One week from Casablanca! T-minus 7 days!!!

It's so exciting to be blogging about something ELSE I love. This assignment with IBM is going to be the pinnacle of my career. I'm heading to Morocco in just 7 short days, with a group of 14 other IBMers whom I've never met in person. Together, we're going to help change the futures of some of the Moroccan people. Morocco is a fast developing country, one of the fastest in Africa, and we 15 lucky IBMers have been chosen to work with organizations in Casablanca to help them with their businesses, communications, procedures, and more.
I'm on the team working with the OFPPT - that is, the organization that runs the Vocational Education program in Morocco. We've just learned that 28% of the people from age 18 to 24 are unemployed. That's a huge number. It's our job, while we're there, to come up with a communications and a social media plan that will help change the image of vocational training in Morocco - from one of a 'fall-back' position if one can't get into a University, to a choice for many Moroccans to help them lead in the 21st century.
My teammates, Lauren, Michael, and Prashant, and I will have just four short weeks to really uncover the existing reasons for (young) people not working and not wanting to work in Morocco, and help discover new ways to encourage people to learn the trades of the 21st century that will move the population into a new echelon of learners and professionals.

Enough about the professional part - we're going to experience a new culture, get to know a lot of people, and work together in a small team in a very short period of time. I'll get to practice my French (bien sur), experience the gorgeous textiles and spices that Morocco is so well known for, and at the end of the four weeks, Warren will be joining me for a week to explore and relax.

More soon!

-Laurie #ibmcsc #morocco5