"Our bodies as battlefields: writing in the era of the feminist and humanist revolution" was the theme of the second round-table discussion organised by the Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad (CCME) at the Rabat Book Fair on Thursday 16 May 2024. A free discussion led by the French-Moroccan novelist Samira El Ayachi together with her guests,Rim Battal, a Moroccan poet and journalist living in France, and Fatima Ouassak, a French-Moroccan political scientist and lecturer.

On Wednesday May 15, 2024, as part of the Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad (CCME) program at the Rabat Book Fair, the Council's joint pavilion hosted Italian-Moroccan journalist Karima Moual, who introduced her book Cold in Italy and other stories of an Italy born elsewhere”, published by Luiss University (Rome).

The Renaissance cinema in Rabat hosted on the evening of 14 May 2024 the premiere of the 90-minute documentary "Mora est là", directed by Khalid Zaïri, a partnership between the Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad, the Hiba Foundation and the 2M TV channel.

On Wednesday 15 May 2024, the Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad (CCME) and the Cercle des Lauréats de Belgique (CLB), in partnership with the Délégation Générale Wallonie-Bruxelles au Maroc, paid tribute to the late Lahcen Zinoun, dancer, choreographer, writer, director and film-maker, at the Café de la Scène in Rabat (1st floor of the Cinéma Renaissance).

Omar Boum, a Moroccan anthropologist based in the United States and member of the Académie du Royaume, will be presenting his book "Le dernier Rekkas" (The Last Rekkas) on Friday 17 May 2024 at 6.30pm at the "Kitab" space of the Rabat Book Fair. "Le dernier Rekkas" is co-published by the CCME and the Langages du sud publishing house, and prefaced by Mr Driss El Yazami, President of the CCME.

"Mrs Merkel's secret lover" (in Arabic) by the German-Moroccan writer and journalist Rim Najmi-recently published by Dar Al-Masriah Al-Lubnaniah-was presented on Monday 13 May 2024 at the CCME stand. The author answered questions from German-Moroccan producer and journalist Mohamed Massad.

On Monday 13 May 2024, the President of the Council for Moroccan Community Abroad (CCME), Driss El Yazami, took part in a round table at the Ministry of Justice Pavilion of the Rabat Book Fair on the theme: ‘Justice in the service of Moroccans living abroad’. Mrs Zahira Fountir, Law Professor at Mohammed V University in Rabat and member of the National Council of Human Rights (CNDH), Mr. Saïd Rachik, in charge of studies and media relations at the Kingdom's Ombudsman, and Mr Mbarek Boutelha, Head of the Department of international management mechanisms in the field of civil law at the Department of Civil Affairs and the Legal and Judicial Professions, also took part in the meeting.

The CCME pavilion at the Rabat Book Fair on Sunday May 12, 2024 hosted a panel of two artists, novelist Hajar Azell (France) and filmmaker Hakim Belabbes (USA), who answered journalists Soundouss Chraïbi's questions on extending identity into artistic spaces.

The guests tried to describe their experience of the "in between", a state of mind " full of blur and constant movement back and forth, one foot towards oneself, and one foot towards the outside world". By creating in writing or film, Hakim Belabbes and Hajar Azell naturally embrace this movement "and see their native culture floating in their thoughts".

For Hajar Azell, the act of writing requires not only an emotional commitment, but also an intellectual one, since "there's a political dimension to it that you have to be aware of in order to create a new reality". She associates her identity, "which is not something static, with space, a parameter that is continuously changing, so as to be able to tell unhappy stories in cheerful words, because by changing space, we change both our backgrounds and our emotions".

For his part, director Hakim Belabbes describes filmmaking as a way of breaking free from harsh reality.

When he moved to the United States, he thought he was simply changing his social status, but as he evolved, he came to realize that he "will never be the same person who left, and the reality he wanted to change was his main source of inspiration".

