The Washington Moroccan American Club’s Ambitious 20/20 Project Takes Shape

The 20/20 celebration of the Washington Moroccan American Club (WMC) is about to begin in various locations throughout Washington, D.C. The mixture of academic, cultural, recreational and family events will start on March 1, 2010, and last through the end of the month. As WMC Club Member Khalid Nahi notes, the 20 years celebration is “our celebration of unity and love for each other,” and the 20/20 events recognize “the leadership of WMC...for all of these years [of service and community building”.

One of the family events, entitled “Youth 2K Morocco/USA Fun Run,” will be held on March 27. “I enjoy running with my kids," said 2K Fun Run organizer and chair Driss Benmhend, who is also a WMC Club Member, "and I think it's important for other kids in this country to be more physically active in order to avoid the negative consequences of children's obesity. Moreover, I am a strong believer in the common saying in Morocco: ‘A healthy brain is in a healthy body,’ and I am convinced that exercise activates a person’s brain in ways that sedentary behaviors, no matter how mentally rigorous, cannot." Children from 7 to 12 are eligible and encouraged to participate in this event.

Club member Jamal Laoudi, chair of the Hassan Mendoun Memorial Soccer Tournament event scheduled for March 26 and 27, found the inclusion of a soccer tournament as a 20/20 event particularly appropriate. “I cannot imagine the Washington Moroccan American Club celebrating its 20th anniversary without a soccer tournament,” he said, “for the simple reason that it started out as a soccer team called Washington Athletic Club (WAC) back in 1988. Having been a member of the team for many years now, I jumped at the opportunity to [participate] in making this [20/20] event a success.”

Another 20/20 family event -- the Art and Poetry Slam, which is taking place on March 13 at the McLean Community Center – stresses broader understanding of Moroccan culture and culture overall, particularly, through the younger generation. Youths from 7 to 17 years old are eligible to enter the “slam” and read aloud original or selected poetry or other literature. The organizers are encouraging the use of original compositions of the presenters on Morocco or their Moroccan heritage or works of Moroccan authors. (For example, according to the 20/20 event website www.wmc20.org, participants wishing to submit original compositions “can write about Morocco, your favorite memories, a story about your grandparents!”) Entrants may also present instrumental performances, dance, song and original artwork, including drawing, painting and sculpture.

“In the age of video games, internet and texting, kids have fewer experiences with literature and art,” observed Annalisa Assaadi, chair of the event. “Many Moroccan-American kids know little of Moroccan poets and authors. This youth fine arts event [will] foster literary art appreciation and achievement while highlighting Moroccan poets and authors.” “I have two Moroccan-American children aged 12 and 15,” added Ms. Assaadi. “Their cultural identity and heritage will add immeasurable value to their lives and to the lives of others.” Meryem Boulale, co-chair of the slam, likewise found the slam personally “important…to help foster a better understanding and greater appreciation for Moroccan art,” especially among the younger generation. According to Ms. Boulale, “The Moroccan American community will greatly benefit…since “this event will help expose the younger generation to the richness” and “high quality” of “Moroccan Art” at the same time as it “highlights the existing talent within our community.”

Mr. Laoudi emphasized that soccer is not only a game but a way to build community. “Soccer was used as a tool to bring [Moroccan American] community members together since the community was still very small; consequently, many long-lasting friendships were forged some of which grew to levels that helped strengthen the community.” Noting that the tournament is dedicated in memory of the late Hassan Mendoun, “who was highly respected by community members who knew him, goes to show how far the community has come,” he added. Mr. Laoudi observed that “teams are coming from ten different states to participate in the tournament, something which would have been inconceivable 10 years ago, let alone in 1988 when WAC was first born.”

Other 20/20 projects include two academic programs, one on Women’s Empowerment in Morocco and the other on The Coming of Age of the Imazighen Question. The women’s empowerment program, to be held on March 17 at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, addresses issues of gender and development in Morocco and will examine these issues as they have affected Morocco’s progress. “Morocco has been perceived by many in the West as a 'success story' for legal changes to improve women's rights,” said program chair Martha Dye, who has worked with Moroccan women on gender equality issues for many years. “[The] Washington Moroccan Club's 20/20 event is providing an opportunity to gather experts together [from both the United States and Morocco] to explain and evaluate the impact of Moroccan gender equality initiatives for the benefit of both the Moroccan-American community and the Washington policy community."

The Imazighen program, to be held at George Washington University on March 19, results from a partnership between the Washington Moroccan American Club, Morocco’s Royal Institute for Amazigh Culture (IRCAM or Institut Royal de la Culture Amazighe), and George Washington University, and will involve experts in Amazigh language and culture. Dr. Aziz Abbassi, the program chair and an expert in the field, observed that his interest in the subject initially stemmed from his desire “to open the door to a debate on how best to achieve badly needed literacy and universal education for Morocco's diverse population.” According to Dr. Abbassi, the “road has been a rough one, but some progress … is being made through a series of recent [Moroccan] educational policies such as the Education Charter and the creation of IRCAM,” and there is “now good reason for optimism.”

