"Culture Against Triviality," The Moroccan Campaign to Promote Reading

Here is an article from al-Ahram about an event  called "Culture Against Triviality" that took place recently in Morocco to promote reading in the country.
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"Culture Against Triviality," Moroccans ampaign to promote reading

Cultural activists launch literary flashmob outside Moroccan parliament on World Book Day to encourage reading, as citizens spend 24 times less money than the world average on books

 

Ahram Online, Monday 23 Apr 2012

Civilian activists in Morocco launched a campaign entitled  "Culture Against Triviality" calling people to read a book for an hour in front of the Moroccan Parliament as a part of their participation in 23 April's  World Book Day.
This symbolic initiative aims to spread awareness of the importance of books and reading in the life of the Moroccan citizens. According to a report published by the Saudi News Network AlArabiya.net, the literary flash mob aims to promote what it calls “real culture” working against cultural stereotypes based on destructive values that the group feels debases Moroccan public taste.

Reading percentages are poor in Morocco. According to recent statistics, a Moroccan citizen spends an average of just one Moroccan dirham (MD) per year on buying books (around 11 cents) at a time when the world average is MD25 ($3). In addition Morocco publishes only 2,000 titles per year while in France, for example, 60,000 new releases hit the shelves annually.

Cultural movements in Morocco recently called for halting the country's “Mawazeen World Singing Festival” via videos posted on the internet. The clips included statements by academics, musicians, and intellectuals who criticised spending so much money on such festivals while neglecting books and reading activities.
The activists called for a boycott of all the "trivial" recreational activities.  Moroccan thinker, Idrissi Abu-Zaid said in an excerpt of one of the videos that "reading is a nation, shaped like a pyramid, its basis is the readers, and its middle is the intellectuals, while its top is scientists."

 Abu-Zaid, who is a leading member of the ruling Justice and Development party,  warned against marginalising books and not encouraging reading, stressing that the long term impact on society will jeopardise Morocco's place in the international arena.

European Union To Promote Dialogue in Morocco

Salaam! Here is a piece from Global Arab Network about the EU seeking proposals for dialogue promoting activities in Morocco. Is dialogue where people get to openly discuss how they feel about things without repercussions? Great idea.

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EU: Call for Cultural Activities to Strengthen Dialogue in Morocco
- Maha Karim
Sunday, 04 July 2010 20:54

The EU Delegation in Morocco has issued a Call for Proposals for Cultural Activities to be carried out within the country in 2010.

For the 2010 calls, the Delegation will give priority to projects that aim to strengthen:

* dialogue and exchange between cultures, access to culture of all sectors of the population;
* the promotion of mutual understanding
* the visibility of the cultural aspect of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership.

The call for proposals is open to projects including artistic cultural activities focused on oral communication, visual arts or music, and the promotion of tangible and intangible heritage towards educational or playful activities aimed at a young audience.

Activities should contribute to capacity building both at an artistic and technical level, and from the perspective of administration of the activity through the contribution of European experience.

Any grant awarded under this programme must fall between a minimum of €30,000 and a maximum of €50,000, with an indicative global allocation of €100,000. The programme is funded under the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI).

The initial planned duration of an action may not exceed 12 months. The deadline for the submission of applications is 1 September 2010.

An information session on this call for proposals will be held on 5 July 2010 at 5pm in the Delegation of the European Union's premises. Registration is compulsory at delegation-morocco-activites-culturelles@ec.europa.eu This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Global Arab Network