The richness and diversity of his Moroccan culture is the principal hallmark of his "unique voice and imprint", expressed in the most basic gestures of his profession: "even the field of my camera shots was deeply inspired by the culture I come from".

CCME

A meeting on the theme: "Morocco and Spain. Literature and translation: a universal language" was held on Saturday 11 May 2024 at the Pavillon commun. The event was held to coincide with the 29th session of the Rabat International Book Fair and the activities of the Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad. Moroccan-Spanish author Mohamed El Morabet was the guest speaker at "Une Carte blanche", an open discussion featuring Rocío Rojas Marcos, writer and professor in the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Seville, and Gonzalo Fernández Parrilla, professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the Autonomous University of Madrid.

This event examined various aspects of literature and translation between Morocco and Spain, and analysed the literary genres being translated in an attempt to identify ways of bringing together the cultures of both countries.

The participants insisted on the importance of translation in order to inscribe the text in the culture from which it was translated. An act likely to breach barriers across nations, allowing each culture to join the world literature competition. The authors cite the case of Kalila wa Dimna, which, thanks to translation, has now become an integrated part of the Spanish culture, as "local literature is written by authors, while international literature is written by translators", a statement by the writer José Saramago, quoted by

Gonzalo Parilla. Rocío Rojas Marcos stressed that without translations it would not be possible to know the Other, just as modern Europe could not have made itself known without the Arabic translations in the Middle Ages.

Mohamed Choukri in the footsteps of Don Quichotte?

In his address, Mohamed El Morabet compared Don Quichotte's role as a Spanish literary heritage in Moroccan culture with the absence of a literary figure of this magnitude in the Spanish imagination. In analysing this observation, both Spanish academics felt that the Moroccan literary figure closest to the Spanish is the character of Mohamed Choukri, who brought the Spanish public into closer contact with Moroccan culture thanks to the strength of his literature and his narrative. However, Mohamed Choukri's works were translated into French before they were translated into Spanish, which raises another literary issue between Morocco and Spain linked to the language

of translation.

transmitting Moroccan works to the Spanish public can change certain cultural contents, since they pass through a different filter depending on the translator.

Although Gonzalo Fernández Parrilla believes that this is due to the complexity of translating from Arabic into Spanish, Rocío Rojas Marcos believes that this historical observation is above all linked to Spain's position in Europe, which leads it to orient its cultural perspective more towards the countries of its continent than towards Morocco, preferring to translate Moroccan works published in France rather than works from Morocco.

And what about writers of Moroccan origin in Spain?

According to Gonzalo Fernández Parrilla, Spanish writers of Moroccan descent have reflected the concerns of the community: the literature produced in the Spanish language by writers of Moroccan origin that has emerged over the last two decades was initially characterised by its concern with issues of identity, rootedness and integration in the host country. A trend from which Moroccan writers in Spain quickly 'freed themselves', once these subjects had been assimilated and more or less overcome, to give way to different subjects.

What about writers of Moroccan origin in Spain?

According to Gonzalo Fernández Parrilla, Spanish writers of Moroccan origin have reflected the concerns of the community: the literature produced in the Spanish language by writers of Moroccan origin that has emerged over the last two decades was initially characterised by its interest in issues of identity, rootedness and integration in the host country. A trend from which Moroccan writers in Spain quickly 'freed themselves', once these subjects had been assimilated and more or less overcome, to give way to different subjects.

A "natural" development for Rocío Rojas Marcos, who believes that in "any literary work, the author first seeks to explain his position within the new society". Mohamed El Morabet doesn't share this view: "As a Moroccan writer in Spain, I don't know in advance what I'm going to write about or what subject I'm going to write about; I write as part of a constant search for a subject".

CCME

The Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad (CCME) hosted the French-Moroccan writer Leila Bahsaïn on Saturday 11 May 2024 at the joint pavilion of the Book Fair in Rabat. Leila Bahsaïn presented her latest book ‘Ce que je sais de Monsieur Jacques’, published by Albin Michel, to an audience. Ghita Zine interviewed her.

