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Hannibal Mejbri was elected African revelation of the year by the magazine FootAfrica’s editorial staff
And this following over 469,00 votes.
“A rising star in African football, named after a Carthaginian hero destined for conquest, Hannibal Mejbri has developed several high-profile performances in the last twelve months, most notably reaching the final of the FIFA Arab Cup 2021 in his national jersey (lost 0-2 to Algeria),” the magazine continues.
Voting results:
Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia / 18 years old): 55.64%
Adem Zorgane (Algeria / 21 years old): 35.88%
Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso / 22 years old): 4.24%
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
Natasha Karam (aka) Natacha Karam. Film Actress. Hollywood Actress.
Born in Saudi Arabia to a Lebanese father and a Northern Irish mother, actress Natacha Karam is making a name for herself in Hollywood as a character on “9-1-1 Lone Star,” the latest series created by multiple Emmy and Golden Globe winning writer Ryan Murphy.
Born in Jeddah, Karam grew up between Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain and Dubai, where she began acting.
After moving to Los Angeles, her television career kicked off with small acting stints on “Homeland” and “Silent Witness,” before she was cast as Sergeant Jasmine “Jaz” Khan in the military action drama series “The Brave,” which ran for one season.
The 27-year-old acts alongside the likes of “Lord of the Rings” actress Liv Tyler and “Aladdin” star Mena Massoud, who plays her fiancé.
source/content: arabnews.com
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The drama follows the heroics and personal lives of firefighters and other emergency responders. (AFP) / arabnews.com
Yazeed Al-Rajhi (aka) Yazeed Mohamed Al-Rajhi. Rally Driver. Saudi Businessman.
Saudi rally champion Yazeed Al-Rajhi has been honored for winning the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas title for the first time in his career.
The 40-year-old racer received his award during a prize-giving ceremony at the Carrousel du Louvre, in Paris, after becoming the first driver from the Kingdom to achieve the title in the highest rallying class, along with co-driver Michael Orr of Ireland.
The ceremony in France was attended by 800 driving champions, rising stars, and guests from around the world who saw Jean Todt, ex-president of the International Automobile Federation, hand Al-Rajhi the trophy.
Having claimed the title with Toyota Hilux, Al-Rajhi also thanked official sponsor Abdul Latif Jameel Motors for its unlimited support throughout the season.
His achievement was not only a personal one but also a landmark for Saudi motorsport, as he became the first driver from the country to be honored at the level by the FIA.
source/content: arabnews.com
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Yazeed Al-Rajhi is the winner of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas title for the first time. (Frédéric Le Floch/DPPI) / arabnews.com
The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture aka Ithra, presented more than 7,000 programs and won five local and international awards this year.
Ithra presented more than 7,000 programs and initiatives in art, knowledge, culture, creativity and society this year, and welcomed more than 500,000 local and international visitors, the organization said.
In addition, about 4,000 male and female volunteers participated in the center’s local, regional and international events and activities, contributing 13,000 hours of work.
Ithra won five local and international awards in the past 12 months, including the 2021 Cultural Institutes Award in the private sector track by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture.
Ithra was also recognized with three prestigious accolades from MarCom, one of the largest and most respected creative competitions in the world. Among 6,000 entries, Ithra achieved platinum in the ‘Team Achievement’ and ‘Pro Bono’ categories, and gold in the ‘Social Content’ category for its efforts on World Book Day.
The center was also recognized locally by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development with numerous awards, including the first volunteer unit to implement the national volunteering standard, the first center to introduce volunteering in the private sector, and a Gold “Mowaamah” certification, for the accessible ecosystem that the center provides to support those with special needs, in accordance with their required standards and needs.
Ithra’s annual flagship creativity festival, held under the theme Tools — Crafting Creativity, Tanween 2021 attracted more than 25,000 visitors over the course of three weeks.
