Fes Festival of World Sacred Music 2008

Always first with news of the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music, The View from Fez can confirm that the dates for the 2008 event are Friday 6 to Saturday 14 June.

While the programme has yet to be announced, the theme of the Festival will be Chemins de la Creation, which could translate into English as Pathways of Creation or Pathways of Creativity - we await clarification. But such a theme will give rise to plenty of interesting debate and form the foundation of a stimulating programme of music, culture and the arts across the spectrum.

New Director General
The View from Fez reported at the beginning of August that the Director General of the Spirit of Fes Foundation that organises the Fes Festival, Naima Tagemaouti, had resigned after less than one year on the job. Her appointment followed the resignation of the founder and first Director General of the Sacred Music Festival, Faouzi Skali, who now runs his own annual Sufi Culture Festival in Fes which will take place in April 2008. The search has been on ever since for someone to take Naima's place. Fatima Sadiqi fits the bill and was appointed in September though this has only recently been common knowledge.



Fatima Sadiqi is Professor of Linguistics and Gender Studies and has been affiliated to Harvard University since 2006. Well-known for her work on Moroccan languages and women's issues, she is also a familiar face at the Arabic Language Institute in Fez where she's a lecturer.

She's been a Fulbright Scholar at four US universities and founded the first graduate unit of Gender Studies in Morocco. Fatima founded the Centre for Studies and Research on Women at the University of Fez and is currently President and Founder of the ISIS Center for Women & Development. Fatima's husband Moha Naji runs the National Festival of Amazigh Culture. Learn more at www.fatimasadiqi.on.ma.

Gerard Kurdjian Returns to Fez

2008's Festival also sees the return of Gerard Kurdjian as Artistic Director. He held this position from the start of the Sacred Music Festival in 1996 until he was replaced in 2006 by Cherif Khaznadar. Gerard is a popular member of the festival team and is sure to receive a warm welcome.

Find further information on the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music at www.fesfestival.com and on the Fes Festival of Sufi Culture at www.par-chemins.org.

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