Driss Benmhend, the Imazighen event co-chair, noted, "I am delighted to take part in an event that will discuss an issue that I cherish and care about. I am a passionate and avid advocate not just of preserving the Amazigh culture but also for bringing it up to an equal footing with Arabic culture, which is consistent with Moroccan cultural and linguistic pluralism. In my opinion, this pluralism is what makes Morocco unique, and it is in perfect harmony with the democratic values that we are longing for.” Looking to the future, Mr. Benmhend added, “It is my great hope that this event will lead to more and more similar events to enlighten audiences on the richness of the Amazigh culture and its significance for Moroccan and North African politics and identity."

The Home of Moroccan Educators and Moroccan Students in America (HMEMSA) is presenting a 20/20 event to be held on March 4 at George Mason University. According to Mohamed Belkhayat of the HMEMSA planning committee, 20/20 “is very important because it provides a forum for so many Moroccan associations to come to Washington, D.C. and share the important work they do with the rest of the community.” As for his project, he noted that “HMEMSA will serve a critical need in Morocco's strategic plans for staying abreast of globalization and modernization especially in education” and for advancing “education in our beloved country [Morocco].”

The Moroccan Association of Sister Cities International will hold its 20/20 event on March 23. The Association was created to develop cultural, economic and social exchanges and strengthen bilateral and multilateral relationships between cities in Morocco and in the United States through the exchange of people and ideas. Relationships already exist, including between Agadir and Oakland, CA, between Marrakesh and Scottsdale, AZ, and between Casablanca and Chicago.

Explaining the importance of this 20/20 event, program chair Boubker Mazoz commented: “It is an opportunity to transmit the objectives and programs of the Sister Cities International Organization…and encourage the Moroccan American communities to start seriously considering US-Moroccan sister cities partnerships as the best means to promote peace and understanding between nations.” Mr. Mazoz has found such “citizen diplomacy...to be the most effective tool to dissipate prejudices, wrong perceptions and stereotypes about peoples from different social, ethnic, racial, religious and economic backgrounds...and to get nations to know each other.” On a personal note, he added that “20/20 will help me renew contacts with the community and reach out to new ones.”

“Strengthening the Moroccan American Presence in the U.S.,” an event co-sponsored by the Houston Moroccan Society and WMC, is a town hall-type meeting which will be held on March 28. Among other things, it will consider organizing, promoting the welfare of, and otherwise empowering Moroccan Americans in the United States; increasing Moroccan American involvement in the political processes in Morocco and the United States; and linking and coordinating Moroccan American not-for-profit organizations in the United States. Abdel Elkhadiri, President, Houston Moroccan Society, is chairing the program.

Touria Bernoussi, who is co-chairing a 20/20 project called Destination Morocco, which involves donations of goods to Morocco -- specifically, collecting a container of cargo of goods of various sorts (“gently used clothing, shoes, infant items and school supplies,” according to the 20/20 website) – said that she is enjoying “the chance to work as a team and as a community” through 20/20. She noted that she is eager “to pay back Morocco and to prove that ... Morocco is always in our hearts” regardless of “our distance.”

Another event highlights the Peace Corps experience in Morocco for over five decades, dating back to 1963. Over 4000 volunteers have served two-year terms and some 250 are now serving in various sectors, including environment, health, small business development and youth development, according to the event organizers. The chair of the event is Tim Resch, President of Friends of Morocco, a sister organization of the Washington Moroccan American Club, which mainly consists of former Peace Corps volunteers in Morocco, and which also supports cultural exchange between Morocco and the United States.

In addition to the events mentioned above, 20/20 includes freedom of the press, interfaith dialogue, the High Atlas Foundation, the Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies (TALIM), cinema, cuisine, travel, music, and other topics. Among the locations for 20/20 events (some of which are also noted above) are distinguished venues, such as Johns Hopkins University (at its School of Advanced International Studies or SAIS), Georgetown University, the National Press Club, George Mason University, George Washington University, District of Columbia City Hall, and the Goethe Institute; family-oriented sites, including the McLean Community Center and Casablanca Restaurant in Alexandria, VA; and others to be announced. All details appear on the project’s wmc20.org website.

Club members see 20/20 as more than a series of programs. As member Khalid Nahi observed, “the Washington Moroccan Club was and is an example of true, honest, fair, energetic, loving, caring Moroccan [Americans] willing to unite with other fellow Moroccan Americans together with all others concerned with the Moroccan experience”. Beyond Moroccan Americans, the Club membership includes those connected to Morocco in many different ways, including through spouses, Peace Corps work, travel, technical assistance programs, and study abroad, such as through bar associations, the Fulbright program, and other organizations. According to Mr. Nahi, “WMC [has been] trying to connect the pieces for years, and this March is our thanks to its leadership of trust, honor, and great love for bridging two cultures together for the past 20 years.”

Club founder and president Hassan Samrhouni, who set the 20/20 project in motion, respectfully defers to his project chairs; however, he said that he is “thrilled to see the Moroccan American community and friends of Morocco all getting together in the same spirit for the same goal: to help Morocco” in various ways. According to an observer and friend of the 20/20 effort, WMC and all the project committees should be proud of creating a series of events which will “benefit the Moroccan American and the larger Washington, D.C. communities in multiple ways (including by entertaining and informing); serve as a model to other communities” on “what can be done through community talent, organization, and initiative;”and, in the final analysis (and to quote WMC secretary Annalisa Assaadi) to “broaden perspectives, diminish stereotypes, and encourage generosity.”