THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF FES POSTPONED

The first edition of the Fes International Film Festival (FIFF), initially scheduled for November 13-17, has been postponed until February 2019

"The postponement is due to the desire to give ourselves the means and the time necessary to ensure a good preparation for this event," says the association of the International Film Festival of Fez, the main initiator of this cultural event.

It is also to give a "good visibility to the festival, since the initial date coincides with the organisation of major film events at the national level".

The festival aspires to reinforce the cultural animation in Fez and to contribute to the revitalisation of Moroccan film production and the promotion of the national film industry.

The organisers intend to have a number of activities, including the screening of some thirty international films, short and feature films, as well as documentaries, in addition to awarding prizes to the best artistic works.

This festival will constitute a space for exchange and dialogue between different cultures  and a suitable opportunity for the training of students and moviegoers, through workshops supervised by professionals and filmmakers, to help them develop their artistic talents.

This film event also aims to contribute to strengthening the cultural influence of Fez alongside other major cultural and artistic events of the city, including the festival World Sacred Music, the Festival of Sufi Culture and the festival of Amazigh Culture.

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Provisional Programme of the Fez Festival of Sufi Culture

Fes Festival of Sufi Culture - Provisional programmeProgramme prévisionnel : ce programme peut être sujet à modifications

All round tables will be in the Bouinania Medrassa. Evening concerts at Jnan Sbil Gardens except for the last two nights which will be at Bab Al Makina

Samedi 20 Octobre 2018
Ouverture officielle du Festival suivie d’une création artistique : « Odes aux femmes mystiques »
Avec : Bahaa Ronda, Carole Latifa, Leili Anvar, Françoise Atlan, les femmes de Chefchaoun

Dimanche 21 Octobre 2018
10h – 12h: Table ronde : « Le Soufisme : un paradigme de civilisation »
15h- 17h : Table ronde : « Le Soufisme au féminin »
20h :Tariqa Boutchichiya

Lundi 22 Octobre 2018
10h – 12h: Table ronde: El Andalous : un creuset de rencontres mystiques, l’influence d’Ibn Abbad
15h- 17h : Table ronde : « La Tijaniya et l’Islam africain »
20h-20h45 : Première partie concert : « Leili Anvar : Récital mystique et poétique »
21h15 : Tariqa Sqalliya

Mardi 23 Octobre 2018
10h – 12h : Table ronde: « Les hauts lieux du Soufisme »
15h- 17h : Table ronde : « Penser le spirituel »
20h 15 :Tariqa Sharqawiya

Mercredi 24 Octobre 2018
10h – 12h: Table ronde : « Soufisme et Art contemporain »
15h- 17h : Table ronde :« Ibn Abbad Ar-Roundi et le modèle de la spiritualité maroco-andalouse »
20h00 :Tariqa Rissouniya

Jeudi 25 Octobre 2018
10h – 12h : Table ronde : « Les mausolées de Tambouctou »
15h- 17h : « Soufi Mon Amour » avec: Hassan El Jaî et Haroun
20h : Tariqa Wazzaniya

Vendredi 26 Octobre 2018
10h – 12h : Table ronde : Le Soufisme aujourd’hui : vers la création d’un patrimoine culturel vivant
15h- 17h : Table ronde : «Soufisme et coaching: le Soufisme au cœur de l’action »
20h : Concert : « Ensemble Al Firdaus de Grenade – Ali Keeler et Marouane Hajji»

Samedi 27 Octobre 2018
10h – 12h : Table ronde : Synthèse des tables rondes
20h00 :Derviches et chants spirituels du Châm

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Trump Advises Spain on Stopping Migrants

Just when you think the world couldn't get any weirder, the online news site L'Observateur reports on President Trump's incredible advice to the Spanish on how to stop illegal migrants

US President Donald Trump recently suggested to Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell that Spain should building a "wall along the Sahara" to curb illegal immigration.

