Launched in several countries by the American firm Microsoft to promote science education for girls, the "DigiGirlz" programme is now in its sixth cohort in Morocco, with three solutions on water recently winning prizes in the cities of Errachidia, Safi and Rabat.
In Morocco, the embassy of the United States of America and the Anwal association for sustainable development have unveiled the winners of the “DigiGirlz” programme initiated by the American technology giant Microsoft. The competition rewards the best scientific and ecological solutions developed by young girls with the support of their local authorities. For the 2003 edition, which focused on water conservation, the winners were the towns of Errachidia (1st) on the Algerian border, Safi (2nd) with a population of 336,000, and the capital Rabat (3rd).
Among the three women’s projects that were honoured are “Advanced Watering”, which aims to develop eco-responsible agriculture. This is a robot connected to an application to optimise irrigation by monitoring the amount of water used. In second place was Wastewater, a wastewater treatment system that reduces water consumption in car washes.
The DigiGirlz jury rewarded the schoolgirls from Rabat who designed an intelligent shower head incorporating advanced technologies to preserve water resources. Morocco has been suffering from water stress for some years now. With only 500 m3 of drinking water per inhabitant per year by 2022, compared with 2,500 m3 in 1960 (according to the United Nations), the Kingdom is focusing on preserving its resources and exploiting non-conventional water sources.
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The northern, agricultural municipality of Salé is one of the hardest hit by water stress. To remedy this, the Moroccan authorities have launched a project in 2022 to strengthen and secure the drinking water supply in Salé. The 126 million dirham (€12 million) initiative will benefit 982,000 people, including 28,748 women, until 2035. According to the Office national de l’électricité et de l’eau (Onee), the works will increase the capacity of the existing installations, by treating the water from the Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah dam, from 104,000 m³ per day to almost 256,000 m³ per day.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi
