Site Visite Report-converted

COM 2301 _ Professional Communication _ Dr. A. Agnaou
Service Learning: Site Visit Report

Association des Jeunes d’Ifrane (AJI) _ Hay Salam, Ifrane

Aya Benazizi
Fatine El Omari
Hamza Belhassan

Nisrin Rtimi
Zineb Kadrif

Summer 2019

Table of Contents

I. Introduction ............................................................. 3
II. Background ............................................................ 3
III. Area of Concentration.......................................... 4
IV. SWOT Analysis..................................................... 4
V. Reflection ................................................................ 6
VI. Conclusion ............................................................. 7
VII. Appendix .............................................................. 9

2

I. Introduction

Performing service learning is one of the major assignments for our Professional
Communication class. It is one of the best ways to apply what we have learnt through this
summer session and show our learning, skills, and knowledge that we acquired in this class.
Indeed, Service learning suits the goals of the organization that Dr. Abderrahim Agnaou
chooses for us, which is the Association des Jeunes d´Ifrane that focuses on the improvement
of the city and the fulfillment of the needs of its population.

The purpose of the community work that we were assigned with is to add a significant
meaning and a special touch to the city. In order to do that, we worked with our collaborators
on the idea of street art, which is considered to be one of the most effective ways to enrich
and attract tourists as it is done via the initiative JIDAR by the association EAC-
L’BOULVART in Rabat.

II. Background

The Association des Jeunes d´Ifrane is a non-profit organization whose main goal is to
create and maintain sustainable development for the city of Ifrane while focusing on different
fields. Mainly the cultural and athletic one. It was created back in 2015 by Hicham Obaha
(president) and Abdelkarim Tahiri (Vice-president) and since then, its members organized
many cultural and athletic events counting debates, conferences, tournaments in addition to
different services that provided the youth of the city with sports facilities and better athletic
equipment.

III. Area of Concentration

Ifrane was and is still among the beautiful cities in Morocco, which makes it attractive
to tourists from different cultures and backgrounds. Since this service learning project is a
partial fulfillment of the requirements of our Professional Communication class, our team
thought of working with the Association des Jeunes d’Ifrane in order to make this city more
fascinating to its citizens and its tourists as well.

Our event is related to a cultural development by which we want to raise art as being a
lifestyle by creating inspiring murals in Ifrane’s public spaces. Our event targets the tourists
that visit Ifrane in the first place as well as its citizens. The murals of each city describe its
culture and show its identity, especially to the visitors. Thus, by collaborating with the
Association des Jeunes d’Ifrane, we, as a team, thought of transforming Ifrane into an artistic
space and drawing on its walls. Ifrane is a beautiful city, and by changing it murals to an
exclusive piece of art, it will be more beautiful and attractive to the tourists.

IV. SWOT Analysis

Art has been there since the beginning of the book, with paintings on the rocks of
caves. However, we tend to not give art its right value and think of it as something that
anyone can achieve, whereas it actually needs high creativity that brings a lot to societies.
Moreover, some specific kind of art can contribute to the tourism of its cities, for instance;
Berlin and Buenos Aires are mainly visited for the street art that they are known for.

This is exactly why we decided to apply this idea of “street art” on the city of Ifrane
in order to encourage tourism in the region and to add an artistic value to it. Thanks to our

4

collaboration with “Association des Jeunes d’Ifrane” we were able to discuss this idea and
bring it to real life.

But, in order for us to understand in depth what this assignment of community service
is all about, we conducted a SWOT analysis based on direct observation and communication
that we had with the Association’s members and volunteers. The thing that brings the light on
some of the strengths and weaknesses, in addition to the opportunities and threats that the
organization faces.

One of the main strengths of the association is the fact that its members are all young
students, which means that not only they are full of energy but also they represent what the
Moroccan youth wants to see in their own community. Besides having a modern vision, the
members are more familiar with the use of social media and technology, which helped us
advertise our event and inform the community of Ifrane about it. For instance, the association
have their own blog where they post information about them and the work that they provide.
Moreover, some of the members are from Ifrane, which makes them more committed to their
work.

However, we struggled with many obstacles while dealing with this event. First of all,
we had some issues with the association concerning collaboration and communication. Since
we didn’t meet all the members of the association, there was a lack of communication and
misinterpretation of information. Furthermore, the organization does not have an office and
we only had to meet them in cafes.