However, Josep Borrell was not convinced and told a public luncheon in  Madrid this week,"Closing ports is not a solution and building a wall along the Sahara, as President Trump recently suggested to me, is not a solution either".

The former president of the European Parliament went on to say that the US president had told him "make a wall along the Sahara".

"But do you know how big the Sahara is?" the Spanish minister said in response to Trump.

The wall that Donald Trump wants to build on the Mexican border to prevent the entry of illegal immigrants in the United States would measure him 3,200 kilometres and would cost up to 20 billion dollars (17 billion euros), according to some estimates.

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Achoura - Sunni festivities and Shiite commemoration

The 10th of Muharram, the first month of the year of the Hegira, is a day of celebration among Moroccan families. Dried fruits, toys and new clothes for children are part of  Achoura. For young people and at dusk, it is also an opportunity to light a fire, dance and sing.

Ashura is considered in several countries, particularly in the Middle East where the Shiite community is strongly present, as a day of sadness. Indeed, the day of Ashura is for the Shiites an occasion for the commemoration of the massacre of Imam Al-Hussein, son of Ali ibn Abi Talib and his family in Karbala in Iraq in 680.

In Morocco, the commemoration of Al Hussein's death boils down to certain songs of a religious nature, but it is above all synonymous with joy and celebration. In addition, Moroccan families buy dates, dried fruits and sweets for visitors, family members, neighbours and especially children.

Achoura is also an opportunity to receive gifts and toys: water pistols, Moroccan musical instruments such as "Bendir", a drum on a frame with fingers or "Taarija", a smaller version of the darbouka, also called doumbek and which is a single-headed drum.

When night falls, Moroccans light a fire and gather around, singing special Achoura songs.

In southern Morocco, some people do not cook and wear black on the tenth day of Muharram. Some of them light a fire while others wet their clothes with water to commemorate the fact that Al-Hussein died while being thirsty. Achoura marks a painful incident that Moroccans have resumed with different forms of celebration. It's an essential part of the culture

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Exhibition by Jess Stephens in October

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Moulay Yacob Thermalia Spa Hotel Opens

The new Vichy Thermalia Spa Hotel was opened last night at Moulay Yacob, 21 kilometres from Fez - Suzanna Clarke reports for The View From Fez

Located 21 kilometres north of Fez, Moulay Yacoub has had thermal baths for centuries. With a high mineral content, they are particularly used to treat medical conditions such as rheumatism and respiratory problems.

The old spa facilities at Moulay Yacoub have been stylishly refurbished and now include a 4,000 square meter thermal center and spa, as well as a four star hotel with 100 rooms. The hotel offers an outdoor swimming pool heated to 34 degrees celcius all winter. There is also a new restaurant, Le Minéral, featuring healthy gourmet cuisine and a bar, Celestins.

Vichy General Manager Jerome Phelipeau

A cocktail party was held to celebrate the opening, and the general manager of Vichy, Jerome Phelipeau, welcomed the new hotel to the prestigious group.

Vichy Thermalia General Manager Chrisophe Roux

The manager general manager of Vichy Thermalia, Christophe Roux, says that the re-development has taken more than a year and a half, and he is delighted by the results.

For more information, CLICK HERE. 

Photos and story: Suzanna Clarke

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Finnish pianist Laura Mikkola to give concert in Rabat

Laura Mikkola is the winner of several international competitions (Second Prize and Audience Award at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Belgium, First Prize and Audience Award at the International Unisa Transnet Piano Competition in Pretoria (RSA)), and in her career so far has performed more than 67 piano concertos.

After a few years in Rome, Laura Mikkola and her family settled in Paris where she appeared as soloist with several regional and national orchestras.

Since 2003, she has become the founder and artistic director of the Musical Festival of Iitti, Finland. She has recorded for Naxos and Aeon among others, works by Mozart, Shostakovich, Rautavaara, Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Saint-Saens, Matthews and Tüür.

