Mr Driss El Yazami, President of the Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad (CCME), attended a ceremony in the Spanish city of Barcelona on 14 September 2024, to pay tribute to the late Ahmed Ghazali, who passed away on 26 July 2024 in Laâyoune.
Ahmed Ghazali, an engineer, writer, museologist, playwright and cultural activist, was first and foremost a humanist. Having settled in Barcelona in 2004, he went on to establish museums in Europe, Asia and the Arab world, including the Musée de la Civilisation de l'Eau du Maroc in Marrakech, the Ecomusée Minier de Jerada, the Musée régional d'Al Hoceïma and the Parc de la Préhistoire de Sidi Abderrahmane in Casablanca.
He is a renowned theatre writer, whose plays have been translated into several languages and have been performed in numerous cities, including Toronto, Madrid, Montpellier, Casablanca, Brussels, London, Milan, New York and Sydney. His plays include L'agneau et la baleine (Prix SACD 2001 de l'écriture dramatique en langue français, Éditions Théâtrales, 2002), Tombouctou, 52 jours à dos de chameau (Éditions Icaria, 2005), Travessies (Pausa, Sala Becket, 2006) and El cel massa baix et Mellah.
The late Ahmed Ghazali was also co-founder of Jiwar Creation and Society, a Barcelona-based cultural organisation that promotes urban creation and has welcomed over 300 artists and writers.
“A friendship and companionship of more than 15 years, many projects have brought us together ... Thus he passed away in the prime of life, filled with enthusiasm at the idea of carrying out (his) projects simultaneously ..., including that of a more personal approach to philosophical thinking and his writing. He passed away when he still had so much to offer and so many fine ideas to develop and put into practice”, wrote Driss El Yazami in a publication issued by the family to mark the ceremony.
