forum des droits de l'homme d'essaouira
HUMAN RIGHTS FORUM
MOROCCO – SPAIN – PORTUGAL
A HISTORY THAT LOOKS TO THE FUTURE
JUNE 28-29, 2024 ESSAOUIRA
KEYNOTE SPEAKER :
THE MEDITERRANEAN … BORDER OR CROSSROADS BETWEEN AFRICA AND EUROPE? José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Former President of the Government of Spain (April 2004 – December 2011) – (Spain)MODERATORS :
Driss Bennani, Journalist and TV producer – (Morocco) El Arbi El Harti, Poet and playwright – (Morocco)round table 1
1000 years of history,
what do we carry within us?
Muslims have been present on the Iberian Peninsula since the 9th century. The Portuguese and Spanish presence would later play a role in shaping the contours of contemporary Morocco. Heritage, culture, traditions…what parts of this history do we carry within us, on both shores of the Mediterranean Sea? How does this history contribute to shaping who we are today, and influence perceptions of our neighbours, whether next-door or across the sea? This round table will also decipher elements of recent and contemporary history, built upon crises and tensions as well as major accomplishments.
Carlos Martins, Musician – (Portugal)
Farida Benlyazid, Producer, director and screenwriter – (Morocco)
Gonzalo Fernández Parrilla, Professor, translator and author – (Spain)
Nadia Hafid, Comic author and illustrator – (Spain)
Youssef El Maimouni, Author and educator specialising in social issues – (Spain – Morocco)
round table 2
Human mobility, economy, diasporas ... neighbouring histories
Over approximately 1000 years, the flows between the three nations have never ebbed. Whether conquerors (centuries ago), migrants, intellectuals, merchandise or cultural productions, the Mediterranean bears witness to these exchanges and crossings. This mobility should be considered in both directions. And there is yet another new aspect to the flux: the mobility of students, skills, capital, knowledge, tourists, and more. What has changed in the modes of mobility between these three countries? How can their bonds grow stronger? What new countenance will they present in the future?
Abdallah Saaf, Professor of Political Science, Researcher – (Morocco)
Iván Martín, Associate Professor at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona, Spain) and Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique (UM6P – Morocco) – (Spain).
Laila Karrouch, Author – (Spain – Morocco).
Maria João Tomás, Researcher and lecturer, international politics analyst and author – (Portugal).
Mohammed Anouar Haidour, Trade unionist and activist – (Morocco)
round table 3
Sport, art, and culture … Fatum Nostrum (Our common destiny)
And finally, what if the tunnel connecting Morocco (and Africa) to Spain (and Europe) began to resemble this shared organization of the World Cup? And if, in the end, the appeasement and serene development of these relationships were the work of athletes, artists, and intellectuals from both sides of the Mediterranean?
Anouar Majid, Professor, University of New England, publisher, editor-in-chief, Tingis Magazine – (USA)
Mohamed El Morabet, Author and translator – (Spain – Morocco)
Nieves Muriel García, Author and researcher – (Spain)
Oumama Aouad Lahrech, Doctor of Iberian and Iberian-American Literature, Former Ambassador of H.M. the King Mohammed VI to Peru, Bolivia and Panama – (Morocco)
Rodrigo Sobral Cunha, Author, researcher and university professor – (Portugal)
round table 4
The Mediterranean … a border or junction between Africa and Europe?
How can we strengthen connections, making them more resistant to crises, to future changes? How can we see the same way forward, and privilege shared interests? What effects will the 2030 World Cup organization ultimately have upon relations between Morocco and the European Union, between Africa and the European Union? And what will be the future state of equilibrium between the Mediterranean and Morocco’s Atlantic vision?