The chamber music concert will take place on Thursday, September 20, 2018 at 7:30 pm at the Villa des Arts in Rabat. On this occasion, Laura Mikkola will perform great classics, including Chopin ballads and pieces by Sibelius and Debussy.

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Through The Peacock Gate Now Available In Fez

Good news for those readers waiting for a copy of Through The Peacock Gate. It is now available, not just on line, but from the bookshop at the American Language Center in Fez.

Through the Peacock Gate

The novel is a rare example of contemporary English fiction drawing on traditional Moroccan folklore. Written in gripping English prose fused with Arabic words, the novel gives an authentic insight into a Westerner’s experience of modern Moroccan society, whilst simultaneously exposing the reader to the country’s rich cultural history by weaving classic Moroccan folk takes and the mysteries of Sufism into its fabric. The book not only explores the point where East and West merge but the collision of the human world with the world of the djinns – mysterious shape-shifting creatures of an unseen realm.

“Sandy McCutcheon’s latest novel Through the Peacock Gate is the kind of book those of us who live between Occident and Orient have waited an entire lifetime to read. The interleaving layers, the quality of the prose and, most of all, the raw bedrock of cultural knowledge on which it is founded, makes this an invaluable handbook to the mysteries and complexities of Eastern lore. Its pages conjure the mesmerizing, magical heart of secret Morocco.” - Tahir Shah, author of The Caliph's House

Ken Haley Review: Through the Peacock Gate – one of the best books to come my way this year (and I’ve notched up nearly fifty with a third of the year gone, so this is not stinting praise) – is just the book for you if that long-planned escape from an Antipodean winter to Mediterranean climes isn’t going to eventuate this year. The purchase price of getting Sandy McCutcheon’s latest novel shipped from Britain is far less than the cost of sending yourself in the opposite direction, even in the age of the discount airfare.

What’s that you say? You’re not an armchair traveller? Pity. Maybe I could interest you in a tale of spirituality in the so-called 21st century? Of how the present is haunted by the past, of how everything you see and do is not everything there is, not the half of it? Of how the wisdom of the Sufi, a sect that has fascinated and scandalised mainstream Islam for centuries, can inhabit a man transplanted from traditionally Catholic Ireland? …

All right, I can tell a choosy reader when I come across one. I see you’re not interested in romances that rhyme moon and majoun (edible cannabis – aha, now I have your attention!) any more than you revel in tales of djinns and Madonnas (living in the materialist world, as you do). If it’s the delightful tickle of lust you’re after, don’t soil your hands with the postmodern equivalent of a penny dreadful: come hither behind the latticework of traditional Moroccan houses in the medina of Fez (where paradoxically you can be high in the Middle Atlas), and not only will you find yourself entranced by a maiden worthy of Nabokov’s pen, you will find the unlikeliest devotee of the Russian-American master waiting to conduct you on a literary tour when your passion for the physical is sated.

While on passions Nabokovian, this is also a work that no lepidopterist’s library should be without.

Ah, but you don’t order books on the wing! Fair enough. Perhaps political thrillers with overtones of 20th-century revolutionary zeal are more to your taste. When painting a tantalisingly foreshadowed encounter with the Shining Path guerrilla movement in the jungles of Peru, McCutcheon’s prose is as pellucid and gripping as Greene’s (think Our Man in Havana).

Then again, if psychology’s your thing, you should dive into these pages for the sensation of losing touch with (or should that be discovering?) reality, sanity and such states so reduced to the conventional in everyday discourse that they’re taken for granted even when least understood.

Or find enough food for thought here to underwrite a philosophical banquet.

On yet another tack, if you’re looking for the last Beat novel to make it into print, this may be it – William S. Burroughs without the drugs.

Lauren Crabbe's Review: McCutcheon has penned a literary equivalent of Schrödinger’s cat, and done so with alternating wry efficiency and achingly beautiful prose that’s engaging to read as it is mind-bending to comprehend. As I’m lucky enough to be in Fez at the time of reading, it was all I could do not to take off down the Medina in the middle of the night in search of the supernatural – threat of possession by djinns be damned.

