From FPA Board Member Emilie Pons
artists, along with a few other Gnawi, performed at the Mohammed V Theater stage on November 23rd. Their show was one of the 60+ concerts featured at the 10th edition of the Visa for Music festival. Artists from countries as varied as Ouganda, Congo, Egypt, Mauritania, Bahrein, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Nigeria, Lebanon, South Africa, Camreoun, Iran and Cape Verde performed in the center of the Moroccan capital.
Every year, Morocco never fails to impress with its commitment to culture from the Kingdom as well as from outside the Kingdom. The Marrakech International Film Festival just ended, and earlier this year, the Gnawa and world music festival attracted local and international crowds to Essaouira. Visa for Music is another international festival which brings together talents and promoters who work in a multitude of languages and dialects. For Mauritanian vocalist and activist Ziza Youssouf, who performed this year, Visa for Music is “a symbol of humanity” where “sensitive souls” get to meet. “We need these types of meetings,” he explains. “If all countries were given an opportunity to meet, there wouldn’t be any fear. We cannot create alliances within fear. And if countries meet on a regular basis, there will be a strong energy.” Brahim el Mazned, the founder and director of Visa for Music, should be named “representative of sensitive souls in Morocco,” Youssouf adds. Youssouf believes that a festival like Visa for Music helps young people understand their values and make the most of them. It can also create ambassadors and strong actors of social causes, as well as spokespersons for youth and women, he says. The venues, with places such as the Mohammed V Theater, the Bahini venue, or the Renaissance stage, were as varied as the genres: from rock to rap to electronic music to traditional Moroccan music, everything was at the Visa for Music rendez-vous. The festival featured panels about underrepresented cultures and their integration into the music industry, but also about promoting the African musical heritage, or again African contributions to jazz. The festival also organized after parties at the hotel bars Onomo and the Marriott. Visa for a Music is a bridge between African and Northern markets, and it provides exposure to African and Middle Eastern performers. Music festivals bring together talents from different parts of the world, but they also create conversations between the host city or host country of the festival and all its guests.
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.To read a review from our President, Ian Williams, of the book Western Sahara: War, Nationalism and Conflict Irresolution, Second Edition, CLICK HERE.
The already highly acclaimed “50 Years of Hip Hop Style” exhibition will open at the FIT Museum on February 8th.
As part of the event, the FIT is holding a Hip Hop Symposium which is free of charge. It takes place on February 24th from 10am to 5pm. Free Tickets, which are necessary, are available here on a first come first serve basis. The Beyond Earth Institute Presents: Paving the “Rules of the Road” toward Space Migration1/27/2023 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2023, 1:00PM - 2:15PM EST
The Beyond Earth Institute (Beyond Earth) will be hosting a virtual policy event titled “Paving the ‘Rules of the Road’ toward Space Migration” on February 16, 2023 from 1:00-2:15 pm Eastern Time via Zoom. The event is free with donations suggested. The upcoming chapter of the 21st Century "Space Age" will be transformative for the future of the United States - and humanity. With it, a new of thinking about developing, as well as living in, space is emerging. The commercialization and democratization of space is leading focus away from exclusively government-led “aspirational” programs in favor of “practical, tangible, equitable” projects driven and fueled by the private sector. Recognizing this shift, the Beyond Earth Institute believes that the U.S. Government should frame its audacious goal of returning to the Moon and establishing a permanent human presence not as the narrow technocratic goals of a federal bureaucracy - but as part of America’s historic commitment to pioneering and settling new frontiers. To that end, the Beyond Earth Institute has produced a report, “Emerging Space Industrial Ecosystem Leading to Eventual Beyond Earth Migration,” that recommends a shift in the fundamental role of government in space. Rather than being the "leader" of the private sector, dictating development, operation, and ownership of space activities, the government should be the "lead stimulator" of such activities. It should "set the rules of the road," rather than "owning it" - by promoting and encouraging off-planet expansion, providing security, and, most importantly, being a customer, not a competitor, for off-planet goods and services. Join the Beyond Earth Institute's Courtney Stadd and Robert Brumley, both prominent long-term advocates of effective commercial space policy and the co-authors of the report, for a conversation with other thought leaders on the report's observations, findings, and recommendations - and a discussion on the implications of the emerging space industrial base on humanity's eventual migration Beyond Earth. Brumley will share his latest thinking on how we can begin the process of converting policy to programs. |
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