Second International Symposium EXPO TANGER 2012

Marrakesh, November 12-13, 2007

« Encounters and Cultural Diversity»

Marrakesh, Monday, November 12, 2007

Upon their arrival at Marrakesh, the representatives of more than 60 member-states of the BIE were welcomed by the local and regional authorities, Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi and several members of the government, the Wali and the Mayor of Tangier, Mohammed Hassad and Dahman Derham, as well as the Ambassador of Morocco to Paris, Fathallah Sijilmassi.

The work of this second international symposium, organized within the framework of Morocco’s candidacy for the organization of the International Expo in 2012 in Tangier, focused on the theme, “Encounters and Cultural Diversity,” an important facet of the theme chosen by Morocco for Expo 2012: “Routes of the World, Cultures Connecting.  For a More United World.”

The Mayor of the city of Tangier, Dahman Derham, followed by the Minister of Economy and Finances, Salaheddine Mezouar, welcomed the large group of participants who had come to partake in an endeavour of peace and cooperation.  For Salaheddine Mezouar, Expo Tanger 2012 represents an act of passion and of reason, a contribution to a better world marked by solidarity, fraternity, and justice. 

The Secretary-General of the BIE, Vicente González Loscertales, expressed his conviction that the Expos are, above all, large showcases of cultural diversity.  We must do everything in our power to avoid the dangers of standardization brought on by globalization because the world constructs itself, and continues to do so, on the meetings, cultural exchanges, and the know-how linked to the flux of people who travel and leave their traces on the world. 

After this opening session, a video showed the development of Tangier and the infrastructures of its region, notably the construction and the initial opening of Medport, designed to become the first Mediterranean port. 

The floor was then given to Federico Mayor Zaragoza, Director of UNESCO from 1987 to 1999 and President of the Culture and Peace Foundation as well as of the Tanger 2012 International Support Committee, who brilliantly championed the cause and the raison d’être of the Tanger 2012 project. 

“How can the future be different?” “We, the people” (as per the constitution of the UNESCO and as opposed to “We, the states”) must take our destiny into our own hands in order to avoid war and to construct peace through our daily actions, because actions are what ultimately define cultures.  Each human being is unique and capable of creating, inventing, leading his/her own life, and of conducting him/herself in accordance with his/her own convictions and not under the dictate of others.  Indeed, this is why we need to avoid the danger of standardization and to humanize globalization.  The important thing is to not remain a spectator.  To construct peace, we must meet each other and, immediately afterwards, we must speak with one another… It is high time to believe that Africa, and particularly Morocco, are capable of welcoming such an event that aims to develop a culture of cooperation and of dialogue.” 

The Minister of Industry, Trade, and New Technologies, Ahmed Chami, insisted on the role played by the international city of Tangier, which was one of the founding members of globalization, in the development of new technologies and in the challenges concerning education, fundamental for the continuation of the dialogue between cultures and civilisations.

“… Beyond Africa and the Arab world,” said André Azoulay, Advisor to His Majesty King Mohammed VI, “the candidacy of Tangier is a chance for reason, for a universal reason.  Our world is not undergoing a clash of civilizations but of ignorance.  We live in an autistic world that requires an electroshock to act.”  According to a recent report by the United Nations, added M. Azoulnay, neither civilizations nor religions have anything to do with international relations. They are bridges to bring us together.  « The concept of a clash of civilizations is advanced solely to mask a political motive and the real problems.  Our world of distrust, marked by the stigmas of wounds and of blood, needs an electroshock and that is what Tangier proposes to give—a signal of reason regained, of conviviality, peace, security, serenity, reinstated in the code, the Bible, of the international community.”

For Edward Nell, Professor of Economics at the New School University of New York and International Coordinator of the Tanger 2012 International Support Committee, globalization oppresses and invades Africa; we must control it by social means, through education and through opportunities for its people.  And this is what Tanger 2012 offers. 