The onset of mystery is slow, veiled by a deceptively simple premise: the main character, Richard (an alias), returns to Fez to find his house (or dar) robbed and gutted. After a brief detour into the vaults of his former life, he tentatively enlists the help of a local writer, Yazami, to find the men to repair it. From there, corners of a grander plot are meticulously doled out like sips of nus-nus left to cool down. Sometimes, they take the ghostly form of A’isha, a djinniya with a curious grudge who haunts Richard’s dar. Others appear as innocently as butterflies flapping their wings (Richard is a lepidopterist) before sudden twists blow through and flatten your sense of shrewdness. All orchestrate his gradual descent into madness – an intimidating portrayal, masterfully executed.

Through The Peacock Gate is available at the American Language Center Bookshop in Fez.
Amazon (USA,AUST,UK)
Beacon Books (Publisher) UK

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Should Moroccan Schools Teach Darija (Moroccan Arabic)?

If you think that the debate about choosing French or English is a vexed issue, think again. It is a storm in a teacup compared to the fight over including Moroccan Arabic in the school curriculum. After provoking fierce controversy, the question of teaching the Moroccan dialect (darija) at school has turned to defamation, outrage and insult

While Modern Standard Arabic is not spoken in daily life and is an exclusively written language used only for written government communications and in the written press, Darija-Arabic is an exclusively spoken language and has a strong presence in Moroccan television entertainment, cinema and commercial advertising and is the most commonly spoken language in daily life in the top 5 large cities of Morocco with over 21 million speakers.

Moroccan Arabic has many regional dialects and accents as well. Its mainstream dialect is the one used in Casablanca, Rabat and Fez and it dominates the media, eclipsing the other regional dialects.

Moroccan Arabic is spoken as a first language by about 50% to 75% of Morocco's population. The other half speaks the Berber language with one of its dialects. Educated Moroccan Berber-speakers can communicate in mainstream Moroccan Arabic and French or Spanish as well.

According to Wikipedia, Moroccan Arabic is one of the most innovative (in the technical sense of "least conservative") of all Arabic dialects. Moroccan Arabic continues to integrate new French words, mainly technological and modern words. However, in recent years, constant exposure to revived classical forms on television and in print media and a certain desire among many Moroccans for a revitalisation of an Arab identity has inspired many Moroccans to integrate words from Standard Arabic, replacing their French or Spanish counterparts or even speaking in Modern Standard Arabic while keeping the Moroccan accent to sound less pedantic. The phenomenon mostly occurs among literate people.

Though rarely written, Moroccan Arabic is currently undergoing an unexpected and pragmatic revival. It is now the preferred language in Moroccan chat rooms or for sending SMS, using Arabic Chat Alphabet composed of Latin letters supplemented with the numbers 2, 3, 5, 7 and 9 for coding specific Arabic sounds, as is the case with other Arabic speakers.

There exists some poetry written in Moroccan Arabic like the Malhun. In the 1970s the legendary Nass El Ghiwane band wrote beautiful and allusive lyrics in Moroccan Arabic that were very appealing to the youth even in other Maghreb countries.

Another interesting movement is the development of an original rap music scene, which explores new and innovative usages of the language.

However, despite the dominance of the language at the social level, the move to include it in textbooks has created a divisive reaction. Mohamed Younsi, writing for Kiosque360 reports that the debate launched and revived on the issue of the introduction of the Moroccan dialect in education has completely derailed, descending into insult, defamation and unbecoming behaviour that tarnish the image of the actors involved in this controversy.

Morocco’s Ministry of Education has defended a textbook with content written in Darija, saying that it is “purely for educational purposes.”

Images of multiple pages in Arabic primary school textbooks have caused social media uproar because they contain words used in Darija, the unwritten Moroccan dialect of Arabic, instead of pure standard Arabic.

