Arabs & Arabian Records Aggregator. Chronicler. Milestones of the 25 Countries of the Arabic Speaking World (official / co-official). AGCC. MENA. Global. Ist's to Top 10's. Records. Read & Enjoy./ www.arabianrecords.org
AquaFun, anchored in the Gulf waters alongside the JBR beach, has received a Guinness World Record certificate for being the world’s largest inflatable water park.
Launched for the first time in 2016, AquaFun has now expanded to three times its original size to reach 42,400 square metres. It currently forms the words ‘I love (heart symbol) Expo 2020 Dubai’, which can be seen from aircraft flying into Dubai.
It features over 72 obstacles and operates all year round. Prices start from Dh155 for an all-day pass ticket.
Ahmed Al Khaja, CEO of Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), said: “To secure another world record for Dubai during such an important event in our calendar, the Dubai Shopping Festival, is a moment of real pride for the city.
Ahmed Ben Chaibah, CEO & Founder of AquaFun, said the aim with the project five years ago was to enrich the Dubai Marina and JBR areas’ offerings.
Emirate bagged yet another world record in the final week of its shopping festival.
Doum was founded by mother-daughter duo Samira Madrane and Yasmine Erguibi in 2017.
Samira and Yasmine Erguibi are the Moroccan mother-daughter duo who have made it their mission to make a positive impact in fashion. The designers are playing an active role in promoting sustainability and ethical practices with their accessories label, Doum.
Each design in their bag line is handmade by underprivileged women. The totes, clutches and pouches support fair trade and sustainable practices to preserve local artisanal traditions and invite local women from rural areas around Marrakech to provide for their families via the production of the bags, according to the label’s manifesto.
The brand takes its name from the Moroccan palm leaf, which is collected, pruned and then woven by the artisans. “It is a nod to our culture, heritage and craftsmanship,” explained Yasmine of the decision to name the label Doum.
Today, Doum operates its own cooperative in Morocco, Doum For Women, which currently employs 235 women artisans.
Doum For Women is the first basketry cooperative in Morocco to have obtained SEDEX certification, meaning that the organization ticks all of the boxes of ethical business practices.
Jordanian writer Jalal Barjas has won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction for his work Notebooks of the Bookseller.
The novel, published by The Arabic Institute for Research and Publishing, was named this year’s winner of the prize during an online ceremony.
Besides receiving a monetary prize of $50,000, Barjas will also be given funding towards securing an English translation of his novel.
Notebooks of the Bookseller is set in Jordan and Moscow between 1947 and 2019. It tells the story of Ibrahim, a bookseller and voracious reader, who loses his shop and finds himself homeless and diagnosed with schizophrenia. He begins to assume the identity of the protagonists of the novels he loved and commits a series of crimes, including burglary, theft and murder. He then attempts suicide before meeting a woman who changes his perspective on life.
Born in 1970, Barjas is a Jordanian poet and novelist who worked in the field of aeronautical engineering for several years. He is currently head of the Jordanian Narrative Laboratory and presents a radio programme called House of the Novel. He has also written articles for Jordanian newspapers and headed several other cultural organisations.
Barjas’s published work includes two poetry collections and four novels. His 2012 short story The Earthquakes won the Jordanian Rukus ibn Za’id ʻUzayzi Prize.
His 2013 novel Guillotine of the Dreamer won the Jordanian Rifqa Doudin Prize for Narrative Creativity in 2014. His Snakes of Hell won the 2015 Katara Prize for the Arabic Novel in the unpublished novel category, and was published by Katara in 2016. His third novel, Women of the Five Senses, was longlisted for the Ipaf in 2019.
Notebooks of the Bookseller was chosen by the Ipaf judges from a shortlist of six novels by authors from Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia.
The shortlisted works were all published between July 2019 and August 2020 and included The Eye of Hammurabi by Abdulatif Ould Abdullah, The Calamity of the Nobility by Amira Ghneim, The Bird Tattoo by Dunya Mikhail, File 42 by Abdelmajid Sabbath and Longing for the WomanNext Door by Habib Selmi.
The shortlisted authors will receive $10,000 each.
source/content: thenationalnews.com
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Jordanian writer Jalal Barjas has been named the winner of this year’s International Prize for Arabic Fiction 2021. Courtesy Shaama Oubayda Mahfoud / pix: thenationalnews.com
Music industry hopefuls, it’s time to update your calendar because Spotify is presenting its first-ever Sawtik female-only masterclass.
