MAP Board of Directors Approves 2021 Action Plan and Budget

The Board of Directors of the Moroccan News Agency (MAP), held Friday in Rabat under the presidency of the minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Othman El Ferdaous, approved the action plan and budget for the 2021 fiscal year.

At the beginning of this meeting, held in the presence of MAP Director General, Khalil Hachimi Idrissi, members of the Board and MAP’s Mediator, Driss Ajbali, the Board of Directors validated the minutes of the meeting of December 24, 2019.

Speaking on this occasion, El Ferdaous highlighted the central role of MAP in the national media field, stressing that the agency is “the backbone” of the information sector in the kingdom.

The minister also expressed the ministry’s readiness to support the MAP in its projects.

In a presentation on this occasion, MAP Secretary General, Rachid Boumhil, reviewed the major achievements of the Agency since the last meeting of the Board of Directors, in particular the establishment of governance bodies, namely the Joint Management Council, the Editorial Board, the MAP mediator and the Strategy and Technology Watch Committee.

Recalling that MAP received in 2019 for the 2nd time the EMTIAZ award in the “Mobile Applications” category for its “MAP News Display” application, as well as the award for the best Arab agency in the “Heritage and Media” category, Boumhil noted that 2019 was also marked by the adoption of the new MAP organization chart and the rise of a rich and diversified production.

He also shed light on the regional dimension of MAP, which was reinforced in 2019 by the launch of 12 regional websites, noting that this project aims in particular to enrich the regional information offer and enable the region to highlight its assets and increase its attractiveness.

Boumhil said the Agency respected in 2019 its publication commitments on social networks with 260,000 subscribers, adding that a total of 13,261 publications were made during the year, i.e. average of 3 posts every 2 hours.

He also mentioned the launch of six newsletters (four daily and two weekly), namely Educatis, Politis, Sports, Geopolitis, Vivre and Business.

In the same regard, the Secretary General noted that the daily MAP publication “Maroc Le Jour” has published 249 issues in 2019, adding that by its content and packaging, the daily is settling in the press landscape as a generalist vector of credible information.

Moreover, 12 issues of BAB Magazine enriched the kiosks during the year 2019 in addition to the publication of the MAP YearBooks.

MAP has also published “Anniversary of the enthronement of His Majesty King Mohammed VI: 20 years of reign”, a beautiful book retracing in pictures the two decades of reign of the Sovereign , marked by achievements at all levels and in all sectors, he added.

Referring to MAP’s international leadership, the Secretary General mentioned the signing of six cooperation agreements with the European News Exchange (ENEX), the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA), Pakistan Press International ( PPI), Cyprus News Agency (CAN), Cape Verde News Agency “INFORPRESS and Korea News Agency (YONHAP).

He also mentioned the international participation of MAP in particular at the Audiovisual Fair in Las Vegas, at the Economic Forum of St. Petersburg, at the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) in Amsterdam and at the seminar on “Uses of video in press agencies: comparative approaches to the Mediterranean “in Tunis.

He recalled the organization by the MAP of the 7th General Assembly of the World Congress of Press Agencies in Marrakech in 2022, explaining that the candidacy of the MAP came at the request of influential members within the Congress.

He also mentioned in this context the organization in November 2019 by MAP of the General Assembly of the FAAPA (Atlantic Federation of African Press Agencies).

Referring to the turnover of MAP, the Secretary General reported an increase of 6% in 2019 compared to 2018, adding that on average, the turnover recorded a 5% year-on-year increase since 2014.

Between 2014 and 2019, the total growth in turnover was 26%, he pointed out.

Afterwards, the Board of Directors approved the annual and financial reports of MAP for the 2019 financial year, which was marked by the recruitment of 58 people, a huge training effort through MAP-Academy, which involved 386 employees who have taken at least one training course.

Presenting the main axes of the 2021 action plan, the Secretary General focused on the launch of “MAP Institute”, a Think Tank dedicated to media studies, their development, their audience, their digital transformation and their economic model.

This structure also integrates the international dimension of MAP, through its collaboration with professional organizations of which the Agency is a member, on issues related to strategies and organizational models, he said.

A periodical review, entitled “Media and Society”, which includes contributions collected from the Institute’s partners, will be published, and a website dedicated to the general public will be launched to contribute to the animation of the public debate. In this context, an annual symposium will also be organized, bringing together researchers, academics, press, communication and media professionals in order to discuss the latest studies, ideas and have feedback, said MAP Secretary General.

