This afternoon we visited the American Embassy and heard from Embassy Cultural Affairs attache Jennifer Bullock and The Regional English Language Office director, Mr. Robert Lindsey. It was quite interesting entering the Embassy, as the security was quite thorough. I unfortunately do not have photos of the inside of the embassy, as this is disallowed, but the building itself set in an area of Rabat with considerable French architectural influence. I searched online for a photo of the embassy so you could get an idea of the area and the building, but due to even the outside of the embassy being off-limits to photographs, this is the best I could find. (Getty Images)
Ms. Bullock began by providing information about the roles the State Department's Moroccan Embassy plays in providing services to both Moroccans and Americans. The embassy provides:
Ms. Bullock is the director of the Cultural Affairs Department, a division of public affairs that advocated cultural understanding and diplomacy. The Cultural Affairs office also supports and sponsors the following educational and cultural programs:
- consular services (visas, passport issues, medical care, legal counsel)
- political services (government to government relations)
- economic services (global business development, reinforcing Morocco-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, 2006)
- public affairs (exchanges, speakers programs, grants, initiatives)
Ms. Bullock is the director of the Cultural Affairs Department, a division of public affairs that advocated cultural understanding and diplomacy. The Cultural Affairs office also supports and sponsors the following educational and cultural programs:
- Consulate General's Public Affairs office and American library (in Casablanca)- provides students, citizens, and visitors with books, discussion groups, online courses, webchats, and film screenings. click here for their facebook page
- 11 American Language Centers in Morocco- run by the American Cultural Association, a non-profit, bi-national organization aimed at teaching American English as a second language. I understand that one of these language centers is in Meknes and my host teacher teaches courses at the center in the evening.
- American Corners (public speaking clubs, song clubs, poetry clubs, video clubs) in Marrakech and Oujda
- Fulbright programs aimed at sending Moroccan students to the U.S.
- Techgirls program designed to facilitate exchanges for young girls interested in pursuing careers in science and technology- emphasis on programming, robotics, app building, web design, game and video graphic design. Young ladies travel to the U.S. for 3 weeks and then present their new skills and action plans upon their return.
- Between the Lines writer's workshop - Moroccan students travel to the U.S. to develop their writing skills in both Arabic and English, while also developing a better understanding of U.S. culture.
- programs specifically created for women's leadership, social entrepreneurship, teacher professional development
- TESOL- English language Teaching Fellowship- American teachers with masters in teaching English as a Second Language can qualify for an exchange program
- English Access MicroScholarships- developed after the 2003 suicide bombings in Casablanca- aims at teaching English as a second language through real-world activities- classes taught to underprivileged students in the evenings. Check out this youtube video celebrating the 10th anniversary of ACCESS: