ECHOES OF THE WORLD CLIMATE DISCUSSION IN THE DISCOURSE OF MOROCCAN INDEPENDENT MEDIA

The article is an attempt to present the response drawn in the Arabic independent media by the world discussion on the figure of the Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, Time magazine’s Person of the Year for 2019. Using the tools for discourse analysis, the research focuses mainly on the way the activist’s image is created in the context of the social role assumed by the Internet press media as news publishers, covering the plane of language, transmitting ideas and social interactions. Articles from the Moroccan Internet journal Hespress (for several years one of the most often visited website among the Moroccan e-community), come from the period from 27 September to 29 December 2019, were used as the research material. on changes, in response the by the girl Greta in the consequences of

A PERSON, A NAME, OR PERHAPS SOMETHING MORE? BACKGROUND, TEXT CORPUS AND RESEARCH METHOD The figure of Greta Thunberg, born in Stockholm in 2003, a climate protection activist, Time magazine's Person of the Year for 2019 and nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, has been stirring up much controversy in the world media in recent months. She has been accused of being manipulated and indoctrinated by her parents and criticized for her radicalism and immaturity (see i.a. Caldwell 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/02/opinion/climatechange-greta-thunberg.html). As noticed by the blogger and commentator on political life Galopujący Major in an interview with Agnieszka Wiśniewska (Wiśniewska 2019, https:// krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/prawica-ma-jezyk-lewica-dyskurs-galopujacy-major/), in the Polish media discourse the name Thunberg has begun to function as a kind of "metaword" containing a number of separate meanings used by political players for their own purposes. This article is a brief analysis of the media discourse on the figure of Greta Thunberg appearing on in the Moroccan Internet journal Hespress (https://www.hespress.com/) and an attempt to answer the question whether the above-mentioned world discussion has drawn any response in the Arabic media, and if so, what this response is. The subject of the analysis is press news appearing in the Arabic-language information portal Hespress.com. Articles from the archives of the Internet journal containing the name Thunberg come from the period from 27 September to 29 December 2019.
The independent portal hespress.com, established in 2007 in two language versions, Arabic and French, 1 in 2017 appeared among four Moroccan websites which for the first time found themselves at the top of a ranking of the most frequently visited websites (Examens De L'OCDE Sur La Gouvernance Publique 2019: 91). Since then, it has been continuously ranking highly there next to such websites as Google, Facebook, YouTube, Chouftv.ma and Moroccan sports website Kooora.com (Alexa Traffic Rank. Top Sites in Morocco. Retrieved from https:// www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/MA), becoming one of the opinion-forming Internet media.
In the conducted considerations the discourse is perceived through van Dijk's approach (van Dijk 2001) as a negotiating process which functions on the levels of speech (use of language), communication (transmission of ideas) and cognitive processes (interaction in social situations). Taking discourse as a complex phenomenon whose meaning cannot be considered outside of socio-cultural contexts (Gajda 2005: 8; van Dijk 2001: 41;and others), the article begins with a brief presentation of Morocco's climate policy. Then, the analysis, in the lexical, morphological and syntactic layers, deals with the methods of linguistic image creation applied by the authors of press notes, which are used for building the meanings. The considerations focus on three basic perspectives on showing the character: Greta as supporting character, Greta as an activist icon, Greta and her opponents. The conclusions presented in the final part show the dynamics of the image development of the Swedish activist and raise the issues of the presence of Moroccan media in the global climate discourse, at the same time being an attempt at analysis of the role, potential intentions and pragmatic goals of the publisher of Hespress.com as the sender of the message.

OFFICIAL CLIMATE POLICY OF MOROCCO
Since the 1990s Morocco, which cooperates closely with its world strategic partners, has been strongly emphasising in the international arena its involvement in climate policy. The commitments taken at the Earth Summits in Rio de Janeiro (1992) and Johannesburg (2002) resulted in devising a strategy of sustainable development, which -as we can read on the official websites of the Ministry of Environment (http://www.environnement.gov.ma/fr/ strategies-et-programmes) -focused on the 'balance between the environmental, economic and social dimensions'. The National Charter for Environment and Sustainable Development became its indicator, the guidelines of which were presented personally by the King of Morocco Mohammed VI in his speech on the occasion of Throne Day 2 on 30 July 2009, honouring the tenth anniversary of his enthronement. The strategy was included in sector reforms and became more specific, as we read further on, through a 'number of national initiatives, that is energy policy, including energy efficiency, water saving, sustainable solid and liquid waste management and the national initiative of social development'.
As a part of those activities, among others the Moroccan Climate Plan (PCM) and the National System for Inventorying Greenhouse Gas Emission (SNIGES) were created, the Green Morocco Plan was launched in the agricultural sector 3 , and a strategy of waste processing was developed.
Morocco, according to official sources [http://mapecology.ma/actualites/lexperiencemaroc-matiere-de-protection-de-lenvironnement-mise-panama/], 'set itself the goal of meeting 52% of the demand for electric energy from clean energy by 2030', initiating projects such as wind farms and solar power plants (including in particular "Noor I" and "Noor-Ouarzazate"), which would help reduce the emission of greenhouse gas by the intended 30%.
It is also worth noting that Morocco became one of the signatories of the Paris Agreement, and in October 2016 the United Nations Climate Change Conference was held in Marrakesh.

