Success of the Eleventh International Festival of Amazigh Culture in Fez

Fez – The International Festival of Amazigh Culture Call to encourage self-criticism, education, and intercultural dialogue

The eleventh edition of the International Festival of Amazigh Culture, which was held in Fez on “Alliance of Cultures and Religions for Peace” was a resounding success at the academic, artistic and organizational levels. It focused on the positive impact of the alliance of cultures and religions for peace and the consolidation of unity, social cohesion and peace in the world.

The international forum, which brought together 14 nationalities and thirty speakers and writers like Fawzia Zouari and Salwa Hamrouni (Tunisia), Jean-Marie Simon and Enza Palamara (France), Djibril Ly (Mauritania), Moha Souag Mohamed Nedali and Kabbal Maati (Morocco), Johan Goud and Jan Jaap de Ruiter (Netherlands), Mohamed Benrabeh, Belkcem Boumdini and Hadriya Nebia (Algeria), Murat Bilhan (Turkey), Keith Martin (USA) and others highlighted the role of Amazigh culture as a culture of joy, sharing, hospitality and exchange, as well as the positive impact of intercultural and inter-faith dialogue on social peace, modernity, democracy, and sustainable development.

Participants discussed the themes registered in the agenda of the forum, including the Amazigh civilization and heritage in the North African culture, Amazigh, identity, and writing, social representations of cultures and religions, the dialogue of cultures and the prevention and resolution conflicts and the role of alliance of cultures and religions in maintaining peace.

The forum highlighted the contribution of the Amazigh culture to the consolidation of peace, democracy, development and modernity. It pleaded to make cultural diversity a lever for economic, social and cultural integration.

For its 11th anniversary, the festival has offered no less than eighteen concerts and ended with Ahidous Oulmes, Laura Conti and Nadia Laaroussi.

Some 120 artists and musicians representing different regions of Morocco, Italy and Spain have participated in this festival which also included exhibitions of books, exhibitions of paintings and art Amazigh carpets, in addition to panel discussions and workshops on painting and storytelling.

Participants in the international forum made the following recommendations:

1) Emphasis of the central role of the Amazigh language and culture as vectors of universal values ??of intercultural and interfaith dialogue.

2) Strengthening common values ??shared by the three monotheistic religions.

3) Developing inter-civilizational and intercultural understanding as essential rampart against the rise of religious extremism.

4) Strengthening respect for gender equality and the preservation of social integration.

5) Encouraging the values ??of peace and understanding, especially among school children through textbooks.

6) Fostering self-criticism and work on people’s mentality as a method of conflict prevention and resolution.

7) Diminishing the impact of the wild economic globalization.