The High Patronage of King Mohammed VI has always been a firm moral support for the Moussem of Assilah, underlined, Sunday evening, the secretary general of the Foundation of the Forum of Assilah, Mohamed Benaissa.
“This attachment free from personal intentions which has always constituted an essential source of energy and a firm moral support for the Moussem, like the constant support, the uninterrupted High Patronage and the particular attention that HM King Mohammed VI , grants to culture and the arts in general, and to the global cultural manifestation of Assilah in particular, which therefore constitutes the essential foundation for the continuity of the Moussem”, indicated Mr. Benaissa, who spoke at the opening of the autumn session of the 43rd edition of the Assilah International Cultural Moussem.
“At the Assilah Forum Foundation, we believe that the continuity of such support is an appreciation of HM the King, for the efforts made, as well as for the firmness and patience shown by the girls and the sons of Assilah, so that their city and their homeland may be an open space for free dialogue and the exchange of expertise and experience with all the civilizations and cultures of the world,” he said. .
The Secretary General of the Foundation said that the Moussem of Assilah is hosting, this year, the 36th edition of the Al-Mu’tamid Ibn Abbad Open University, whose program includes nine political, economic, literary and intellectual events to which take part a pleiad of approximately 400 researchers, thinkers, scholars, political leaders, men of letters and media professionals.
These events, he continued, begin with a symposium entitled “Separatist movements and regional organizations in Africa”, which thus constitutes another cornerstone in terms of building an African space for reflection, all in all a vital space in which the Assilah Forum Foundation and its Moussem have for decades taken great interest, so that it can be said that Assilah was among the first cities to have launched African studies at a time when such a commitment did not arouse the enthusiasm of the great world. “Thus over the years, Africa has had its share in the debates, events and prizes awarded during the Assilah Cultural Moussems”, said Mr. Benaissa, adding: “the the symposium mentioned will allow us to continue the debate on the relationship between us who belong to this common geographical space, by questioning the political reality in which we live, as well as the future to which we aspire”.
Mr. Benaissa, in this regard, specified that the objective pursued consists in sharpening a new energy of reflection on the theme of “separatism” in the relationship linking it to the Nation-State, noting that the debate opened from this angle having passed through several stages and managed to accumulate various readings, the common factor of which are the concerns of belonging to a common space.
“We also hope to arrive at an equation that will enable us to address the phenomenon of separatist movements in Africa from the angle of security crises, as well as the policies and strategies followed by regional organizations in order to deal with them, and this through five major axes”, noted Mr. Benaissa, specifying that the first axis concerns the systems of political and societal governance, and the requirements in terms of national integration in Africa, while the second concerns the backgrounds and the origins of separatist movements in Africa, as well as the means to deal with them.
The third axis, he added, is related to separatist movements and the challenges raised by violent extremism: the experiences associated with regional and international confrontation, while the last deals with separatist movements and crises of political transition in Africa. Mr. Benaissa noted that the debate centered on this theme is to counter the environment of increasing violence and terrorism, phenomena that are spreading at a frightening rate and contributing to the disintegration of African natural and human capacities, to balkanization and to the weakening of the entities, which are thus plunged into civil wars threatening to become destructive, as shown by a number of conflicts occurring in various parts of Africa. The program for this edition features seven conferences under the themes “Separatist movements and regional organizations in Africa”, “Food security in Africa in the era of the war in Ukraine”, “The Arabian Gulf between East and West: the New Eastern Question”, “The Impact of Energy on International Political and Economic Balances”, the theme “Arab Poetry and Poetics of the Southern World: Africa and Latin America” and “What World Order following the Ukrainian war? “, as well as a colloquium which will take place under the sign of a tribute paid, within the framework of the space of the “Creativity Tent”, to the Moroccan philosopher Dr. Abdessalam Benabdelali, in addition to the ceremony of the “Buland Al-Haidari Prize for young Arab poets”.
