Regions Morocco Cultures Exhibition: a public school open to society
- A local project with a national ambition
- Objectives of the exhibition
- The project reflects the vision of the Ministry in the animation of school life
- Workshops, competition and closing ceremony
- Visiting establishments and project partners
Under the slogan "Diversity enriches us and unity distinguishes us", the first edition of "Regions Morocco Cultures 2024 Exhibition" was launched on 11 and 12 May with a closing ceremony on 26 May at the Boukmakh Cultural Centre in Tangier. The event was organised by the Abi Bakr Razi high school in partnership with the Association of Mothers and Fathers of Students (AMPA).
"Regions Morocco Cultures Exhibition" is an educational project that managed to discover the hobbies and talents of more than 200 pupils of the institute Abi Bakr Razi adhering to the Cultural Club led by Khadija Taouil, project holder and director of the exhibition.
The idea came about when an urgent need was identified for attractive, fun and very useful activities for schoolchildren in the public sector. Exploring the twelve regions of Morocco has been a journey in which the pupils were active and produced each according to their abilities and vocations.
The scarcity of projects that seek to shed light on the different talents of the pupils and polish them through practical workshops made this initiative very rewarding for all participants.
It is an exhibition containing 12 tents from the twelve regions of Morocco that identify the cultural diversity of the country from north to south and from east to west. Each region was represented by its historical, geographical, economic, touristic and cultural specificities.
The project is aimed at pupils from the same high school who wish to benefit from the workshops with all levels of secondary school and pupils from other high schools as visitors to the exhibition.
A local project with a national ambition
It is an ambitious project that inaugurated its first edition this year with a view to making further editions with new creative ideas that focus on exploring the history and culture of Morocco in its different regions.
The next edition, said exhibition director Khadija Taouil, will invite students from Morocco's twelve regions to come and present their community in Tangier, as part of a national cultural week.
"It is a creative idea and a very timely initiative that brings the public school out of isolation, supports its openness to its environment and breathes new life into the school environment. It also creates a space where people learn by doing homework, acting in real situations and thinking of solutions to problems," Tayeb Bakkali, the headmaster of the organising high school, told Atalayar.
The president of the AMPA, Khadija Afkir, expressed her pride in the students' potential, their commitment to the project since January and their creativity in both the exhibition and the closing ceremony, describing the whole event as "successful and unprecedented".
For his part, the regional delegate of the Ministry of Education in Tangier, Rachid Rayan, praised the initiative that opened the way for students to show their know-how, develop their skills, share their knowledge and exchange experiences through the opening of the exhibition to students of all school levels from the private public sector and the foreign mission.
Objectives of the exhibition
The "Regions Morocco Cultures Exhibition" project aims to:
- To implement the approach of the school as a micro-society.
- To consolidate the national identity in all its cultural dimensions and its openness to universal human values.
- To stimulate collective action, the spirit of dialogue and the acceptance of differences.
- To contribute to building a healthy school life that is fun and interactive with its social environment.
- To sow the seeds of a culture of cooperation, solidarity and voluntary work among pupils.
- To promote the openness of the public school to other private sector institutions and foreign missions.
- To create an entertaining and useful environment and encourage students to think, propose and plan their projects.
- To explore the talents and hobbies of the pupils in order to polish them and present their creations to their peers and visitors to the exhibition.
- To integrate pupils with learning difficulties in activities that match their vocations and needs.
- To reinforce their self-esteem and restore their self-confidence.
- Motivate them to discover strengths in their personalities and knowledge.
- To get to know closely the geography of Morocco and to see the specificity of each region in terms of economy, environment, heritage, local products, crafts and culture.
- To develop language skills as well as soft skills.
The project reflects the vision of the Ministry in the animation of school life
The "Regions Morocco Cultures Exhibition" is part of the 2022-2026 roadmap of the Ministry of National Education, Preschool and Sport for a quality public school based on three main axes: teacher, pupil and educational institutions.
The project implements the Ministry's vision to create a stimulating educational climate and environment that makes the school a vibrant and fun space outside school hours, allowing the pupil to express their thoughts and suggestions, discuss them and convince others of their effectiveness.
The exhibition has transformed the Abi Bakr Razi High School space into an incubator of students' energies, talents and hobbies and an attractive pole not only for students enrolled in the high school, but open to visitors from other schools and colleges.
Workshops, competition and closing ceremony
The educational project is based on several workshops in which students from Abi Bakr Razi High School and others from the other visiting institutions participated, such as:
- Photography: shooting 12 videos about the twelve regions, two of which reached the final.
- Handicrafts: the pupils prepared jigsaw puzzles, one for each region.
- Arabic calligraphy: to write the twelve regions in beautiful letters.
- Documentation and writing: to write informative texts about each region with paragraphs on climate, rivers and dams, economy, infrastructure, tourist sites and historical monuments, music, cuisine, and festivals; to introduce them in brochures.
- Theatre: the pupils have worked on a play that premiered at the Boukmakh Cultural Centre.
- Traditional clothing: the pupils presented the traditional clothing of each region of Morocco with typical handicraft accessories.
- Painting and design: designing regional brochures, drawing and painting pictures.
- Cooking: preparing traditional cakes from each region.
- Regions workshop for three visiting schools.
The closing ceremony was held on 26 May, hosted by radio presenter Aicha Ahmed, with a rich programme comprising:
- Report on the "Regions Morocco Cultures Exhibition".
- Videos of the two winning regions: Fes-Meknes and Casablanca-Settat
- Contest including random questions on the twelve regions of the Kingdom of Morocco; in which participated the Ramon y Cajal College, the Ahmed Chawki School for primary school and the Ibn Tofail and Abi Bakr Razi schools for secondary school.
- The play "Khawa Dini Ntaalaj (Brother, take me to heal).
- The traditional dress parade
- Tarab: 4 musical breaks
- Prizes to the winners and certificates to the participants
Visiting establishments and project partners
On 11 and 12 May, 18 primary and secondary schools visited the exhibition, including the Ramón y Cajal School, pupils from the American School and others from the French Mission, as well as schools, colleges and institutes from the public and private sector.
Among the partners who supported the project were: the regional delegation, the ENSI School of Modern Science and Engineering, the BTKWourgh cooperative, DDC, the Anamil Anjra Mobdiaa Association, as well as some of the former students of Abi Bakr Razi.
