{"id":23101,"date":"2022-06-20T13:14:15","date_gmt":"2022-06-20T13:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/highatlasfoundation.org\/?p=23101"},"modified":"2022-06-20T13:35:44","modified_gmt":"2022-06-20T13:35:44","slug":"experience-dakira-conference-gathers-civil-society-and-community-stakeholders-from-around-morocco-for-the-preservation-and-transmission-of-the-kingdoms-diverse-cultural-heri","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress-haf.ddev.site\/experience-dakira-conference-gathers-civil-society-and-community-stakeholders-from-around-morocco-for-the-preservation-and-transmission-of-the-kingdoms-diverse-cultural-heri\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cExperience Dakira\u201d Conference gathers civil society and community stakeholders from around Morocco for the preservation and transmission of the Kingdom\u2019s diverse cultural heritage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fran\u00e7ais<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u0627\u0644\u0639\u0631\u0628\u064a\u0629<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

PRESS RELEASE<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cExperience Dakira\u201d Conference gathers civil society and community stakeholders from around Morocco for the preservation and transmission of the Kingdom\u2019s diverse cultural heritage<\/strong><\/p>\n

Marrakech (June 10, 2022) \u2013 The USAID Dakira program, implemented by the High Atlas Foundation, successfully hosted its first conference, called \u201cExperience Dakira<\/a>,\u201d at the Palm Plaza Hotel in Marrakech on June 8-10, 2022. Over 160 attendees from across Morocco as well as other parts of the world participated in the event, which highlighted the program\u2019s goals and approaches to the preservation and sharing of Morocco\u2019s multicultural heritage and memory, provided learning and networking opportunities for civil society and community members toward this goal, and paved a pathway for the continuation and expansion of the program on the cusp of entering its second year.<\/p>\n

The conference prompted attendees to consider their own meanings of \u201cMoroccanness.\u201d It showcased everyday storytellers of Morocco\u2019s pluralistic past, exhibited artistic pathways to community dialogue, highlighted commonalities between religious and ethnic groups, and encouraged reflection on the role of youth and women in heritage sustainability. Testimonials and conversations with Dakira partners and participants prompted exploration of traditional and novel methods of preserving Morocco\u2019s multicultural identity through collective community efforts.<\/p>\n

“The USAID Dakira program reinforces the efforts of the Moroccan government, under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, to promote tolerance and interreligious dialogue,\u201d said Juan Carlos Rodriguez, USAID\/Morocco General Development Office Director during the Opening Ceremony. \u201cReligious tolerance, multiculturalism, and interfaith dialogue are essential elements of the American-Moroccan partnership, a partnership built and maintained for two hundred years.”<\/p>\n

The event encompassed a variety of activities, including a trip to the 700 year-old\u00a0Akrich Jewish Cemetery and its adjacent fruit tree nursery<\/a>\u00a0to engage in interfaith dialogue toward collective project planning, discussions featuring stakeholders in cultural heritage representing academia, civil society, and the arts, including renowned Moroccan filmmaker, Izza Genini, and a tour of the Marrakech Mellah.<\/p>\n

Over the course of the conference, attendees engaged in a participatory, creative, and strategic brainstorming and planning process in small groups. The main priority they expressed focused on the integration of youth in heritage preservation efforts, from providing tailored education for children to building the capacities of young people to train and work in the culture sector. Other top priorities included elevating women as intergenerational gatekeepers of culture and folklore, expressly through oral storytelling and documentation, as well as establishing a radio network dedicated to the dissemination of Moroccan cultural heritage and exchange of ideas and stories across Morocco\u2019s diverse regions and peoples.<\/p>\n

The conference also provided the space for Dakira program partners to meet, share examples of good practices, and extend their networks to implement cultural heritage preservation projects on a wider scale, both locally and regionally.<\/p>\n

According to Jessica Stephens, member of the Sefrou Association for Multidisciplinary Arts (SAMA), a Dakira program partner organization, the gathering promoted \u201ccommunity-building and peacework.\u201d She added, \u201cto bring Sefrou to Marrakech has been a golden opportunity, but what I think is really magical is bringing all these people together on the topic of multiculturalism.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for a wonderful and immersive conference,\u201d shared Yassine Chtaou, an attendee who studies law at Cadi Ayyad University. \u201cI appreciated the organizers\u2019 caring disposition and teaching style. Thank you for incorporating humor and even performances. I will remember those forever. Toward more preservation of our Moroccan heritage!\u201d<\/p>\n

—<\/strong><\/p>\n

The\u00a0USAID Dakira Program<\/a>, implemented by the\u00a0High Atlas Foundation<\/a>\u00a0and its partners,\u00a0Mimouna Association<\/a>,\u00a0Fondation M\u00e9moires pour l’Avenir<\/a>,\u00a0Essaouira Mogador Association<\/a>,\u00a0Association Argania<\/a>,\u00a0Sefrou Association for Multidisciplinary Arts<\/a>, and\u00a0Fondation Miftah Essaad<\/a>, aims to collaboratively develop and pioneer a unique participatory approach to the educational preservation of Morocco\u2019s multicultural history. The program encourages local communities to capture, preserve, and transmit their collective memories so that they are better equipped to take ownership of the revitalization of their own histories. This introspective, experience-sharing approach among local participants maximizes relationship building, leading to collective actions that improve livelihoods and a deepened discovery of Morocco\u2019s multicultural identity.<\/em><\/p>\n

Contacts:<\/strong>
Soukaina Kherdioui, High Atlas Foundation<\/span>
soukaina@highatlasfoundation.org<\/a>, 06 41 61 99 22<\/span>

Margaret Sullivan, USAID<\/span>
masullivan@usaid.gov<\/a>, 06 00 36 65 56<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Experience Dakira Conference Participant Hana Ezaoui shares thoughts on Moroccanness and memory, June 9, 2022.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir, HAF President and Chief of Party of the USAID Dakira program delivers a welcoming speech during the Opening Ceremony on June 8.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Conference participants engage in participatory brainstorming and discussion surrounding the preservation of Morocco’s multicultural heritage, June 9, 2022.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Conference attendees participate in a tour of the Marrakech Mellah on June 8, 2022.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fran\u00e7ais\u00a0|\u00a0\u0627\u0644\u0639\u0631\u0628\u064a\u0629 PRESS RELEASE \u201cExperience Dakira\u201d Conference gathers civil society and community stakeholders from around Morocco for the preservation and transmission of the Kingdom\u2019s diverse cultural heritage Marrakech (June 10, 2022) \u2013 The USAID Dakira program, implemented by the High Atlas Foundation, successfully hosted its first conference, called \u201cExperience Dakira,\u201d at the Palm Plaza Hotel in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":23102,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[129,123],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wordpress-haf.ddev.site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/f2f0d40b-0107-2637-9cdd-f7f0915e91d7.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-haf.ddev.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23101"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-haf.ddev.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-haf.ddev.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-haf.ddev.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-haf.ddev.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23101"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-haf.ddev.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23105,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-haf.ddev.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23101\/revisions\/23105"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-haf.ddev.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-haf.ddev.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-haf.ddev.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-haf.ddev.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}