Also, another problem we faced was the unavailability of some members and appeared
to be a lack of experience concerning their newest adherents. They usually responded to our
messages and questions only after three or four days (Mainly on Whatsapp). It was
problematic for us since we were pressured by time and we could not supervise nor be there

5

in the event. However, despite their unprofessionalism, we as a team succeeded at using the
appropriate communication methods that we learnt in class to deal with them in a completely
professional manner all while asking for advice from our Professor and the help of Mr
Salaheddine Zekri.

Concerning the opportunities that the association have and knowing that many of them
are from the city and invest a lot of their time in the development of Ifrane they can easily be
funded by either the local tourism office, the city hall or even Al Akhawayn University itself
if they work more on winning the trust of the community through more mindful
communication and explanation of what their goals and missions are. That being said, the
association also face threats such as time struggling due to the summer session. Additionally,
lack of funds is a serious threat the association faces. It does not have a stable financial
background, which makes it challenging for them to have the sponsors collaboration.

V. Reflection

The recreational activity in which we were involved with the Association des Jeunes
d’Ifrane relies heavily on the CCCD method that we learnt in class in order to engage on
conscious communication with the association as well as the public departments with whom
we worked. The CCCD method as we discussed in class has four main stages that we as a
team follow to help the association reach its goal.

The first step we did was choosing the goal that we want to achieve by deciding it with
the association. After many meetings with the members of the association, we finally decided
on our area of concentration that aims to cultural events. After doing a deep analysis about the
outcomes of the communication situation of each event, the association came up with an idea
of drawing significant pieces of art on murals in Ifrane that we strongly supported.

6

Then, we moved on to the next step, which was discussing with the association a plan
that carries out the objectives of our creational activity. In this plan, we designed all the paths
that we need in order to link between the volunteers as well as the sponsors that could help us
having the paints and the materials needed. The first path was contacting Mr. Salaheddine
Zekri from the Student Activities Office at AUI to help us find the contacts of painters who
did the mural paintings on campus. We scheduled an appointment with him in which we had
helpful information both in terms of painters and sponsors. Then, we designed flyers for the
association to look for volunteering painters and artists. Also, we wrote professional letters to
the city hall, the National Office of Electricity, and the tourism delegation of Ifrane.

The third step we followed was linking and coordinating with the painter and the
sponsor. Our team contacted the representative of FACOP Company in Meknes and Fes (a
painting company) who accepted to volunteer and provide us with the paints and the materials
needed. Also, the flyers that we designed for the association helped us in finding a
volunteering painter who is going to be responsible for creating murals in Ifrane.

The fourth and the last step is to deliver all what we designed in the plan into reality
and start the event. The event will be delivered in a future date that the association will
choose, which should be before the Aid El Arch. Thus, we, all the team, will not be present;
however, we did our best to organize for them this cultural event from the beginning until
having the murals ready.

VI. Conclusion

All in all, this project all along has allowed us to understand the purpose of service
learning activity all while using and applying the proper professional communication skills
that we learned in class. And even though we faced a lot of problems and difficulties, we

7

still managed to find a common ground with our collaborators and find solutions. This
experience made us learn many aspects of working with an association and got us more
involved with social work, which prepares us for (the future/familiarity).

As for the recommendations that we have for the association and referring to our
experience with them, we can say that the members were having expectations that could not
be achieved within the amount of time that we had and when we tackled the issue with them
they simply answered that we had enough time to work on it or that they are willing to take
care of it themselves; which isn't the purpose of our community work .Therefore, we believe
that Association Jeunes D´Ifrane should focus more on achievable goals so that more work is
done within a reasonable amount of time. Furthermore, we faced some difficulties while
dealing with the authorities and gathering volunteers the thing that could have been avoided if
only the organization were more familiarized with the community of Ifrane. For that, we
recommend that the association target the youth, mainly students at local highschools (or even
AUI students) who are full of energy while asking for volunteers that would also be a great
opportunity to raise awareness about social work.

We are pleased that we reached all the steps so that the project works and succeeds in
Ifrane. Painting drawings on the murals of the city is more than just spreading colors on the
walls for passers-by to see. It is a manifestation of colors and ideas that bring out the
creativity of the artists and of the town. It truly gives a life to an otherwise blank wall and
standard city and makes all of the difference. This is why this project is particularly important
for us. The date of the project is not defined yet, but that would be an excellent service-
learning experience, as it has many advantages over the town that will make it more attractive
and appealing to those who visit it. Also, this will demonstrate that Ifrane is a cultural city and
a hub for art instead of only being known for its beautiful landscapes.

8

VII. Appendix

Rachid Elamrani’s CV:

9

10

11

Formal Letters:
12

13

14

15

16

17

Flyer:
18

19