The 11th Festival of Amazigh Culture ~ Fez, 24-26 July

This year's Festival of Amazigh (Berber) Culture is the eleventh edition. It takes place in Fez between the 24th and 26th of July

Amazigh women performing at the 2012 Amazigh Festival (photo: Sandy McCutcheon)

The Festival is organised by La Fondation Esprit de Fes, The Fes-Sais Association, the North South Centre and in partnership with l"institut Royal de la Culture Amazigh and the BMCE Foundation.

The Festival is a World Congress on the theme of "An Alliance of Cultures and Religions for Peace".

The festival will feature a special tribute to Mr Ahmed Tawfiq. Al-Tawfiq is the Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs in Morocco. He is a strong supporter of Sufi groups. He is a writer for the Moroccan Association for authorship, publications and translation as well as the Vice President of the Moroccan institution for historical research.

Al-Tawfiq is an advocate of interfaith dialogue and is currently on the Board of World Religious Leaders for The Elijah Interfaith Institute.Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs

Provisional programme

Friday, July 24
17: 00: Opening of the Congress and Festival Speeches
18: 45 Reception and Exhibition Tour
21: 30: Place Bab Makina - Musical Evening with Lenacay Flamenco (Spain) and Khadija Atlas and Latifa Raafat.

Lenacay is an experimental music project that fuses flamenco and different languages ​​of musical expression. It´s an innovative journey through time that runs from flamenco roots and culture, to electronic beats, rumba melodies and rhythm patterns, funky bass-lines and electric guitars.

Saturday, July 25
9: 00-9:30  Room 1 - Inaugural speech: Celebrating Diversity: Amazigh in the Wider African Context. Kwesi Prah (Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society, Cape Town, South Africa). Moderator: Fatima Sadiqi
9: 30-12: 30 Room 2 - Workshop Tifinagh Alphabet Powered by IRCAM
9: 30-10: 50 Room 1 - First Session: Amazigh and Alliance of Cultures and Religions: Civilisational Dimension. Moderator: Ahmed Boukous.
Speakers: Madina Toure (University of Nouakchot), Mamadou Lamine Sall (Dakar University), Mohand Tilmatine (University of Cadiz), Ines Kohl (Academy of Sciences, Austria), Maddy Weiseman (USA)
10: 50- 11: 20 Debate
11: 20-11: 35  Coffee Break
11: 35- 1:35 p.m. Room 2 - Parallel Session: MUSIC WORKSHOP Abdellatif Abatani
11: 35-12: 55  Room 1-Second session: socio-cultural representations of cultures and religions in the Maghreb.  Moderator: Moha Ennaji
Speakers: Kenbib Mohamed (Mohamed V University), Abdu Filali-Ansari (London), Moha Ennaji (INLAC, Fez), Nathalie Fave (Canada), Azzedine Layachi (St John University, New York)
12:55 - 13: 25 Debate
15: 00-16: 15 Room 1 - Roundtable on the theme "Culture, Identity and writing" Moderator: Fatima Sadiqi.
Speakers: Abdelkader Benali (Amsterdam), Laila Laalami (Moroccan writer), Fouad Laroui (Amsterdam), Mohamed Berrada (Paris), Moha Souag (Writer maroain) Maati Kabbal (Paris)
16: 15-16: 30 Coffee Break
16:30 - 17: 15  Room 1 - Poetry readings. Moderator: Hassan Hjjij
17: 45-19: 00  Projection
21: 30: Place Bab Makina Musical Evening
Amazigh Symphony, Salh Lbacha, Aicha Maya

Aicha Maya

Sunday, July 26
9: 00-10: 20 Room 1- Third session: Alliance of cultures and religions Development. Moderator: El El Mujahid Husain
Speakers: Abdellah Hammoudi (Princeton), Mohamed Benaissa (Morocco), François Gérard Dumont (Sorbonne), Mohammed Ould Mohammed (University of Nouakchot), Youssef Sawani (University of Tripoli)
10: 20 - 10:50 Debate
10: 50 - 11:05 Coffee break
11: 05-12: 05 - Fourth Session: Alliance of cultures and religions for peace and coexistence Moderator: Laila Shahid
Speakers Bassam Tibi (USA) Saad Eddin Ibrahim (Egypt) Barbara Ibrahim (Egypt) Chahlane Mohamed (Morocco) Bishop of Rabat (Morocco) Raymond Guigui (Morocco)
12:05 - 12: 35 Debate
12:35 Recommendations and Closure
17: 00-20: 00 Tour of the Medina (optional)
9:30 p.m.: Place Bab Makina - Musical Evening with Clara Conti (Italy), Nadia Laaroussi and Tagrawla (Algeria)

"La Princess de Chaabi" ~ Nadia Laaroussi

There is no entry fee to any part of the festival or concerts. If you are visiting come from outside Fez, the organisers can help you get a reduced hotel price or rooms at the youth hostel.



SHARE THIS!