14 April 2018
H.E Shaikha Mai Attends the Opening Ceremony of “ Oujda Capital of Arab Culture 2018”, H.E : “ The City is a living example of historical richness and diversity”
H.E Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, President of Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities (BACA), has taken part in the official launch of the event “Oujda Capital of Arab Culture for the year 2018, on 13 April 2018. The event was held under the auspices of King Mohammed VI, in the presence of Dr Saud Hilal Al Harbi, General Director of ALESCO, Dr Mohamed Laaraj, Moroccan Minister of Culture and Communication, , and the Director-General of the Arab Organization for the Orient, Education, and several Arab ministers and ambassadors, heads of Arab cultural institutions and other personalities from all over the world.
In a speech addressed to the attendants, H.E said “ The choice of Oujda to be named as the Capital of Arab Culture 2018 represents an symbolic well-deserved achievement carried out by the Kingdom of Morocco. The City is a living example of historical richness and diversity, a cultural and intellectual lighthouse shining not only on African continent, but also on the region and the world” . H.E added sating “ We praise and highly value the historical importance of Oujda and its amazing diversity assets to be worthy of hosting the capital of Arab culture. We also laud the efforts deployed by Morocco to develop and enhance the cultural infrastructure”.
General Director of ALESCO, Dr Saud Hilal Al Harbi, for his part, lauded the event Celebrating “the capitals of Arab culture”, which is a cultural event of special significance to showcase the richness of cultural heritage. He also praised Morocco's experience of opening up to different cultures and noted that cultural wealth was an important side effect for achieving future goals, pointing out that the celebration of this Arab event was aimed at developing a common Arab action in the cultural sphere.
Dr Mohamed Laaraj, Moroccan Minister of Culture and Communication, speaking during a press conference, held shortly before the official opening ceremony of this major event, Mohamed Laaraj pointed out that the program concocted to cover the whole year includes festivals, conferences and scientific meetings, activities, exhibitions, Arab cultural days, theatrical performances , artistic events and creations , and tributes to great personalities in the world of art and culture.
The official launch of the event “Oujda Capital of Arab Culture for the year 2018” also included many programs and sessions, most important of which was a film projection of “The Millennium City of Oujda: History & Civilization”, a vivid homage to one of the most significant symbol of Arab culture in 2018, the famous Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darouich, a performance of Andalus Arabic Choir al-muwashahat al-Andalusia, the handing over of the city's key to the General Director of ALESCO, as well as heritage artistic exceptional paintings show.
Worth to mention that nominating a culture capital decision comes as a result of strenuous efforts made to enhance and develop a strong cultural infrastructure. Morocco has, indeed, succeeded to carry out many significant projects in the city of Oujda as part of an urban rehabilitation plan, which included among other things, the "Mohammed VI Theater" of Oujda, the venue of the official lunch ceremony of “ Oujda Arab Culture for the year 2018”. Indeed, In December 2017, the Standing Committee on Arab Culture unanimously appointed the city of Oujda as the Capital of Arab Culture for 2018, following its November meeting in Casablanca. The city, after the nomination decision, prepared a rich art and culture program of events and activities during the period from 13 April 2018 until 29 March 2019.