The texts include names of Moroccan traditional clothing and dishes in Darija, such as “ghriyba” (a Moroccan cookie), “baghrir” (Moroccan crepes), and “briouat” (a sweet/savory puff pastry).

Despite the defence from the Ministry of Education, the head of government, Saad Eddine El Othmani, made a public statement against the use of Darija in school books for primary education. El Othmani made it clear that he believes Darija cannot be used in education. He said the government is ready to give up on school books with some Darija words after a consultation between the concerned parties.

El Othmani said the two official languages in Morocco are standard Arabic and Tamazight (Berber) as recognised by the Moroccan constitution.

The head of government, Saad Eddine El Othmani

For his part, Noureddine Ayouch has referred to his critics as “dogs.” Ayouch is a member of Morocco’s Supreme Council for Education, Training, and Scientific Research, is suffering a backlash after strongly defending the use of Darija in the Moroccan education system.

Some activists, scholars, academics, and sociologists have heavily criticised Ayouch’s belief that Darija should be included in the education system. In response, Ayouch said that “the dogs may bark but the caravan moves on.”

Noureddine Ayouch is a member of the Standing Committee on Curricula, Programs, Training and Didactic Tools of the Higher Council of Education, Training and Scientific Research (CSEFRS) has called his detractors as "dogs", reports the daily Al Ahdath Al Maghribia in its edition of Thursday, September 13th. "They are dogs that deserve no respect",he said. He argues that the use of Darija is not a danger to the Arabic language, and should facilitate student learning.

Noureddine Ayouch

For years, Ayouch has called on the government to include Darija in the education system and in 2016 Ayouch announced that he would launch the first online Darija dictionary in Morocco.

However, this approach provoked a virulent reaction by Salafist preacher Sheikh El Fizazi, who called Ayouch "ignorant"and working for a foreign lobby that encourages, supports and funds "this calamitous option with dramatic consequences".

Between the two blocks so diametrically opposed, the PJD MP Amina Maelainine, a member of the same Commission within the same Council, reacted by sending the ball back to the camp of the Higher Council of Education, Training and Research (CSEFRS) and the Ministry of National Education. "After marathon debates around the architecture of the language in the strategic vision of educational reform, there was no mention of the Moroccan dialect," she clearly decided and said that the Council did not have the competence to introduce the Darija in the teaching or to intervene in the school programs or in the edition of the manuals, specifying that this field concerns prerogatives of the Ministry of National Education.

Morocco is a multicultural country with a number of spoken languages and dialects, including Tamazight (Berber) and Hassani, a Sahrawi language. Will the new school books confuse students whose mother tongue is Hassani or Tamazight, not Darija? The Moroccan constitution only recognises Tamazight and standard Arabic. It may be time to change the constitution to include Darija - the language of the people.


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Morocco's law criminalising violence against women

Morocco's law criminalising violence against women has come into force. The law includes a ban on forced marriage, sexual harassment in public places, and tougher penalties for certain forms of violence

The law has been criticised by Human Rights Watch for not explicitly criminalising marital rape and lacking a precise definition of domestic violence.

A government survey found that 63% of women between the ages of 18-65 had been victims of violence.

Samira Raiss, one of the main Moroccan campaigners for a law criminalising violence against women, said: "We will not stop here. This law is an asset but it has shortcomings that we have to work on."

The law - known as the Hakkaoui law after Women's Minister Bassima Hakkaoui, who drafted it five years ago - has been criticised for requiring victims to file for criminal prosecution to obtain protection.

"We lack the appropriate tools to implement this law," Ms Raiss said. "In case of marital violence it is difficult to provide proof and we don't even have shelters for victims."

Morocco's new law on violence against women is a long time coming.

Its provisions include penalties ranging one to six months prison sentence to up to a $500 fine for cases of sexual harassment against women in the street and public spaces.