A SECONDARY CHARACTER?
Among eight press releases from the electronic archives of Hespress magazine where the figure of Greta Thunberg appears, six of them mention the activist's name while relating or commenting on other events. Two of them, the oldest ones, are connected with the topic of climate strikes.
The Both releases come from "Nature and Science" bulletin but they refer strictly to local news. They show little attention to biographic detail (Danish nationality is provided by mistake) and graphemic instability of anthroponym reflected in the inconsistent transcription of her name -Arabic ‫ثانبرغ‬ or ‫.تونبرغ‬ Apart from the information on her origin -which in this case if more informative rather than evaluative in character -both texts show lexical reference to the character's young age when the Arabic lexeme ‫طفلة‬ is used -meaning 'a child-girl', 'female person who is a child' (see ‫,طفل‬ https://www.almaany.com/ar/dict/ar-ar/%D8%B7%D9%81%D9%84%D8%A9/). The appearance of the character of Thunberg requires additional explanation each time, which is realized at the syntactic level by the use of subordinate clauses. The figure of Greta is, however, defined most of all by showing her leadership role in the organisation of the climate strike. She is primarily a reference point for the actions of local activists, and includes them in the course of international events.
In slightly later world news, the name Thunberg appears again in the context of her proclimate activity. In a comment on the election in Switzerland The Greens make historic gains in the Swiss election ‫سويسرا ( This time Thunberg is already directly referred to as 'activist' ‫,الناشطة‬ a lexeme showing special involvement in the social movement. Both releases are informative in nature, and the figure of Thunberg appears in the reporter's format for presenting facts. However, in an article of 28 September 2019 on the climate strike entitled Great demonstration of support for the climate goes along the streets of Montreal ‫مونتريال(‬ ‫شوارع‬ ‫تجوب‬ ‫المناخ‬ ‫لدعم‬ ‫ضخمة‬ ‫,تظاهرة‬ https:// www.hespress.com/international/445680.html), which cites the news of the AFP Agency, Greta Thunberg is already the main character. The introductory paragraph already presents the figure of the activist: Similarly to the previous releases, Greta is described as a "Swedish environmental activist"; she is, however, for the first time called directly a "symbol of political struggle". In the initial part of the article the figure of Greta comes to the fore, definitely dominating the facts which directly document the title event. Her presence lends significance to the event. At the same time, the facts described in the linguistic aspect in quantitative expressions as well as using evaluative adjectives ('laud', 'historical') build Greta's position. Greta's image is seen from the angle of the description of the consequences of her actions and the scale of their influence. Most of all, however, the figure is defined by her own statements, which are quoted in the text (direct speech). Greta poses in them as a participant in a mass movement, one of many people connected by a common idea, which can be seen in the use of the first person plural form of verbs and pronouns (we are, our). The rightness of her actions is reinforced by the words of support expressed by one of the participants in the march: Again, we find a reference to the activist's young age, which this time is combined with a description of her achievements, expending on the title phrase (student driving a locomotive). Thunberg now appears as more mature through the use of the Arabic lexeme ‫:فتاة‬ 'girl, young woman' (see https://www.almaany.com/ar/dict/ar-ar/%D9%81%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%A9/), consistent in her actions, a fighter for climate affairs who speaks freely with her own voice. The leader's image is emphasised by expressions marked with political stylistics (take over world leadership, mission). The process of the development of Greta's personality is built on the level of text composition by two juxtaposed paragraphs, based on the opposition of the past and the present: The contrast is accented by the opposition of the Arabic adjectives ‫المدرسي‬ and ‫عالمي‬ ('school' and 'global'). The process of development is also highlighted by the numerical selection of data: This time, they are not limited only to the description and assessment of facts, but they are also in the character of forecasts or even recommendations.
The article adds point to another contrasting juxtaposition of present and future facts, linking the whole text. [Thunberg will celebrate her seventeenth birthday on January 3, and on September 20, 2020, two years will have passed since she protested in front of the Swedish parliament for the first time.
But a couple of days earlier, on August 17, summer vacation will have come to an end in Stockholm. After her one-year break from school, during which she crossed the Atlantic Ocean in both directions, almost won a Nobel prize, started a global protest movement, and was named the Person of the Year by the United States news magazine Time, Thunberg decided to go back to school.]