At a press conference on Friday 10 May 2024, the Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad (CCME) was joined by six other constitutional institutions, with which it is sharing a common pavilion for its 15th participation in the International Book and Publishing Fair (SIEL).

Speaking to the media at the event, CCME President Mr. Driss El Yazami explained that the purpose of having seven institutions in one pavilion is to present the work of each institution separately, and inform the public about the missions of each institution, as well as its scientific and cultural achievements and the way it operates.

The Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad (CCME), the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE), the Institution of the Mediator of the Kingdom (IMR), the High Authority for Audiovisual and Communication (HACA), the Competition Council (CC), the National Authority for Ethics, the Prevention of and Combat against Corruption, and the National Commission for the Supervision of Personal Data Protection (CNDP), are sharing a common pavilion at this edition.

The 29th edition of SIEL is being organised by the CCME under the title "Writing Morocco, Narrating the World", a program featuring around 60 guests from ten countries, including Morocco, which reflects the creativity of Moroccans abroad, the emerging generation of young Moroccans and the significant contribution being made by Moroccan women in all spheres of creativity: literature, cinema, theatre, etc. These works are the result of a melting pot of cultures from countries of origin and immigration, enhancing the collective intellectual capital of Morocco and of host countries.

CCME

With more than sixty speakers from Morocco and nine other countries (Germany, Belgium, Spain, the United States, France, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Qatar), approximately twenty partners involved in developing the programme and a shared pavilion with six other institutions active in the promotion of human rights, good governance, human development and participatory democracy, the CCME is proposing a series of events to highlight what it has to offer at the 29th edition of the Salon international de l'édition et de le livre (SIEL). These are some of the themes that the CCME is proposing for the 29th edition of the Salon international de l'édition et du livre (SIEL) under the title: “Ecrire le Maroc, raconter le monde”.

This year's programme has been put together as part of a broad partnership, with four main themes and several special events.

The first event; “A book, a partner”, will feature four books co-published by CCME and the four publishing houses (Langages du sud, la Croisée des chemins, Sochepress and Malika éditions), including one book published in three languages.
The second will feature a “carte blanche” for nine female novelists, writers and researchers, who have chosen the theme on which they would like to discuss with two guests of their choice. Chadia Arab, Hassnae Bouazza, Samira El Ayachi, Soundouss Chraïbi, Kébir Mustapha Ammi, Mohamed El Morabet, Farid El Asri, Hassan Bousetta and Merouane Touali will be taking part in these “cartes blanches”.

A third theme, “Just published”, highlights the most recent literary releases, offering the SIEL visitors an opportunity to discover the latest works by Laïla Bahsaïn, Rim Najmi, Nesrine Slaoui, Khalid Lyamlahy, Zineb Mekouar and Karima Moual.

In addition, three unique previews will be held at the Renaissance cinema. The Moroccan public will have the chance to discover a fiction movie (Sisterhood, by Nora El Hourch), a documentary (Mora est là, by Khalid Zairi) and a musical “Arrivée par avion”, by Nadia Benzakour).

Several other activities are also planned. In partnership with the Cercle des lauréats de Belgique (CLB) and the Délégation générale Wallonie-Bruxelles au Maroc, a homage will be payed to the late Lahcen Zinoun, who recently passed away, and a roundtable is also scheduled in partnership with the Club des journalistes accrédités au Maroc (CJAM) on ‘Being a journalist today’ with Moroccan journalists from abroad and Morocco and MAP's Director General, who will give the opening speech.

Overall, the programme reflects the extraordinary vitality of Moroccan writers and artists around the world, the diversity of their talents and their desire to create, in each their own way, a bond with their roots, while at the same time refusing to accept any definitive labels and assuming their multiple identities. The diversity reflected in this programme is revealed in a wide range of other initiatives.

