Since its creation in 1998, the Gnaoua and World Music Festival of Essaouira has been an original initiative by the A3 Communication agency, which has overseen its concept, production, and artistic direction. Through this ambitious and visionary project, A3 Communication has succeeded in establishing a major cultural event that has become unmissable both in Morocco and internationally.

This unique festival is built around a powerful idea: creating unprecedented encounters between Gnaoua Maâlems and artists from around the world, in a spirit of fusion, freedom, and musical creation. Year after year, A3 Communication passionately and meticulously orchestrates this singular musical alchemy, where jazz, rock, Sufi music, Afro, or electro blend with the ancestral Gnaoua repertoire.

Over the years, the Festival has played a key role in revitalizing the cultural and economic life of the city of Essaouira, firmly placing it on the map of major cultural capitals. For the duration of the Festival, the city becomes a true crucible of creation and cross-cultural exchange, drawing hundreds of thousands of festival-goers, artists, curious visitors, and lovers of Gnaoua culture.

In this adventure, A3 Communication can count on a committed and complementary partner: the Yerma Gnaoua Association, founded in 2009 by Gnaoua Maâlems and the Festival’s founders. The association’s mission is clear: to preserve, transmit, and promote the intangible Gnaoua heritage, while supporting artists in their development.

Yerma Gnaoua plays a concrete role in gaining institutional recognition for this culture, notably through its leading role in securing UNESCO’s 2019 designation of Gnaoua culture as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The association also works through artistic residencies, awareness campaigns, youth training initiatives, and the promotion of contemporary musical creation.

By combining the complementary expertise of a professional cultural producer and a committed association driven by living heirs of the Gnaoua tradition, the Gnaoua and World Music Festival of Essaouira continues to write a unique story—a story of transmission, innovation, and intercultural dialogue, true to the original spirit of the Festival.