Morocco, stands out in the Arab world as a leader because of its wide ranging programme of social reform and development and it is this vision which caught the attention of the prestigious Yale University which, like Harvard, has trained generations of leading policymakers and businessmen, reports Bouchra Benyoussef for MAP.

Yale is the first American university to have incorporated the teaching of Arabic in its studies in the eighteenth century.

The university decided to celebrate the week of Morocco, because it is a "unique country in the Arab-Muslim world, known for its tolerance and its artistic wealth", according to Marcia Inhorn, Yale President of the Board for Middle Easern Studies, and the initiator of this event. "There are fascinating things that happen in Morocco", added Inhorn who is anthropologist and professor of International Relations at the university. She stresses the important role played by the various festivals organized in the kingdom; festivals that reflect the diverse identities of the Arab,Muslim,Jewish and Berber legacies.

"I visited Morocco three times this year and I invite you to do so", she said before an audience of students and eminent professors. This was followed by papers by André Azoulay, Counsellor to King Mohammed VI and President of the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation and Fatima Sadiqi, Director General of the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music together with Moha Ennaji, President of the Amazigh Festival.

"There are fascinating things that happen in Morocco", added Inhorn who is anthropologist and professor of International Relations at the university. She stresses the important role played by the various festivals organized in the kingdom, festivals that reflect the diverse identities of the Arabo
Muslim-Jewish-Berber legacies.

"The homage Yale University makes today to the vitality and rich cultural diversity of Morocco, reflects the universality and the exceptional path undertaken by our country," Azoulay said. "In Essaouira, as in many other Moroccan cities, cultural creation imposes itself as a vector of excellence when it comes to changing minds and attitudes of many of us, where other political, economic or social theories find their limitations", he added.

"The dialogue of religions or civilizations in Morocco today, has become a point of reference in developing and consolidating the gains of an inclusive culture that now shape the attitudes and choices of many of us", Azoulay continued.

"Fes, for its part, continues through its festival of world sacred music, to shine in the world, conveying the message of spirituality and intercultural dialogue", said Sadiqi, a linguist and professor of Women Studies at the University of Fes.. This festival, now 15 years old, not only keeps its soul, but helps to develop other creative spaces in which women and young people have a special place. "Women have always been the source of oral transmission", said Sadiqi claiming that this "orality" is a pillar of the Moroccan identity.

For Moha Ennaji, Morocco is a forerunner in the defense of cultural diversity. He cites as evidence the teaching of Amazigh language and its integration in the media.

The university defends an Amazigh festival that promotes art in all its forms as a national heritage.
Ennaji indicated that the festival is not a "folklore" of the Amazigh culture, but rather a celebration of a fundamental component of the Moroccan identity.

Morocco Week at Yale comes in a series of conferences, focusing particularly on women's rights in Morocco, the new family code, the revival of the Amazigh culture and the importance of arts and culture in human development.