For the months of May and June only, two events to celebrate Moroccan talent worldwide are being organized with the Council's support: the Diwan Awards in Brussels on 18 May and the “Trophées des Marocains du Monde” in Marrakech on 25 May. On June 1 and 2, in Paris, the Maghreb des livres will be honoring Moroccan literature at the Hôtel de Ville, with our support.

As for partnerships between international skills centres and universities and the private sector in Morocco, several events will be held, including the 13th edition of the meetings on solid-state chemistry, organised by various universities in the Casablanca-Settat region (El Jadida, 15, 16 and 17 May 2024), the 6th summer university organised by the Eman Aerospace international network of Moroccan aeronautics specialists (Agadir and Laâyoune, from 24 June to 6 July 2024) and further afield, in Paris this September, the 16 th "Tremplin Maroc" event organised by Maroc entrepreneurs.

Another event that should be mentioned in the context of SIEL will be the re-publication of seven books by the late Mohammed Khaïr-Eddine (1941-1995) in a boxed set co-edited in partnership with the Académie du Royaume du Maroc and Editions le Fennec. Two other box sets are scheduled to be released in the next few months, featuring the novels of Kebir Mustapha Ammi and Rachid Benzine.

At a time where many societies are plagued by movements of exclusion of the ‘other’ or of those who are perceived as such, even if they were born and raised in the country, the present programme reflects the tremendous level of creativity that exists in all communities of ‘foreign descent’, in our case the worldwide Moroccan community and its descendants. In every field and in every language in the world, the creators invited here show tremendous talent, contributing to both Moroccan culture and the culture of the country of residence and/or birth, with a major trend in the background: the growing “feminization” of this talent, as shown by the list of our guests, which is almost made up of equal numbers of men and women. Another piece of good news.

Driss El Yazami

Here we are at our first book fair without you, dear friend. Just as we missed you a few weeks ago in Oujda, at the fourth edition of the Maghreb Book Fair, which you never missed. We will therefore no longer see you wandering the alleys of the fair, saluting your friends, colleagues and authors, and always standing on your book stand, except on a few occasions last year when illness began to take its grip on you. Always on your feet, except for a few times last year, when your fatigue began to claim you. Standing on the Croisée des chemins stand, handing out books and offering comments on your latest publications. You were enthusiastic and tireless. Curious and inventive, always open to new publishing adventures.

The 29th edition of the International Book and Publishing Fair (SIEL) was officially opened on Thursday 9 May 2024 at the Espace OLM Souissi in Rabat by the Head of Government, Mr Aziz Akhannouch, and Mr Mehdi Bensaid, Minister for Youth, Culture and Communication.

Writing Morocco Narrating the world

Thursday 9th May 2024

Inauguration

Friday 10th May 2024

Opening ceremony of the joint pavilion.

The attendees: Mr. Ahmed Réda Chami, President of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE), Mr. Mohamed Benalilou, Mediator of the Kingdom (IMR), Mr. Driss El Yazami, President of the Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad (CCME), Mrs Latifa Akharbach, President of the High Authority for Audiovisual Communication (HACA), Mr. Ahmed Rahhou, President of the Competition Council (CC), Mr. Mohamed Bachir Rachdi, Instructor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), and Mr. Omar Seghrouchni, President of the National Commission for the Supervision of Personal Data Protection (CNDP).

Saturday 11th may 2024

- “Carte Blanche” with Mr. Mohamed El Morabet (Spain)

Guests: Rocío Rojas-Marcos and Gonzalo Fernández Parrilla
Theme: Morocco and Spain. Literature and translation: a universal language
Joint Pavilion conference room from 4pm to 5pm.