And Arab superstar and Godmother of Sawtik, Latifa Bint Alaya El Arfaoui, is set to host a special guest spot to share her story. The special installment, which supports the region’s emerging female artists as part of the Sawtik initiative.
The Tunisian superstar, who has partnered with the world’s most popular audio streaming service to be a mentor to exceptional up-and-coming talents from countries like UAE, KSA, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, will be offering creators valuable tips and advice.
Latifa, who started her career in the 80s, told “Vogue Arabia.” “My journey hasn’t happened without its challenges and while I enjoy a successful career, there are many others still waiting for the right opportunity to shine.”
The singer and actress added Sawtik offers female artists an effective platform to reveal their talent and build a connection with audiences who will love their music across all genres.
Sawtik, which means “your voice” in Arabic, was launched as Spotify’s inaugural women-in-music initiative for the Middle East and North Africa region. The initiative, unveiled with 16 emerging talents including Almas, Jarra and Feluka, is also backed by other influential women in the music business. Introduced the same week that Apple launched its New Artists: Middle East playlist.
The Sudanese artist Mubarak Hemoudi, who is 77, works in the United States, but his paintings reflect his experiences in Sudan, including scenes of violence he witnessed in his youth and the daily suffering of residents, and especially women, of Sudan’s Darfur region.
Born in Sudan’s North Kordofan state in 1944, Hemoudi moved between the country’s southern and northern regions during his youth and now divides his time between the United States and Sudan. “I get inspired by images from Khartoum and come to America to paint,” he said.
Hemoudi recently displayed a series of his paintings in Northern Virginia in an exhibition titled “African Art and Tales from Sudan.”
Through 38 images of Darfuri women—some from the Baggara tribes in western Sudan, some from the Dinka tribes in the south and other groups—the exhibition takes visitors on a time journey to the past of Sudan’s rural regions.
Art as a Call for Freedom.
His art is influenced not only by the violence he witnessed during his youth and the tyranny of tribal leaders over peoples’ lives, but also by his experience of the patterns of daily life and interactions among the residents of Sudan’s various regions.
He explained that Sudanese art exists more in the natural environment than in urban areas such as Khartoum, which was influenced by imported European cubist and abstract art movements. All regions of Sudan are saturated with African art with an Arabic touch as a result of the first Arab immigration to Sudan’s western and northern regions, he said.
The Influence of Kushite Art
Hemoudi studied fine arts at the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Khartoum, which was established in the mid-1940s, before moving to Germany twice to study textile printing and color science. These skills later helped him improve his paintings’ aesthetics and master the use of lines.
In most of his works, Hemoudi draws on elements of Kushite art, one of the most famous types of African design and calligraphy used in drawings and decorations in many African countries.
The history of Kushite art goes back to Kush, a rich African civilization that originated in northern Sudan near the border with Egypt, nearly 5,000 years ago.
Kushite art is an art that stands on its own, Hemoudi said. “It is the origin of the existing arts and styles. It is hard to find an analogue of it in any other region,” he said. Its styles, he added, are characterized by a mix of simplicity, sophistication, and complexity.
The plastic arts in Sudan are a very old practice, according to Issam Abdel-Hafeez, a professor at the College of Fine and Applied Arts at Sudan University of Science and Technology.
“It was affected by the local scenery-rich environment, as well as the presence of Arab and African culture in its regions, which was reflected in the diversity of artists’ use of tools, such as the presence of fifty-one written languages other than Arabic,” Abdel-Hafeez said in a telephone interview.
A Saudi sculptor who spent eight years carving the words of the Holy Qur’an onto 30 marble slabs hopes his feat will be recognized by Guinness World Records.
Husban bin Ahmad Al-Enizi’s passion for the art started 20 years ago after he developed an interest in the Arabic language.
He went on to sculpt a stone encyclopedia of basmalah (the opening part of the Qur’an) on blocks and granite sourced from his base in the Tabuk region.
Al-Enizi used Ottoman calligraphy to create his Qur’an sculpture on green marble slabs and said that the Tabuk region, in northwestern Saudi Arabia, with its many castles and palaces, had inspired artists down through the centuries.
The region has been home to the Thamud, Aramean, and Nabataean people, among other tribes, and archaeological sites show human presence dating back several centuries B.C.