The festival featured international and local experts in 30 talks, 10 masterclasses, 7 workshops and 4 big experiences. One of the main features of Tanween was the Smartphone Orchestra, which sorted the public based on the data they provided themselves in this interactive and immersive activity. Another highlight featured mass drone swarms that interacted with the audience in one of the largest co-created drone/human light paintings ever made.
Currently on display at the first Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, Ithra Art Prize-winner Nadia Kaabi-Linke’s piece underlines the new Pan-Arab direction of the prize. This is the first year one of the most significant art prizes in the region is open to regional artists, while simultaneously representing a homecoming for the award which was presented at Art Dubai for its first three editions. Consisting of 19 canvasses nearly 20 meters long together, E Pluribus Unum – A Modern Fossil is described as a metaphor for modern times.
Ithra also cemented its reputation as a leading Saudi film producer with roadshows at the 74th Cannes International Film Festival and at the Red Sea International Film Festival, the Kingdom’s first international film fair. Produced under the Ithra Film Productions banner, celebrated Egyptian screenwriter and producer Mohamed Hefzy’s Sea of Sands and Saudi award-winning independent filmmaker Khalid Fahad’s Valley Road are both scheduled for release in 2023. The feature-length documentary film Anti-Cinema, meanwhile, is currently in post-production and is expected to hit the international film festival circuit shortly. Winner of the Ithra Content Commission Initiative, Ali Saeed and Hassan Saeed’s film brings Saudi Arabia’s film history to the big screen.
source/content: arabnews.com
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Ithra presented more than 7,000 programs and initiatives in art, knowledge, culture, creativity and society this year, and welcomed more than 500,000 local and international visitors. (Shutterstock) / pix: arabnews.com
Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been elected President of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) following the FIA Annual General Assembly gathered in Paris , on December 17th, 2021
Mohammed Ben Sulayem of the UAE will be the first non-European president of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), motorsport’s world governing body.
The 60-year-old Dubai-born former rally driver was standing against British lawyer Graham Stoker, who has been Todt’s deputy president for sport since 2009.
The FIA is the governing body for Formula One, the World Rally Championship, World Endurance, and Formula E among other series. “The votes are in and we’ve won. We are thrilled that 62% of all clubs have given us their vote,” said Ben Sulayem’s ‘FIA for Members’ campaign on Twitter. An FIA spokesman confirmed the result.
Egypt produces 7.8 million tons of nitrogen fertilizers, according to the Egyptian Minister of Public Enterprise Sector Hisham Tawfik, explaining that this country is the sixth in the world in urea production with 6.7 million tons.
There are 9 factories involved in the production of nitrogen fertilizers.
source/content: egypttoday.com
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File – Minister of Public Business Sector , Hisham Tawfik- / Egypt Today
Mohammed Sulaiman Al Shuaili. Mahir Naseer Al Khusaibi. Zamzam Bain Oraba.
For the 5th time in a row, the Sultanate of Oman has won the two world cups of the International Federation of Photographic Arts (FIAP) in its 40th round, within the age-group of 16 years and the age-group of 21 years.
Oman bagged 462 points through the presentation of 20 works submitted by 13 of its photographers.
In the age-group of 21 years, Oman bagged 457 points through the entries of 13 photographers who submitted 20 works.
In the age-group of 21 years, Mohammed Sulaiman Al Shuaili won gold medal for his photograph titled “Tafkeer” (Thinking), while Mahir Naseer Al Khusaibi bagged silver medal for his photo titled “Iltwaa” (inflection) and Zamzam Bani Oraba won the bronze for her photo titled “Talashi” (blackout).
source/content: omannews.gov.om
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Mohammed Sulaiman Al Shuaili – “Tafkeer” (Thinking) ‘Iltwaa’ by Mahir Naseer al Khusaibi‘Talashi’ by Zamzam Bani Oraba
Amal Soliman and Logaina El Kattan’s beverage company Nuba.
Egyptian mother and daughter emigrated to Canada 10 years ago, and they took with them one of their most cherished memories of home — special herbal drinks from the Middle East.