Human Rights Watch said the law has some positive aspects, "such as a definition of violence against women to mean 'any act based on gender discrimination that entails physical, psychological, sexual, or economic harm to a woman'."

But it contains "major gaps and flaws that leave women at risk of domestic violence, including a lack of provisions to finance the reforms," HRW says.

Bouthaina Karouri, a member of the parliamentary committee that drafted the law, says the law can be changed in the future to remedy any oversights.

"No law is perfect" Ms Karouri said.

"Its effectiveness will depend on the approach adopted by the police and the judicial body. As it goes into effect, it is normal to discover some gaps but they can be amended in the future."

Many went on social media, sharing the hashtag #JusticePourKhadija to describe their disgust and horror and calling on the authorities to take action.

In 2014, Morocco's parliament amended an article of the penal code that allowed rapists of underage girls to avoid prosecution by marrying their victims.


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Morocco's Renewable Energy - Update

As many countries in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region hurry to launch renewable energy schemes in order to benefit from cheap solar energy and boost their energy security in a time of regional and international volatility, Morocco is reaping the benefits of having established a clear regulatory framework that is attractive to international investors

With Morocco set to become the first in the region to produce more than 50% of its energy requirements from clean energy by 2030, the next challenge is to ensure it can use the renewables drive to establish a local supply chain and secure jobs and skills for its citizens.

Morocco’s push for renewables has been driven by its reliance on energy imports to fuel power plants, with more than 90% of its energy resources emanating from outside the country.

Its lack of easily recoverable hydrocarbons has led the country to set a target for 42% of its total power to come to come from renewables by 2020, and 52% by 2030 – one of the most ambitious clean energy targets in the world.

The kingdom has also been at the forefront of developing the independent power producer (IPP) model for large-scale utilities plants in North Africa.

In tandem with its ambitious power generation targets, Rabat is also seeking to improve energy efficiency throughout the supply and demand sides to ensure it maximises returns from its clean-energy programme.

Morocco’s installed capacity in 2017 was 9,085MW, a 10% increase on the previous year. The increase was largely due to the expansion of the Jerada coal-fired plant in the Oriental province.

Thermal power accounted for about 64% of the country’s total capacity in 2017, with natural gas and coal providing most of the feedstock for generation. However, the share of thermal power plants is expected to drop to 54.9% in 2025, with wind, hydro and solar accounting for the majority of the remaining reserves.

By 2030, solar and wind energy will both account for 19% of total generation capacity, with hydropower providing 14% of total electricity production.

With Morocco already having a sizable hydropower capacity – 1,773MW or 19.5% of total – it is targeting for its integrated Noor solar development to ensure it meets its 42% clean energy target by 2020.

The country’s solar projects are being driven by the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (Masen), formerly the Moroccan Solar Agency, which was set up in 2010 to lead the country’s solar programme.

In 2016, the government passed a new law giving the agency a mandate to oversee wind power projects in addition to solar schemes. Wind projects had previously been under the stewardship of state utility Office National de Electricitie et de l-Eau Potable.

Masen has focused its initial Noor solar programme at a site at Ouarzazate in the Southern central area of Morocco, with major concentrated solar power (CSP) projects being developed on an IPP basis through long-term build, own, operate and transfer concessions. Masen generally takes a 25% stake in the IPP projects, with the developer owning the remaining 75%.

The Noor solar development

The solar agency awarded the contract for its first major solar project, the 160MW Noor 1 CSP solar plant, in 2012 to a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power.

Morocco emerged as one of the region’s most exciting renewables markets in 2015 when it appointed Acwa Power to develop the 200MW Noor 2 and 150MW Noor 3 CSP plants, which will have a combined value of about $2bn.

The commissioning of the 160MW Noor 1 project in early 2016 preceded the signing of contracts for the country’s first photovoltaic (PV) solar project, the 170MW Noor PV 1. The Noor PV 1 programme will consist of three PV solar installations at Ouarzazate, Noor Laayoune and Noor Boujdour.