Speech by Mohamed El Morabet

“We will be exploring the dimensions of literature and translation between the two countries in order to remove the bridge of communication that exists in this field.
What do Moroccans read? What do Spaniards read?
What type of Spanish literature is translated in Morocco? What type of Moroccan literature is translated in Spain? What mechanisms could be envisaged to promote more translations between the two countries? In 2020, Spain was the guest of honour at SIEL. Could Morocco be the guest of honour at the Madrid Book Fair in 2030?”

- New release
Introducing the novel « Ce que je sais de Monsieur » by Leïla Bahsaïn (Albin Michel, 2024).
Moderator: Ghita Zine
Joint Pavilion conference room from 5.30 pm to 6.30 pm.

Sunday 12 may 2024

Un livre, un partenaire

Introducing the novel : « Echos de la mémoire sur les montagnes du Rif» by Fatiha Saïdi (CCME-La Croisée des Chemins, 2024)
The event will take place at the joint pavillon

Monday 13 May 2024

New release

Introduction of the novel “L'amant secret de Mme Merkel (in Arabic) by Rim Najmi (Dar Al-Masriah Al-Lubnaniah, 2024)

Moderator: Mohamed Massad

Joint Pavilion conference room from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

- Preview of the movie “Sisterhood” by Nora El Hourch,
In partnership with La Prod and egalitemag.com. In the presence of the director.
Cinéma Renaissance at 7pm.

Synopsis

Despite the social gaps, Amina, Djeneba and Zineb have been friends for most of their live. When Zineb is harassed by her brother's best friend, Amina posts a compromising video of him on social networks, hoping that he will stop. But she does not take into account the terrible consequences of her act: the video will not only endanger her safety, but also put their friendship in jeopardy.

Tuesday 14 May 2024

- Preview of the documentary “Mora est là” by Khalid Zairi in partnership with 2M.

Cinema Renaissance at 7pm.

Synopsis

“With immigration issues subject of controversy and heated debates in Europe, a reminder of former policies allowing Moroccan minors to immigrate to France on a selective basis”
Mora gives us an insight into the traumatic stories of former Moroccan miners recruited by Felix Mora to work in the mines of Nord-Pas-de-Calais.
Felix Mora was the implacable instrument of a policy that proletarianised thousands of young peasants, uprooted from their environment and embarked on a vast project that would later have major social, cultural and political consequences in terms of the integration of the new generations born of this immigration.

Wednesday 15 May 2024

- New release

Presentation of the book “Il Freddo in africa e altre storie di un'italia nata altrove” (in Italian) by Karima Moual (Ed. Luiss - University Press, 2024)
With : Karima Moual (Italy); Halima Hadir (Italy); Yasine El Aouak (Italy).
Moderated by: Abdellah Redouane

Joint Pavilion conference room from 11 a.m. to noon.

The book: “Il Freddo in africa e altre storie di un'italia nata altrove” (Ed. Luiss - University Press, April 2024) reviews the phenomenon of migration in Italy and its challenges through eleven stories of successful migrants with their own business ideas: among them three entrepreneurs of Moroccan origin. The book also includes an important interview with Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, a foreword by Italian-Moroccan international star Malika Ayane and an updated report by the Leone Moressa Foundation on the phenomenon of entrepreneurship in Italy.

New release

Introducing the novel “Seule” by Nesrine Slaoui (Fayard, 2023)
Moderated by: Aicha Sakhri

Joint Pavilion conference room from 3pm to 4pm.

Thursday 16 may 2024

- Tribute to Lahcen Zinoun.
In partnership with the Belgian Cercle des Lauréats and the Wallonie-Bruxelles Delegation in Morocco.
Café de la scène, Renaissance cinema at 6pm.

Lahcen Zinoun, dancer, choreographer, writer, director and film-maker.
Lahcen Zinoun was the first moroccan-born dancer in Europe, and the first to be named danseur étoile in Belgium, before returning to his native country to pursue a long and rich artistic career.

