather than purely the choice of the students as experienced in some countries.
Our meeting with the municipal representatives of Fez confirmed this desire to enhance and build the city. Funded by increases in taxes their desire to improve and grow covered all aspects from tourism onward.
The difference between Eastern and Western desires?
To be honest not that different both in terms of desire and methodology, and as a British person I did have to appreciate our first real taste of rain in Morocco. It resulted in minor flash flooding and some very wet fellows but was a good reminder that some things never change!
Our lunch time companions this time were taken from the world of arts, hailing from a number of disciplines and countries, but all present for the festival being held in Fez. It was an interesting input, building on our previous lunch time speakers desire to see the creative industries flourish.
The next stop was to one of the hilltop castles, still in military use, to look down on to the Fez Medina, crowded within the protective city walls. One wonders how rapidly this visage has changed in the last 40 years as the guide noted that the only real change in recent times has been the infestation of satellite dishes, those technological mushrooms which range from a brand new white to a rusted brown.
The clear impression though was that like our previous speakers there was a Western facing focus.