Acwa Power cemented its dominance in Morocco’s growing solar market when it was appointed for the country’s first PV scheme. The PV project contains the first green bond issuance in foreign currency in Morocco, with IFC and Proparco, a subsidiary of Paris-based Agence Française de Développement, entering their first green bond in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.

Acwa Power managed to extend its success into Morocco’s wind energy programme. The developer inaugurated the 120MW Khallidi wind farm in Tangier in July this year.

The 120MW Khallidi wind farm

The largest wind scheme currently under execution in Morocco is a 850MW wind programme being developed by Italy’s Enel Green in partnership with Germany’s Siemens and the local Nareva Holding. The consortium is developing five wind projects of different sites for an estimated total investment of $1.1bn, with all of the projects due to be online by the end of 2020.

Masen is also planning to award the contract for its first hybrid solar plants before the end of 2018. After receiving technical proposals from three groups in December, the solar body has set a deadline of 21 September for the three bidders to submit commercial proposals. Acwa Power is facing competition from French developers EDF and Engie to further expand its North African solar portfolio.

The Noor Midelt project will consist of two hybrid plants, containing PV and CSP technologies, each with a capacity of 400MW. The capacity of the PV component, for daytime generation, will be left to the bidders’ discretion, but it will not be allowed to exceed night-time capacity from CSP by more than 20%.

In addition to developing one of the largest clean energy capacities in the region, Morocco is also pushing ahead with several programmes to improve energy efficiency across its power sector. The government has set a target for 12% of energy savings by 2020.

As part of the 2016 restructuring of its energy sector, Rabat renamed the National Agency for Development for Renewable Energy, and Energy Efficiency (Aderee), established in 2010, the Moroccan Agency for Energy Efficiency (AMEE).

The new agency has a mandate to focus on improving energy efficiency in the usage and storage of power across residential and industrial sectors.

AMEE has conducted audits and produced reports and targets for possible energy savings across buildings, industry, transport and agricultural savings in addition to adopting initiatives for standardising and labelling appliances and equipment. In the industrial sector, the agency has stated energy efficiency measures can result in up to 15% and 65% savings in electricity and thermal energy, respectively.

In the buildings sector, AMEE has developed the CEEB (Code d’Efficacité Énergétique dans le Bâtiment) building code to form a central part of its energy-efficiency targets. The agency is planning to develop a robust regulatory framework to support the code and introduce a mandatory minimum energy-efficiency performance for all buildings.

To supplement its ambitious drive for renewable energy, Rabat is planning to build a $4.6bn gas-to-power project at Jorf Lasfar, which will enable it to receive liquefied natural gas imports at the port on the Atlantic coast and produce power to meet rising demand. While this sizable project will attract market interest, it is the $30bn renewables programme that has become synonymous with Morocco’s power sector.


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Happy Islamic New Year

The Islamic New Year, also known as Arabic New Year or Hijri New Year is the day that marks the beginning of a new Islamic calendar year 1440. The first day of the year is observed on the first day of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar

Different Islamic denominations - Shi'a and Sunni - and cultures do different things to mark Muharram. Fasting varies among different Muslim communities. Some Muslims fast on or around the 10th day of Muharram, also known as the Day of Ashura, to mourn the death of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Husayn ibn Ali. Some mosques have free meals (nazar) around the ninth to 11th days of Muharram.

In Iraq, some Shi'a Muslims make a pilgrimage to the Imam Husayn Shrine, on the site of the grave of Husayn ibn Ali. In Iran, taziya (ta'zieh) or Condolence Theatre are performed. During Muharram, these take the form of re-enactments of the battle of Karbala. In south Asia, similar events are known as such as marsiya, noha and soaz, tabuik or tabut. In Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, they are known as Hosay or Hussay and are attended by people from a variety of religions and cultures.

