Culture and the humanities now have their rightful place and legitimacy in our universities’ curricula, a first that will mark a milestone in the history of higher education in Morocco,’ André Azoulay, Advisor to HM the King, said on Thursday in Rabat.
“This is a decisive threshold that has been crossed, which will help to consolidate, broaden and perpetuate our country’s leadership, having managed to make its tangible and intangible heritage, its history and the richness of all its diversities, the driving force of its social modernity,’ underlined Azoulay, speaking at the First national university meeting aimed at debating the “Challenges of Culture and Humanities” in the revised and completed roadmap for Moroccan universities.
“Bolstered by the leadership of HM the King and the pioneering and committed vision of our Sovereign, Morocco has taken several steps forward in a Community of Nations in search of landmarks and often weakened by the illusions of withdrawal and the denial of otherness, while on t
he other hand Morocco, in the land of Islam, has been able to protect, nurture and develop its openness to the World without giving up any depth and integrity of its identity and the authenticity of its traditions,’ added Azoulay.
“It is with this in mind, and as an extension and acceleration of this dynamic, that we now need to understand and contextualize the place of Culture and Humanities in the new educational paradigm, on the basis of which the curricula of our universities will help to train those who will tomorrow be able to consolidate and further today’s achievements,’ pointed out the Advisor to HM the King.
For his part, the Minister for Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, Abdellatif Miraoui, stressed the importance of humanities and culture as essential elements of the education system, while highlighting the key role of culture in the reform of higher education, along with openness to other cultures and mastery of foreign languages.
Miraoui also called on young Moroccans to
open up and explore the richness and cultural diversity of the Kingdom’s different regions, citing the role played by the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences in promoting Moroccan cultural diversity.
The Minister for Youth, Culture and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, highlighted the close link between culture and humanity, stating that several disciplines of the humanities, artistic creativity and culture, in its broadest sense, have been identified.
He also pointed out that culture and the humanities have helped build bridges using cultural and creative industries, through universities that are open to their regional, associative and entrepreneurial environment, citing International Book and Publishing Fair (SIEL) and Morocco Gaming Expo.
Source: Agence Marocaine De Presse