GRETA AND HER OPPONENTS
Naming Greta Thunberg a "symbol of political struggle", as cited above, does not only place her in the role of a "fighter for a cause" -the word "struggle" suggests the presence of opponents.
In the article discussed entitled Great demonstration of support for the climate goes along the streets of Montreal (https://www.hespress.com/international/445680.html) representatives of the governmental circles of Canada, who are criticised by Thunberg, appear as her opponents. The way the facts presented are interpreted is clearly indicated by the adverb "cleverly" in describing the activist's response.
The rise of controversies around the figure of Thunberg is noted by the authors of the feature Icon of climate (https://www.hespress.com/sciences-nature/454681.html). The name Thunberg becomes an element of an implicature of a kind, which requires the knowledge of the current social context in order to be interpreted correctly.

CONCLUSIONS
The image of Thunberg is evolving dynamically along with changing social circumstances and her growing role in the international arena -from the 'Swedish girl', an organiser of the school strike, through the 'activist' of the climate movement up to 'global icon'. A reflection of the changes in the character presentation are linguistic devices, such as the appearance of nouns denoting the subsequent stages of physical, mental and social development, more frequent use of marked adjectives, the appearance of the Thunberg person first in the rheme and then in the theme of the speech (which also translates into sentence syntax). The surname 'Thunberg' -initially requiring some explanation, begins to function as a known one, and reference to biographical facts which are not explicitly indicated does not disturb the transparency of the text. The character image change is influenced not only by the language of the press releases, but also by their form -from short notes to extended columns with their diverse narrative form.
The name of Greta Thunberg appears in the Internet Moroccan journal Hespress, both in original articles, signed with the names of magazine correspondents, as well as in news based on the accounts of world news agencies. The discourse of Hespress reproduces the common context of the news appearing on Greta Thunberg, associating her name with activity for climate protection. The Hespress discourse is somehow a cliché of Western media rhetoric, but in only one of its aspects.
On the international scene, Greta's figure is depicted in the positive convention of support for the activist's actions, both through her direct description, as well as reference to the views she propagates. What draws attention in Greta's image is her young age, which contrasts with her mature views, courageous statements, consistent actions and significance of her achievements. Examples of context judgement (description of facts, quoted statements) constitute an inherent element of image creation. The echoes of the controversies aroused in the world discussion appear most of all in the reporting convention, informing third parties of facts and views. Here again it is clear that the authors definitely favour the activist both directly, which is mainly visible in the lexical aspect, when marked expressions are used, and indirectly, which shows among others in text composition when the actions and statements of Greta and her opponents are contrasted.
In the context of local news, Greta's figure motivates events, authorising in a way the actions of activists.
The texts presented in Hespress seem to be not only informative but most of all intentional in nature. And it is not merely about promoting the idea of environmental protection, an idea that fits into the image of modern society (see 'Correlation Function of Mass Media', McQuail 1994: 79). We can expect that such an explicit presentation of the activist's image suits the speaker's role of an independent source of information, which is sensitive to current social dilemmas and, most of all, opposes the broadly defined "system". This could of course raise questions about the condition of the independent press in Arab countries.
In the report on media freedom in Morocco Les Médias En Ligne Au Maroc Et Le Journalisme Citoyen: Analyse Des Principales Limites À Un Environnement Favorable (2017: 12) Jesús García Luengos and Laurence Thieux note that some online media 'like Lakome 2, Le Desk, Badil or even Hespress', are considered by several experts as "independent", while others state they are actually not.
In reality, these press articles with definite "educational implications", despite containing elements of criticism of power, do not conflict with official government policy. The criticism of power is basically a critique of global mechanisms, and not criticism of the rulers of the country. It indicates global problems affecting developed and developing countries and makes them aware of the need to solve them quickly. Official state policy also goes in this direction.
Interestingly, the comments of Internet users placed under one of the articles show a more polarised assessment of the figure of Greta, suggesting -similarly to the main trends in the world criticism -that she has been manipulated, or accusing the activist of pursuing a career. The assessment of the public and analysis of feedback remains, however, an issue for further research.