Ancient inhabitants of the area produced ploughs, boats, and even houses by carving in wood and stone and Al-Enizi noted that the Saudi government had helped to keep sculpting and other traditional arts and crafts alive through the establishment of the Heritage Commission.
source/content: arabnews.com
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Husban bin Ahmad Al-Enizi used Ottoman calligraphy to create his Qur’an sculpture on green marble slabs. (SPA)
Moroccan-French animator Mounia Aram won the Cultural Innovator Award at the 2022 Black in Animation Awards Show.
The award testifies to Aram’s work in further developing animation media across the African continent while using experimental methods and concepts in her work to tell a unique story.
Aram received her award from a juried committee of professionals from Disney, Netflix, and Nickelodeon.
The Black in Animation Awards state “The Cultural Innovator Award is given to the person who has centered the voices of black people in animation in an innovative way as a content creator or influencer.”
Born in Casablanca and raised in France, Aram studied oriental languages at the National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO) in Paris before joining ShoPro Entertainment, a company specializing in Japanese animation-based in San Francisco.
The animation specialist founded the Mounia Aram Company in 2019, a distribution and production company specializing in animation and African culture. Aram has accumulated nearly 20 years of experience in the animation field.
Her work also consists of advising companies in their distribution and development strategies across the African continent as well as mentoring young African talents in animation.
In 2020, Aram was elected a member of the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in charge of the Emmy Awards. She also joined the Geena Davis Institute last year as Africa council chair.
The Sawiris Foundation for Social Development announced the winners of the 16th Sawiris Cultural Award.
This Edition is considered the largest in the history of the award in terms of the number of submitted works.
A total of 1263 literary works were submitted to various fields of the award.
This year, 12 young and established writers received awards for their distinguished work in the fields including novel, short story, screenplay, playwriting, and literary criticism.
Dr. Iman Yahya won the best novel award – under the established writers’ contest – for her novel ‘Al-Zawga Al-Mexicia’ (The Mexican Wife), published by Dar Al-Shorouk.
Meanwhile, the award for best short story collection, written by an established writer, went to Samir El-Fil for his collection ‘Autobis 77’ (Bus Line 77) that was published by the Egyptian General Book Authority.
The award for best novel written by a young writer went to Ahmed Al-Fakharany for his novel ‘Bayasat Al-Shawam’ published by Dar Al-Ain. The same novel also won the translation award, which was added to the award’s branches this year in an attempt to encourage contemporary literary excellence and introduce creative young writers to readers outside the borders of the Arab region.
As for second-place in the young writers’ novel contest, the award went to Ahmed Al-Morsi for his novel ‘What Remains of the Sun’ published by Dar Al-Bashir.
The first-place prize for best short story collection made by a young writer went to Gilan Al-Shamsi for her short story collection ‘As if the story is missing’ published by Al-Ain Publishing House.
In second-place, Muhammad Faraj won with his short story collection ‘Long Term Plans’ published by Dar Al-Ain.
Regarding the best screenplay award, established writer Samar Taher won for her screenplay of the movie ‘Al-Nazeel’ (The Inmate), while Paula Tadros Thabet won the young writers’ contest for his screenplay of ‘Abdullah’.
In the field of playwriting, the first-place award went to Faisal Rizk for his play ‘Hakawy Al-Aragouz’ (Tales of the puppet), while second-place went to Mina Bebbawy for his play ‘Bernatanya’.
As for the award for best submitted work in the field of literary criticism, it was awarded ex aequo to Sameh Fayez for his book ‘Stories about Reading’ published by the Egyptian-Lebanese House and to Professor Abdel-Nasser Hilal for his book ‘The Visual Turn – from Text to Speech” published by the Egyptian General Book Authority.
In order to encourage young writers, financial rewards are also granted for the shortlisted nominated work.
Granted in the novel contest: ‘Random Arrangements’ by Dunya Kamal Al-Qalash, ‘Ahmar Larang’ (Blood Oranges) by Charles Akl, and ‘Camelia’s Ghosts’ By Nora Naji.
With regard to the short story collection, the grants went to: ‘Sleep Thieves’ by Amjad Al-Sabban, ‘Visions of the Holy City’ by Omaima Subhy, and ‘A Report on Al-Refaeia’ by Muhammad Al-Fuly.
In the screenplay category: ‘The Ghazala who fled the schoolyard’ by Ahmed Ihab Abdel-Warith, ‘Where Did Shaker Abaza Go?’ by Mahmoud Hassan Abdel-Alim, ‘Hamlet’ by Al-Sayed Abdel-Nabi, ‘Kilo 35’ by Mahmoud Ahmed Abd-Rahman.
The Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (ALECSO) member countries have unanimously chosen the UAE to head the Permanent Committee for Arab Culture.
Salma Al Darmaki, Secretary-General of the UAE National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, has been appointed to chair the Permanent Committee.
The decision comes after the 22nd edition of the Conference of Arab Culture Ministers, held in December 2021 at Expo 2020 Dubai. Al Darmaki is the second woman appointed to this position in ALECSO’s history.
The Permanent Committee for Arab Culture is responsible for coordinating the work of various ALECSO member states in cultural fields. The Standing Committee is also mandated to prepare for the Conference of Arab Ministers of Culture.
Al Darmaki has been an Assistant Under-Secretary for Knowledge and Cultural Policy at the Ministry of Culture and Youth since 2018. She has served as a Research Fellow at the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development from 2017 to 2018. She was a researcher at the Permanent Mission of the UAE to the United Nations in Switzerland from 2016 to 2017; an expert on Social Policy in the General Secretariat of the Executive Council in Abu Dhabi from 2011 and 2016, and a parliamentary researcher in the General Secretariat of the Federal National Council from 2009-2010. She also worked for the Abu Dhabi Government Restructuring Committee in 2008.
Al Darmaki holds a post-graduate degree in International Law from the University of London, a Master’s in Human Rights from the London School of Economics and Political Science in the United Kingdom, and a bachelor’s degree in International Studies from Zayed University in the UAE.
As Secretary-General of the UAE National Commission for Education, Culture and Science, Al Darmaki managed the campaign for securing a seat for the UAE on the UNESCO Executive Board from 2019 to 2023. She played a crucial role in the first decision submitted by the UAE to the Executive Council of UNESCO on “A Framework for Arts and Culture Education” and the passing of a resolution on the “Building on the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development through Consolidated Action”. Some of her other achievements include the declaration of World Futures Day by UNESCO as an annual international day after being proposed by the UAE. The UAE secured a seat in the intergovernmental committee of the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.
Al Darmaki has been working with the national authorities to further the cause of cultural, educational and scientific endeavours, such as extending the registration of the falconry file for the fourth time in the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage to become the largest file in the history of the organisation. She also manages the UAE partnership with UNESCO in the pioneering “Revive the Spirit of Mosul” initiative. In addition to supporting the nomination of Abu Dhabi as a Creative City for Music, she has helped make Abu Dhabi the third Emirate to join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network along with Dubai and Sharjah.
Morocco has been continuously creating opportunities for women to integrate many fields and take the lead in positions that were once designed only for men.
Moroccan women are now represented in all fields, from sports and arts to politics and economics.
Indeed, the list is very long of inspiring, canonized Moroccan women whose bravery and infectious passion for social change remain central to the country’s history. For now, however, let’s just revel in the New Year spirit and celebrate the power of women in Morocco by looking back on the achievements of female Moroccan changemakers who made headlines in 2021.
Women in politics
This year, Moroccan politics welcomed seven new ministers in the Aziz Akhannouch government, making a third of the government’s representatives.
Nadia Fellah Alaoui, who is now the Minister of Economy and Finance, was the first woman to be appointed as the Minister of Tourism in the previous, Saadeddine El Othmani-led government.
Minister Delegate Ghita Mezzour has made a name for herself through her active engagement in Big Data, artificial intelligence (AI), and cybersecurity.
Other women at the forefront of government include: Fatima Zahra Ammor as Minister of Tourism and Handicraft, Fatima-Zahra Mansouri as Minister of Housing, Aouatif Hayar as Minister of Women, Family, and Social Integration, and Leila Benali as Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development.
Nabila Rmili, who stepped down from her new position as Minister of Heath a few days after her appointment, retains her role as the first female mayor of Casablanca. Meanwhile, Asmaa Rhlalou, a journalist and the former deputy of the National Rally of Independents party (RNI) in the House of Representatives, and Fatima-Zahra Mansouri are the mayors of Rabat and Marrakech, respectively.
Moroccan women in science
Two Moroccan scientists and researchers at Mohammed V University, Rajaa Cherkaoui El Moursli and Farida Fassi, have made it to the list of top 50 scientists worldwide according to the international 2021 AD Scientific Index. They hold 33rd and 38th place respectively.