Maja Razovic Kocijan, Advisor of Culture and Sports to the President of Croatia, wished to undersocre the importance of the Tanger 2012 theme, because if culture can be a factor of peace, it can also be a factor of war.  And the inhabitants of this part of Europe have learned this the hard way.  Diversity must be preserved and protected, but it is culture that has the power to reconstruct the routes and bridges destroyed by cultural differences.

Jorge Sampaio, former President of the Portuguese Republic, wished to express his support for the theme of Tanger 2012 in the context of a world where dialogue is increasingly difficult because we are all equal but different.  We must thus lean to “live together, differently and equally.”

According to Jérôme B.Bookin-Weiner, Director of study Abroad and Outreach at AMIDEAST, the international exchanges between universities are crucial, and while they already exist, it is indispensable to develop more of these types of programs. 

The Prime Minister, Abbas El Fassi, thanked all those who support Morocco, and among others, all of the Moroccan civil society, fully mobilized in support of this project.  

Latifa Akherbach, Secretary of State to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, explained the international context and the borderless issues involved in the candidacy of Tangier.  According to Ms. Akherbach, this is the occasion to enter into a cycle of accelerated changes, of dialogue to confront the large contemporary challenges, in an exceptional setting with an unprecedented theme.  This large-scale project for intercultural dialogue is not merely an intellectual gesture; it represents an important initiative for a mutual understanding that cannot take shape without cooperation.  Tanger 2012 is the invention of a culture that embraces diversity: enrichment through differences.  “It is not solely the government that is responsible for this candidacy— the entire population is also responsible.”

Nouzha Skalli, Minister of Social Development, Family, and Solidarity, then spoke.  Morocco is a country of cultural, linguistic, ethnic and racial, geographic, and sartorial diversity.  It is a country that also has a pluralistic identity. But the preservation of this diversity is threatened by globalization. 

Ms. Skalli continued to recount the history of development of human rights, democracy, and equality in Morocco by citing several key dates: 1992 and 1996—constitutional reforms; 1999—first free and transparent elections; 2006- new code of nationality, and so on.  Women’s rights have since then been established and protected, and Ms. Skalli finished with a quote from an Aragon poem that perfectly fits the Morocco of today: “Women are the future of men.”

The Wali of Tangier, Mohamed Hassad, gave his warm thanks to the participants of this symposium and asked for the support of all for a project that represents the future not only for Morocco but also, and in particular, for the inhabitants who feel directly involved.

For the Secretary-General of the BIE, Vicente González Loscertales, “What we participated in today was neither an academic exercise nor a dissection of the Expo theme.  It represented the very essence of an Expo: an inventory and above all a vision, a utopia constructed on concrete basis, on our lives, on a vision shared by the Head of State, by his government, by all of civil society.  This Expo is a door that opens the way to create the electroshock of which André Azoulay spoke, an electroshock against the obstacles of nature and of men.  What we saw is the theme of man in movement, creator of culture, capable of commanding a society.  Morocco represents not only a people with a long tradition of welcoming different cultures but also a vehicle that has known how to influence the world through its contribution to the process of civilization.  The proposed setting for this event is not just anywhere; it is in Tangier, a refuge for men and women persecuted for their religions, their political ideas, a place where changes are possible.  This project, along with other equally good and legitimate projects, will soon be the object of a vote at the BIE General Assembly.  In this adventure under the sovereign will of the international community, I wish you all much happiness, in liberty, in harmony.  Thank you.”

Tangier, Tuesday, November 13, 2007

The warm reception by the city of Tangier can hardly be described by words.

The entire city assembled in the streets of Tangier, so that the participants—of over 150 people—travelled by foot under a resplendent sun, surrounded by the singing of children, words of welcome and questions from the inhabitants, and roses offered or thrown from the balconies.  Emotions were apparent on the faces of all, delegates and representatives, faced with such an unforgettable reception of all those people, fully aware of what the Expo can bring them today and to future generations. 

After a tour of the site, in which roads had been laid out since the first symposium last June, thousands of balloons with the colors of the Expo logo were thrown into the Tangier sky.

Thank you to the organizers, to the team of Tangier 2012, for this symposium, the encounters, the warm memories of culture and diversity!