- Preview of Nadia Benzakour's play “Débarquée de l'avion”.
In partnership with the Institut Supérieur d'Art Dramatique et d'Animation Culturelle (ISADAC).
Cinéma Renaissance at 7.30pm.

Synopsis
Nawal has to attend a cocktail party in Marrakech. Her mission is to deliver a present to Mr Ballou, a secret gift box given to her by her father.
But "Tonton Ballou" is a very busy man and Nawal encounters guests who ask her the same old questions about where she comes from. Was it New York? Or Paris? Ah, France... not the same thing.
She eventually opens up to the audience about her unconventional life as a Moroccan in a privileged neighbourhood in France, and realizes that she has always hidden away her differences.
Ultimately, she learns to be herself: a dreamer.

- A book, a partnership
Le dernier Rekkas, by Aomar Boum ('Southern languages' - CCME, 2024)
Moderator: Ahmed Skounti
The Kitab space, Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication at 6.30pm.

Summary
In this book -published in Arabic, French and English- Aomar Boum, a Moroccan anthropologist living in the United States and member of the Académie du Royaume, recounts the life of his father, who was most likely one of the last Rekkas in Morocco - the messengers who carried letters on foot- prior to the “birth” of the post office. The book is illustrated by Majdouline Boum-Mendoza, the author's fourteen-year-old daughter born in the US.
In this book, Aomar Boum and his daughter cement the links between three generations and weave together their family's history and the broader history of Morocco, bringing to light little-known aspects of our past.

-One book, one partner

Introducing the the book “Villes et villages du Maroc (etymologie, histoire et légendes) » by Mouna Hachim (Sochepress-CCME, 2024)
In partnership with Sochepress, organized as part of a Book Club with Groupe Matin du Sahara

Moderator: Abderrahim Kassou

Saturday 18th may 2024

- Carte blanche to Kebir Mustapha Ammi (France)

Guests: Fouad Bellamine and Driss Khrouz
Theme: What if we made the arts and literature the foundation of our horizon?
Venue: conference room of the Pavillon Commun at 10.45am to 11.45am.

Remarks by Kebir Mustapha Ammi

Redefining culture in its diverse forms and addressing crucial issues for the future.

- New release

“Adieu Tanger” by Salma El Moumni (Grasset, 2023)
Moderator: Nadia Paquereau
Joint Pavilion conference room at 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

- Carte Blanche with Chadia Arab (France)
Guests: Carolina Kobelinsky and Radouane Frikach
Theme Bodies and Death in Migration: Movements, Practices and Differences.
Joint Pavilion conference room at 2.30 pm to 3.30 pm.

Comments by Chadia Arab

The meeting will be a “cross-examination” between CNRS researcher Carolina Kobelinsky, an anthropologist specializing in politics and migration -in particular of the immigrants dying on Europe’s borders- and Radouane Frikach, head of a funeral parlour and a member of the Muslim cultural association in Trélazé, near the french city of Angers.

- Carte blanche to Kebir Mustapha Ammi (France)

Guests: Fouad Bellamine and Driss Khrouz

Theme: “What if we made the arts and literature the foundation of our horizon?”
Venue: conference room of the Pavillon Commun at 10.45am to 11.45am.

Remarks by Kebir Mustapha Ammi

-New release
“Adieu Tanger” by Salma El Moumni (Grasset, 2023)
Moderator: Nadia Paquereau
Joint Pavilion conference room at 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

- Carte Blanche with Chadia Arab (France)
Guests: Carolina Kobelinsky and Radouane Frikach
Theme Bodies and Death in Migration: Movements, Practices and Differences.
Joint Pavilion conference room at 2.30 pm to 3.30 pm.

Sunday, May 19, 2024

- One book, one partner
Presentation of Tanger by Mohamed Métalsi (Malika éditions-CCME, 2024)

Speakers: Anouar Majid and Mustapha Akalay Nasser
Room Ofoq, SIEL conferences pavilion, at 12:15 p.m.