Kayla Dwyer Archives - REPORTING MOROCCO

Age-old traditional Moroccan pastry meets new health concern

October 26, 2015 Mary Stucky 0 Comments Kayla Dwyer, Rabat, Reporting Morocco, sfenj

By Kayla Dwyer

For more than 65 years, the Ougaamou family has kept tradition alive in the 17th century walled medina, in Rabat, Morocco’s capital — but they are one of very few to do so. From a hole-in-the-wall stand they sell sfenj, traditional Moroccan donuts whose tough and greasy exterior conceals a steaming, flaky inside.

“Sfenj? Yes, good, very good — especially with tea, it’s wonderful,” said Youness Elfaleh, 22, whose eyes widen at the thought of the Moroccan oil-fried doughnut. “But I can only eat it one or two times a month.”

This traditional treat may be on its way out of favor even in sweet-loving Morocco.

Culture Kayla Dwyer Youth

Moroccan locals participate in world-wide social experiment

October 26, 2015 Mary Stucky 0 Comments eye contact experiment, Kayla Dwyer, Liberators International, Reporting Morocco

By Kayla Dwyer, photos by Hannah Steinkopf-Frank

RABAT, Morocco — “You felt weird vibrations between you and the other person,” said Bouchra Zidaoui, 30, pictured above left. “We don’t usually look at each other’s eyes.”

But Zidaoui, of Rabat, did just that — for one uninterrupted minute with 19-year-old Basma Boujendar, right, on the grass outside the Comedy Cafe off Mohamed V Avenue in the center of Rabat, Morocco’s capital. Nearly 100 people joined her on October 15 in Rabat for what’s being called “the world’s biggest eye contact experiment” by The Liberators International, a social movement that organizes public events encouraging people to connect.

Featured Kayla Dwyer Politics

Moroccan media outlet launches amid press crackdown

September 21, 2015October 9, 2015 Mary Stucky 0 Comments Ali Amar, Ali Anouzla, Christophe Guguen, Hicham Mansouri, Kayla Dwyer, Le Desk, Le Journal, Maati Monjib, Morocco, Omar Radi, Pulse Media, Reporters Without Borders, Reporting Morocco

By Kayla Dwyer

CASABLANCA, Morocco – With less than a week before the launch of their news website, about a dozen journalists huddled around computers in a small, modern office, the sun streaming in glass windows that overlook the streets of Casablanca, as they put finishing touches on one of their stories involving government internet surveillance of Moroccan citizens.

“We are old new pioneers,” said Ali Amar, publisher and co-founder of Le Desk, which will go live online today. “We don’t know how the readers will react, but if we succeed, we think there is huge opportunity.”

In a country where independent press has nearly disappeared, this team of journalists is trying once more to bring reporting on hot button issues to Moroccans.

Reporting Morocco is produced by U.S. college and university students on an SIT Study Abroad program in Morocco: Field Studies in Journalism and New Media. They are mentored by veteran journalists from The New York Times, The Associated Press, and Round Earth Media in a program applying technology and global consciousness to produce high-impact journalism on vital social issues.

Reporting Morocco strives to be a reliable resource for news and information about Morocco.

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A pioneer in experiential, field-based study abroad, SIT (founded as the School for International Training) provides more than 60 semester and summer programs for undergraduate students in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, as well as comparative programs in multiple locations.