Shi'a Muslims, particularly those in Afghanistan, Bahrain, India, Iraq, Lebanon and Pakistan, take part in remembrance parades or matam (matham). During matam, men gather in large groups on the streets to take part in ritual chest beating. Some people also beat themselves with zanjir (metal chains fixed into handles), but this practice is controversial and has been banned by some civic and Islamic authorities.

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TanJazz is back!

The 19th edition of Tanjazz will take place from 19th to 22nd in Tangier with around 110 artists and musicians of various musical tendencies, but whose common dominator is jazz

The organisers of this musical event said during a press conference on Thursday night in Casablanca, that the 7 special "scenes" are planned for this occasion and will include many groups of from various "jazzy horizons".

"Some perpetuate the memory of the Old Square of New Orleans. Some keep alive the great standards by interpreting them in their own way. Some pay tribute in their style to the missing. Some revisit the hard bop with a new vitality. Some Klezmerise, orientalize or latinize. Others explore the paths of Nu-Jazz and electro jazz. Others finally in surprising solos or duets invent another jazz - their own.

"It's the Jazz in all its forms", say the organisers of this festival which will celebrate its 20 years next year.

Among the novelties, Tanjazz launches this year its "Day Off". Aficionados of music will appreciate a day or early evening program that will allow them to stroll through the streets of Tangier, to see the various facets, while discovering the artists who embody the new contemporary jazz scene.

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Another "new" plan for Fez?

Tenders have been called for a framework to create a new city plan for the Fez Medina 

Covering an area of ​​300 ha and sheltering a population of 91,152 inhabitants, the area within the walls of ​​the Fez Medina is considered of immense universal cultural and historical value. It encompasses the Medina of Fez and Fez Jdid.

To preserve this heritage, the City Council of Fez has just launched a call for tenders to set the conditions under which the development of the "Plan of development of the medina intramural of Fez" will be carried out. The purpose of this work will be to design a regulatory framework to improve the control of urbanisation.

The document will allocate different zones according to their main use - residential areas, industrial zones, commercial centres, tourist areas, agricultural or forest areas as well as social areas in which all construction is prohibited.

It will also identify the boundaries of the road network (roads, squares, plots, car parks) to be conserved, modified or created, public green spaces (woodlands, parks, gardens), playgrounds, various open spaces such as spaces for cultural and folklore events, to be preserved, modified or created. The new plan should outline historical or archaeological sites, and public or private green areas to protect or enhance the aesthetic, historical and cultural life of the city.

The framework should cover the conditions of organisation, planning and rehabilitation of urban areas for the next 10 years in a sustainable fashion.

The design office chosen will rationalise and promote urban land for a medina on a human scale, deduce habitat typologies and propose appropriate and adequate measures to solve the problem of buildings in danger of collapse. It will also improve the links and exchanges between the city of Fez and its historic Medina and enhance the complementarity interactivity that it maintains with its hinterland.

The time for this complex project is required to be under six months.

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EMMANUEL MACRON TO VISIT MOROCCO

French President Emmanuel Macron is expected in Morocco though the precise date of the visit have not been fixed

French President Emmanuel Macron received by King Mohammed VI during his visit to Morocco in 2017

It is expected to be a short quick visit of not more than 48 hours and will coincide with the launch of the high speed ​​train line linking Tangier to Casablanca, a project in which many French companies are associated.

Discussions between Emmanuel Macron and King Mohammed VI will be dominated by the issue of the management of migratory flows, which has become a political priority for both countries.

Since June 2018, the High Speed ​​Line project has entered the pre-operation and break-in phase of the entire system so that it can be tested under actual operating conditions. The commercial commissioning will take place at the end of the pre-exploitation period and after certification of the line by a specialised international audit firm, in accordance with the procedures and standards recommended by the International Union of Railways (UIC).

At the same time, work on the new Tangier, Kenitra, Rabat-Agdal and Casa-Voyageurs high-speed line stations is currently in the completion stage.

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