Category: Non-Resident / PAO (Persons of Arab Origin / Descent)

Amal Amjahid Belgian-Moroccan Wins her 9th, Jiu-Jitsu World Champion Title : November 13th, 2021

Amal Amjahid. Athlete. Martial Arts. Jiu Jitsu Sports. Represents Belgium.

Belgian-Moroccan Jiu-Jitsu fighter Amal Amjahid , won on November 13 her 9th world champion title after defeating the French fighter Laurence Cousin Fouillat in the 2021 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship finale.

The 26-year-old secured the title in the “below 57 kilos” category with a victory by advantage following a score of 2-2.

Amal Amjahid began Jiu-Jitsu at the age of 7 in Brussels. From 2013 to 2019, she won many world titles and medals in various competitions such as the World Games, the Grand Slam Tokyo, and the European Jiu-Jitsu Championship

source/content: moroccoworldnews.com

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pix: moroccoworldnews.com

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BELGIAN / MOROCCAN

Aziza Chaouni Awarded Bronze for Sustainable Project at 6th Int’l Holcim Awards,Venice : November 13th, 2021

Aziza Chaouni. Architect. Educationist. Teacher.

The Fez-born architect was honored for her project on addressing climate change-induced tribal displacement.

The Moroccan architect earned both the Global Holcim Awards Bronze prize and the Acknowledgement Prize for her project “Cultural Interlude.” The project draws a self-sustaining music school and ecotourism center that aims to preserve the tribal cultural heritage in an oasis located in the town of M’Hamid El Ghizlane, in Zagora province. 

Chaouni is also the co-founder of the Bureau of Ecological Architecture and Systems of Tomorrow (EAST) with Takako Tajima, a renowned landscape architect based in Southern California. Tajima has won many prizes, including The Architectural League Prize from the Architecture League of New York in 2009.

www.azizachaouniprojects.com

source/content: moroccoworldnews.com

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Aziza Chaouni awarded at 6th International Holcim Awards / pix: moroccoworldnews.com

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CANADA / MOROCCO

‘The Gravedigger’s Wife’: A Somali Love Story Wins Africa’s Top Film Prize : October 24th, 2021

Khadar Ayderus Ahamed. Writer. Film Director.

Movie by Finnish-Somali writer-director Khadar Ayderus Ahmed won the Stallion of Yennenga grand prize at the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou.

A little more than one month after it won the Amplify Voices Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, The Gravedigger’s Wife  has scooped Africa’s top film prize.

The drama, by Finnish-Somali writer-director Khadar Ayderus Ahmed, won the prestigious Stallion of Yennenga Grand Prize for Best Film at the Pan African Film Festival in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on Sunday.

Filmed in Somali in Djibouti, the tenderly moving story of love and devotion follows Guled (Omar Abdi), a man who makes a precarious living from loss.

The film took home the 20 million franc ($35,714) CFA prize money and the golden stallion statue, beating 16 other African films to the top prize. The films in competition were made by directors from 15 different African countries.

It was also Somalia’s first official entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 2021 Academy Awards, and premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in July.

source/content: thenationalnews.com

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Khadar Ayderus Ahmed, left, Yasmin Warsame, centre, and Omar Abdi attend ‘The Gravedigger’s Wife’ photocall during the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival. / AFP / thenationalnews.com

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FINLAND / SOMALIA

Amira Tahri: 12-Year Old Dutch-Moroccan Kickboxer Retains World Champion Title for 5th Time : November 2021

Amira Tahri (aka) Wonderkid, The Wonder Girl. Athlete. Kickboxer.

The kickboxing star won the title after she defeated her French rival, Shaina Moniek in the Abu Dhabi World Cup final.

Amira Tahri also made international headlines in 2019, when she was only 9 years old.

During the 2019 competition, Tahri defeated Moneik, the same opponent she faced during Friday’s fight, to secure her world championship for the fourth time.

The Dutch-Moroccan kickboxing star also shared a photo of her wearing a COVID-19 mask, with Morocco’s flag.

source/content: moroccoworldnews.com

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Amira Tahri 12-Year Old Dutch-Moroccan Kickboxer Becomes World Champion for 5th Time. Photo: Amira Tahri Instagram / pix: moroccoworldnews.com

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DUTCH (NETHERLANDS) / MOROCCO

AUC Celebrates Inauguration of its First Ever Arab President Ahmed Dallal : October 25th, 2021

The American University in Cairo (AUC) celebrates the inauguration of Lebanese American scholar Ahmed Dallal as its first Arab president throughout its 102-year-long history.

The AUC named Dallal, a former provost at the American University in Beirut (AUB) and a professor at many universities in the US, as its 13th president.