Among the flagship projects of the 2021 action plan is DIB NEWS, a website for young people (between 15 and 35 years old), aimed mainly at an urban population. The website communicates with an informal tone but with high quality video expression. It deals with modern subjects close to young people, he explained, adding that the objective of this project is to offer to young people their share of public service and to allow young creators to get their chance.

DIB is a laboratory for the TV of tomorrow through videos of 3 minutes maximum to reveal the perception that young people have of their environment, he noted.

Among the 2021 projects is the strengthening of the satellite services activity of the MAP, he underlined, noting that MAP plans to acquire 2 to 3 DSNG units which will be lighter compared to those acquired in 2016 in order to be able to be deployed quickly and respond to off-road commands.

Since the launch of MAP’s audiovisual service on the web, the Agency has invested in a segment of the market that suffered from a vacuum, as the 2016-2017 study has already stated, namely the creation of continuous news television, the diversification of informational programs and the improvement of the quality of programs and presentations, he stressed.

He also mentioned the project of the production of TV and Radio studios, the extension of audiovisual production storage, the extension of the number of Media Asset Management users and the implementation of an antenna traffic management solution.

In 2021, it is also a question of supporting projects to upgrade equipment, in particular the development and equipment of relay studios in the regional centers of Fez, Oujda, Marrakech, Tangier and Casablanca, to upgrade resources of recording as part of the annual “revolving”, transformation of the “Mustapha Khaoudi” conference room into a studio set with public presence, in addition to strengthening the presence on the web.

Regarding the 2021 budget, Boumhil said the expenses of MAP for this year will be around 318 MDH of which 205 MDH will be spent on staff costs.

To carry out all its projects, MAP, whose workforce has fallen by 11% since 2012, needs during the current year an additional workforce estimated at 171 people, he said, adding that in this context, the Agency will have recourse to outsourcing in order to fill the equivalent of 100 positions, through the acquisition of content through the use of freelance purchase contract (text, image, video, sound, etc.), the co-production of an information program with external professionals who provide expertise in this field and the outsourcing of part of the administrative management and in particular basic accounting treatment.

In 2021, MAP also has an ambitious training plan in audiovisual professions, new content formats, the development of managerial skills and MAP-Academy platform, Boumhil added.

Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Chakib Laaroussi, representing the Royal Office, congratulated MAP for having increased its vigilance in the context of the health crisis linked to the novel Coronavirus, and mobilized its networks to provide 24/7 information that is responsible, credible and rigorous. This mobilization helped to Morocco’s image to shine even over under the leadership of HM King Mohammed VI.

Laaroussi underlined the need to strengthen the presence of MAP in Western and Eastern Asia, through the establishment of a large Asia pole covering the major capitals of this continent.

For his part, Nourredine Khnijer, representative of the ministry of Economy and Finance, noted that the ministry was keen to increase the subsidy granted to MAP by 25% to allow the Agency to fund its action plan.

Khnijer highlighted the “professional quality” of relations between the ministry and MAP, stressing that his department is “fully aware” of the importance of the work and of the ambitious and dynamic action plan of the Agency.

He also expressed the willingness of the ministry of Economy and Finance to support the deployment and implementation of the MAP strategy and action plan.

For his part, Mr. Hachimi Idrissi welcomed the support of the members of the Board of Directors and partners of MAP, in particular the ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and the ministry of the Economy, Finance and Administrative Reform, to the projects launched by MAP as well as their availability to support the Agency’s efforts to strengthen the diversification of its products.

MAP Director General also stressed the need to strengthen the presence of MAP on the Asian continent where the Agency already has three correspondents in New Delhi, Beijing and Jakarta. He noted, in this context, that MAP intends to take advantage of the cooperation agreements concluded with several Asian press agencies to develop its network in this important region.

Hachimi Idrissi also underlined the need to proceed to the relocation to other regions of the Kingdom of some structures of the agency in Rabat. This proposal was approved by the Board of Directors.

Speaking at the end of the meeting, the minister of Culture, Youth and Sports referred to the unpaid debts by the Department of Communication, proposing to this end to study this question at the level of technical commissions.

Regarding the project to launch the exploitation of the M24 and RIM Radio platforms, the minister said that he had requested a consultation with the General Secretariat of the Government to identify the articulation and the implementation of the TNT broadcasting of this media project with the legislation in force.