El Moursli, a professor of nuclear physics, holds the highest-ranking in Morocco, Africa, and the Arab League, while Fassi, a professor of physics at the Faculty of Sciences, follows closely in second-ranking across the regions.
In 2015, El Moursli received the L’Oreal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science for her contribution to proving the existence of the Higgs Boson. She is the first Moroccan woman to receive the prestigious award.
Professor Fassi contributed to the research of High Energy Physics, as well as to the Worldwide Large Hadron Collider (LHC) Computing Grid, which sets out to solve the problem of data storage for the LHC.
Moroccan women as global influencers
Sanae Lahlou was selected as a Young Global Leader in 2021 by The World Economic Forum (WEF).
She is now the director of consulting firm Mazars’ Africa Business Unit in Morocco. Lahlou works to connect African Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and creative start-ups by expanding their growth opportunities and transforming them into African and global champions.
Another Moroccan to make the headlines for her activism and commitment to provide girls around the globe with proper education is Iman Hammam.
Super Model Hammam was the first to receive the She’s the First (STF) inaugural Powerhouse of the Year Award. She is also the ambassador of STF, an organization that sponsors girls’ education in developing nations.
First Moroccan woman as General Manager of Microsoft Morocco
In November 2021, Salima Amira was appointed General Manager of Microsoft Morocco.
With 17 years of experience as a leader in competitive environments, such as Inwi and IBM, Amira firmly established herself in a field historically dominated by men when she became the first woman to hold the position of General Manager of Microsoft Morocco. The Casablanca subsidiary was founded in 1993.
Amira graduated from the Mohammadia School of Engineers in 2003 and from the Ecole des Ponts ParisTech in 2010.
Moroccans as Most Powerful Businesswomen in the MENA region
In February 2021, Forbes magazine featured four Moroccan women in the Middle East’s Power Businesswomen 2021 list.
Nezha Hayat was the first Moroccan to appear on the list, ranking eighth in the list of 50. Hayat is the CEO of Morocco’s Capital Market Authority and the president of the Africa Middle East Regional Committee at the International Organization of Securities Commissions.
The founder and CEO of AKSAL Group, Salwa Idrissi Akhannouch ranked 19th. Married to the current Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch, Salwa is an accomplished businesswoman. Her company is engaged in social community work and implemented a social project to support cultural, educational, and health projects across Morocco.
Rita Maria Zniber, the chairman and CEO of Diana Holding, occupied the 33rd rank. With over 50 years of experience in the food and beverage industry, Zniber’s company scope mainly includes agriculture, olive growing, poultry farming, trade, and distribution.
She is also the founder of the Rita Zniber Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports abandoned children in Morocco.
The 36th ranking went to Miriem Bensalah Chaqroun, the director of Holmarcom Group and the CEO of Oulmes, the largest mineral water company in Morocco. In 2019, the Moroccan businesswoman was appointed by the United Nations’ Secretary-General to join the Global Investors for Sustainable Development (GISD) alliance.
Women in cinema and arts
The Moroccan artist Meriem Bennani was the first Moroccan in the history of the Paris Fashion Week to assume the artistic direction of the fashion show.
Bennani decorated the show space and operated the Miu Miu livestream through displaying artwork and a series of artistic interventions starring her own mother and highlighting a fine line between virtual and real life.
Born in 1988 in Morocco, Bennani attended Cooper Union College in New York where she studied visual arts.
During the lockdown last year, Bennani teamed up with documentary filmmaker Orian Barki to animate a series of videos posted on Instagram titled “2 Lizards.”
In September 2021, Morocco hosted the first female-only organized Short Film Festival in Marrakech. The event was co-organized by Moroccan artist Ramia Beladel and French national Thais Martin.
In her work, Beladel illustrates subjects of everyday life in a multi-layered way. Her aim is to make the viewer imagine and interpret her artwork without being hindered by the historical reality.
In another film accolade, in October 2021, Moroccan actress Sandia Tajeddine won the Best Actress award at the 2021 Jordan International Film Festival.
Born in 1994, the actress began her career in theater at seven years old in school plays and camps. She graduated from the Rabat-based Higher Institute of Dramatic Art and Cultural Activities in 2017 and has since played challenging roles in many films and series, such as “Banat El Assas,” “The Punch,” and “Yacout W Anbar.”
These are just a few examples of Moroccan women who made the headlines this year.
source/content: moroccoworldnews.com
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Significant Achievements by Moroccan Women in 202 / pix; moroccoworldnews.com