Dallal is an engineer, a former dean of Georgetown University in Qatar, and also a prominent scholar of Islamic studies, with many publications in this field.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the AUB and his MA, MPhil, and PhD in Islamic studies from Columbia University.

He has written dozens of articles, book chapters, and publications, as well as several books.

Established in 1919, the AUC has been among the top-ranking universities in the Arab World, ranking first in Egypt and second in Africa, according to the 2020 QS World University Rankings.

source/content: english.ahram.org.eg

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Ahmad Dallal, the AUC s 13 president (Photo courtesy of Georgetown University)

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AMERICAN / LEBANON

Emi Mahmoud – UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador

Emtithal ‘Emi’ Mahmoud. Poet. Activist. Author. Speaker. UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador.

June 2018 : UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, appointed the Sudanese-American slam poet Emtithal (Emi) Mahmoud as a national Goodwill Ambassador (US).

Author: Book titled Sisters’ Entrance

www.emi-mahmoud.com

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pix: www.emi-mahmoud.com

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AMERICAN / SUDAN

Nadifa Mohamed , First Somali to be short-listed for Booker Prize : October 2021

Nadifa Mohamed , FRSL. (aka) Nadifa Maxamed .Somali British Novelist.

Nadifa Mohamed became the first Somali person to be short-listed for the Booker Prize with new novel, The Fortune Men.

Almost two decades ago, Somali-British author Nadifa Mohamed was interning for a film company in London when she came across the story of a Somali seaman named Mahmood Mattan from Cardiff’s port community of Tiger Bay.

She didn’t know at the time, the discovery would lead her to write what’s now become the first novel written by a Somali person to be short-listed for the Booker Prize.

source/content: abc.net.au

Other Books/Novels:

  • Black Mamba Boy (2010)
  • The Orchard of Lost Souls (2014)
  • The Fortune Men

Awards:

  • Betty Trask Award (2010)
  • Somerset Maugham Award (2014)
  • Prix Albert Bernard (2016) etc..

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Nadifa Mohamed is the first Somali author to be short-listed for the Booker Prize for her novel The Fortune Men.(Supplied: Nadifa Mohamed) / abc.net.au

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BRITISH / SOMALI

Moroccan-Spanish Sarah Loinaz Crowned Miss Universe Spain 2021 : October 16th, 2021

Sarah Loinaz. Model. Beauty Queen.

Moroccan-Spanish model Sarah Loinaz was crowned Miss Universe Spain 2021 at the Los Olivos Beach Resort in Costa Adeje, Tenerife, Canary Islands, on October 16.

The gala was hosted by Sofia del Prado, the former crowned Miss Universe Spain in 2017, and finalist of Miss Universe 2017.

Sarah Loinaz will compete at the Miss Universe 2021 pageant, which will be held in Israel, in December 2021.

The Moroccan-Spanish model made her runway debut for a fashion show for VIDDA in April 2019 in Las Palmas, Spain.

In 2017, she represented Spain at the Miss Universe Spain 2017 competition where she placed second behind model Sofia del Prado.

source/content: moroccoworldnews.com

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pix: elespanol.com / El Espanol

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SPAIN / MOROCCO

Lina Ghotmeh – Awarded the ‘Tamayouz’ Prize, for ‘Excellence of Women Architects in the Middle East and North Africa’ : January 2021

Lina Ghotmeh. Humanist Architect . Founder of Lina Ghotmeh – Architecture, France

French-Lebanese architect Lina Ghotmeh recently received the “Tamayouz” prize, which rewards the excellence of women architects in the Middle East and North Africa.

An additional recognition for this architect, who has won several other international awards.

www.linaghotmeh.com

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© Hannah-Assouline-ok./ pix: linaghotmeh.com

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FRENCH / LEBANESE

Anasse Kazib: The French-Moroccan Unionist Running for President in France : October 2021

Anasse Kazib.

With France’s 2022 presidential elections around the corner, Anasse Kazib , a French-Moroccan railroad worker, labor rights activist, and Marxist, has entered the race for the Elysee Palace.

Anasse Kazib was born in 1987 in Sarcelle, the northern suburbs of Paris, to a Moroccan family that emigrated to France in the 1970s to meet the country’s demand for cheap labor.

In July, Kazib, who is an employee of France’s state-owned railroad company (SNCF), announced his “pre-candidacy” for the 2022 presidential elections by launching a “digital campaign” to mobilize support and collect valuable signatures from the electorate.

http://anasse2022.fr/

source/content: moroccoworldnews.com

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Photo credit: Anasse Kazib Facebook / pix: moroccoworldnews.com

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FRENCH / MOROCCAN