The president of the Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad (CCME), Driss El Yazami, has emphasised the “significant” literary contribution of Moroccans worldwide to the international cultural landscape.
In an interview with the Moroccan Press Agency (MAP) during the Paris Book Festival 2025, which showcases Morocco, Mr El Yazami said the Moroccan participation “represents renewed recognition of the Kingdom’s cultural contribution,” recalling that Morocco had previously been highlighted at an earlier Paris Book Fair.
“Morocco is the only French-speaking country to have had four authors awarded the Prix Goncourt in the space of some thirty years. This illustrates the richness of its contribution to Francophonie,” he stated.
The CCME president also highlighted notable shifts in Moroccan cultural production, particularly driven by Moroccans abroad.
“After a first generation of Moroccan men writing in French, we are now witnessing a feminisation and globalisation of Moroccan writing,” he declared, noting that dozens of female novelists, especially from the diaspora, are revitalising the literary landscape in numerous languages (English, Dutch, Italian, German, Spanish, and more).
This linguistic diversity and growing creativity reflect, in his view, a major evolution, underscoring the active contribution of Moroccans worldwide to other artistic disciplines as well, including cinema, visual arts, photography, and music.
“This momentum follows the speeches of His Majesty King Mohammed VI in August 2022 and November 2024,” which highlighted the contributions of Moroccans abroad in various fields, including culture, he recalled.
He also praised the CCME’s efforts to promote the translation of Moroccan works, welcoming the launch by the Moroccan Ministry of Culture, following a CCME suggestion, of “a major programme to translate works into Arabic.”
When asked about cultural cooperation between Morocco and France, Mr El Yazami expressed delight at the “complicity” between the two countries, rooted in deep historical and cultural ties, and highlighted “the shared horizon for developing cultural and creative industries.”
For his part, Mohammed Zakaria Abouddahab, a professor of international law at Mohammed V University in Rabat and an author exhibiting at this year’s Paris Book Festival, expressed joy at seeing Morocco as the guest of honour, stressing the importance of this major cultural event for the global promotion of Moroccan culture.
This international gathering, he said, offers an opportunity to meet publishers and explore new publishing prospects.
The academic also noted the growing enthusiasm for culture and books, stating that “for us Moroccans, culture is a means of communication.”
According to him, books serve as an essential showcase for Morocco, enabling the transmission of the Kingdom’s traditions, identity, and values.
Morocco is participating this year in the Paris Book Festival, held at the Grand Palais, as the guest of honour with a 330 m² pavilion offering a rich and varied programme, including 28 talks at the conference space, 16 panels on literary and societal themes, 10 book presentations, 2 artistic performances (slam poetry and theatre), and an international panel on the “France-Morocco Atlantic Destiny,” in line with this year’s theme of “the sea.”
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