Although Morocco has witnessed during the current year a continuity in organizing major cultural events, such as the International Publishing and Book Fair in Rabat, and the Marrakech International Film Festival, with which the Kingdom turns into a destination for major intellectuals, artists, and lovers of culture and art, other new initiatives have been launched to confirm the extent of the Royal care continuously given to this sector.
One of the most prominent of these initiatives was the opening of the Royal Theatre of Rabat, which Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa, accompanied by the wife of the French President, Brigitte Macron, oversaw its inauguration last October, by order of His Majesty King Mohammed VI. The Royal Theatre is considered a structural project that strengthens the system of the City of Lights, the cultural capital of Morocco, and also represents an embodiment of the continuous care that His Majesty the King has always given to art and culture, thanks to the location of this cultural facility, its distinct aesthetics, and its innovative technical standards that are considered a major leap in the cultural landscape of the Kingdom.
In fact, this important project, for which His Majesty the King had given the launch of its construction works, constitutes an integrated part of the development programme of the city of Rabat, in addition to its contribution to strengthening cultural infrastructure at the level of various regions of the Kingdom, and in promoting the cultural influence of Morocco at the global level.
This cultural influence of the Kingdom was also consolidated during the year 2024, through the announcement by the Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, last October of the selection of Rabat as the World Book Capital for 2026, based on the recommendation of the World Book Capital Advisory Committee, and the selection by the Organization of World Heritage Cities of the city of Marrakech to host its nineteenth World Congress for 2026, both of which are choices that consolidate the position of these two cities in the global cultural landscape.
Among the prominent events witnessed by the Kingdom in the cultural field in 2024 are the activities of the Qatar-Morocco 2024 Year of Culture, which is a unique event of its kind, and an exceptional opportunity to introduce Qatar and the rest of the world to the Moroccan cultural heritage, which is rich in its diversity and specificities that make the Kingdom an ancient and unique country.
The year that is about to end also witnessed the celebration of Marrakech as the Capital of Culture in the Islamic World for 2024, under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, where the Red City hosted a series of cultural, intellectual, and artistic events and activities that highlight Islamic civilization, and highlight the richness of the city, which is characterized by a special charm, in light of continuous urban development thanks to the Royal programme "Marrakech, the Renewed City".
Furthermore, the current year was distinguished by the continuity of the work of the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco within the framework of its new structure that His Majesty the King wanted to give it a new breath and a strong push based on a new vision, with new structures and members, and programmes and projects open to international cultural experiences to keep pace with the developments of the era, and celebrates all the components of the national identity, Arab-Islamic, Amazigh, and Sahrawi Hassani, and its African, Andalusian, Hebrew, and Mediterranean tributaries.
Speaking of the Amazigh component, the official celebration of the Amazigh New Year has been consolidated during the current year, which His Majesty the King graciously decided in May 2023 to declare as an official paid national holiday, consolidating the constitutional status of Amazigh as an official language of the country alongside the Arabic language.
The current year also witnessed a development in the legal arsenal for framing cultural affairs, as a group of laws were approved in various fields, including in particular, the law related to the protection of heritage, which allows in particular, to strengthen the provisions related to the preservation of historical buildings, landscapes, engraved inscriptions, and art objects, and the creation of a national register for heritage inventory.
Among these laws also, is the one related to the film industry and the reorganization of the Moroccan Cinematographic Centre, which aims mainly to contribute to achieving the transition aimed at promoting Moroccan cinema in its economic and investment dimensions.
In fact, these various initiatives and milestones constitute a link in a long chain of initiatives and efforts witnessed by the Kingdom in the cultural field since His Majesty the King ascended the throne, and stem from an integrated Royal vision that places culture at the heart of the Kingdom's development project, and makes it one of the facades of its influence at the international level.