From brewing hibiscus and other infused drinks to share with their new neighbours in Toronto, Amal Soliman and Logaina El Kattan are now taking their beverage operation, Nuba, to the next level.after winning C$75,000 in backing from business reality-TV show Dragon’s Den.
Ms El Kattan, a graduate of the University of Toronto’s business school, is now in the process of acquiring a master’s degree in business administration from Duke University in the US.
Despite all their success, Ms El Kattan does not think they have scratched the surface of what she and her mother have envisioned for Nuba.
source/content: thenational.ae
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Egyptian-Canadian entrepreneurs Amal Soliman, left, and Logaina El Kattan present their hibiscus tea to the ‘Dragons’ Den’ judges. Photo: supplied
The Ministry of Culture and Youth announced the 30 winners of the 16th edition of the Al Burda Award at a gala evening held on 19th December, 2021, at the Dubai Exhibition Centre, Expo 2020 Dubai.
The awards were in six categories: Classical Poetry, Nabati Poetry, Classical Calligraphy, Modern Calligraphy, Ornamentation and Typography.
Sheikh Shakhbout bin Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of State, attended the awards ceremony and honoured the 30 winners and took memorial photos with them. Alongside was Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth.
The current edition awarded Egyptian poet, Heba Alfeky, the first prize in Classical Poetry, with the second position in the same category secured by her compatriot Diyaa Alkilany. Lamis Al Rahabi and Bahija Masri Idlbi from Syria won the third and fourth prize, respectively, in the Classical Poetry category.
Abdulaziz bin Hamed Mohammed Al-Omairi from Oman won first place in Nabati Poetry, followed by Mohammad Hamdan Alanezah from Jordan in second place. Ali Alqarni from Saudi Arabia and Muzna Rabia Albrieki from Oman took the third and fourth places,respective.
Egypt’s Mohamed Gaber Abouelella was placed first in Classical Calligraphy, followed by Meryem Nuruzi Halilani of Turkey, who secured the second place. Noman Tayseer Rajab from Syria, Ahmad Ali Namazi Reihanloo from Iran and Mahfod Thunnun from Iraq won third, fourth and fifth positions respectively in the Classical Calligraphy category.
The Modern Calligraphy category had four awards, with Mahsa Javad Davachi, from Iran, winning first prize and Dhia Al-Jazaeri from Canada coming second. Third and fourth prizes were taken by Iran’s Babak Mohammad Ali Hejazi and Masoud Asghar Mohebbifar, respectively.
Mihriban Beyza Kaya, from Turkey, won first prize in Ornamentation, while the second, third, fourth and fifth positions went to Iranian compatriots Masoumeh Ahmad Moradi, Afsaneh Khademreza Mahdavi, Asgar Ahmad Moradi, and Zaynab Ibrahim Shahi.
Eight winners were announced in the Typography category, namely Syrian national Duaa Abzeed, Jamal Eldin Elsamani Mohammed from Sudan, Tarek Samir Alsawwa, from Syria, Reza Babajani, from Iran, Bita Amel, from Iran, Lama Kadri, from Lebanon, Asia Alsheshani, from Jordan and Fatima Abdulla Alketbi, from the UAE.
The awards evening hosted several standout performances from a cross-section of genres, with artists including Watar Orchestra from Iraq, Dubai Chamber Choir and Sheikh Mahmoud Eltohamy from Egypt, the latter with a piece titled “Anin”. Noumoucounda Cissoko from Senegal delivered a musical recital titled “Mandi Strings”, while Lebanese singer Jahida Wahba presented several songs from her catalogue.
The closing performance was an Emirati Malid delivered by Rashid Al Nuaimi and Saif Fathel.
The Al Burda Award is a global platform that reflects the diversity of creative expression throughout the Islamic world and seeks to revitalise the Islamic cultural and artistic movement. The award was launched by the Ministry of Culture and Youth in AH 1425/2004 under the patronage of Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed to commemorate the birthday of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).
