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
Category: Non-Resident / PAO (Persons of Arab Origin / Descent)
A number of Arab films are being screened at the ongoing 60th New York Film Festival.
The films include titles from Lebanon and Morocco.
With its screening in the New York Festival, the Lebanese feature narrative film Tales of the Purple House by Abbas Fahdel makes its North American Premiere.
The film will be screened on 11 October, followed by a Q&A with the director.
Another Lebanese film, Beirut the Encounter, will screen on 7 and 16 October.
Directed by Borhane Alaouié, this 1981 production went through a new restoration, allowing the US audiences to view it in an improved condition.
Morocco is represented with Life on the CAPS by Meriem Bennani. The film will be screened on 7 and 9 October, as part of the Currents Program 5: After Utopia segment of the festival.
The New York Film Festival opened on 30 September and runs until 16 October.
As the festival is ongoing, two other Arab films are currently being screened in New York’s cinemas: Casablanca Beats by Moroccan director Nabil Ayouch and Lebanese documentary Sirens by Rita Baghdadi. Both films had their US premiere on 16 and 30 September respectively.
‘The Sandman’ star will be the face of its women’s collections in the Middle East.
Building on an already stellar year, Lebanese British actress Razane Jammal has been announced as Dior’s latest ambassador. She will be the face of its women’s collections in the Middle East.
The announcement was complemented by a fashion shoot featuring Jammal in some of the house’s latest creations. She is no stranger to the world of high fashion — the actress was previously an ambassador for Chanel.
“I’m so unbelievably excited to finally announce that I will be joining Dior as a brand ambassador in the Middle East,” Jammal wrote on Instagram.
“Ever since I joined the fashion community, I wanted to collaborate with people I can truly grow with, to join a family that I value as much as it values me. It’s been a long journey but I can confidently say I’ve found my home.
“This is the start of a wonderful collaboration. I cannot wait to embody the timeless creations of @mariagraziachiuri.”
This is yet another mark of Jammal’s upward trajectory. She stars in the highest-grossing film in Egyptian history, Kira & El Gin, and is one of the key characters in Netflix’s hugely popular new show The Sandman.
“It’s been a very crazy couple of years,” she told The National in a recent interview. “But I’m very happy that the hard work has paid off.”
Fluent in Arabic, French and English, Jammal’s first serious foray into acting was in the French-German feature Carlos in 2010. This was followed by Cruel Summer in 2012, a short film by Kanye West, and then Une histoire de fou in 2014 by director Robert Guediguian. All three projects had their world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
Based on 1919, the novel by Egyptian writer Ahmed Mourad, and directed by Marwan Hamed, Kira & El Gin is an action drama that chronicles the 1919 revolution against the British occupation of Egypt and Sudan.
The Sandman is based on Neil Gaiman’s groundbreaking graphic novel series.
The experience has been a bittersweet one for Jammal, she told The National, as her mother died last year while The Sandman was being filmed.
“We were filming during Covid-19 in London. We were following very strict Covid-19 protocols and I wasn’t allowed to travel. So I didn’t go back home for eight months after losing my mum. My mum was the most important person in my life. She was a single mum, we had a very close relationship.”
France has made the Yemeni writer Ali Al-Muqri a knight of the French Order of Arts and Letters.
Al-Muqri recently received a letter from Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, the French minister of culture, telling him that he was among the honorees chosen as members of the order this year.
Al-Muqri has been living in France at the invitation of the Arab World Institute since 2015, after fleeing the war in his home country. He had lived in Sana’a, the capital, which is now controlled by the Houthi rebel movement. People close to Al-Muqri have warned him he risked being pursued by the Houthis if he returned to Yemen.
The Order of Arts and Letters, one of four “ministerial orders” in France, is awarded to people who have distinguished themselves through artistic or literary creation or by contributing to the influence of arts and letters in France and the world. It has three ranks: commander, officer, and knight (chevalier).
Al-Muqri said in a telephone interview with Al-Fanar Media that he had not been aware of his candidacy for this order and was surprised by the letter.
He believes that his being named for the prestigious French order is “a tribute to Arabic literature, and a reward for writing a literary work that has its own narrative and cultural characteristics.”
He said Arabic literature was marginalized because it was rarely translated and he hoped his award would shed more light on it.
Novels and Prize Nominations
Ali Al-Muqri began his literary career as a cultural editor for several Yemeni publications before beginning to write prose, poetry and novels himself. His works have been translated into French, English, Italian, Kurdish and Persian.
“Black Taste, Black Odour” and “The Handsome Jew” were longlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2009 and 2011, and “Hurma”, in its French translation, won an honourable mention from the Arab World Institute Prize for Fiction and the French prize for Arabic literature. “Adani Incense” was shortlisted for the 2015 Sheikh Zayed Book Award.
Between Home and Exile
Despite his years in self-imposed exile in Paris and his freedom to write, “far from the guilt feelings that affected his literary works,” Al-Muqri said he still “experiences the hardships of alienation far from his homeland.”
“I live in double exile, and I miss every detail of my life in Yemen,” he said. “Where is the writing corner in my house in Sana’a, where I used to write my literary works, my books piled around me? I miss my habits and my rituals that were the primary motivator and the inspiration for my writing.”
Al-Muqri said that particular places in Yemen and the way of eating and drinking there gave a feeling of continuity that he misses.
The issues of Yemeni life inspired more than one of his novels, which he attributes to his constant endeavor to “explore the human self and evoke the causes of its anxiety through exposure to the problems facing people, whether they are in freedom of expression or because of discrimination against a person because of his colour, his sexual identity or because he was marginalized by a dictatorial authority.”
Al-Muqri said that he could write more in Yemen than he can in France. The war took him forcefully from his country and made him feel alienated and unable to get hold of the things that inspired and motivated him to write.
But that feeling has not prevented his ability to integrate with French society, he said. Thanks to his personal experience and knowledge of European culture, he has been able to adapt and engage in his new life in the host country.
Yemeni Literature in Wartime
Al-Muqri said most Yemeni writers and authors had lost their jobs because of the war and many of them had resorted to other types of work so they could continue to live.
Most were no longer able to obtain the basic requirements of life, such as electricity, clean water, or a regular salary. Al-Muqri said the absence of these things “makes any writer or author unable to write and think.”
The war has greatly hindered literary life in his country, Al-Muqri said, but it remains active despite the restrictions and censorship imposed by the authorities.
Al-Muqri said he was working on a new novel. He hopes to continue writing “in freedom and safety” and to return to Yemen after the situation stabilizes.
Ali Al-Muqri has lived in France since 2015. He hopes the honour he has won there will draw more attention to Arabic literature in translation. (Photo courtesy of Ali Al-Maqri)
Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Chairman of the Committee leading Great Arab Minds, and Secretary-General of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI), highlighted the details of “The Great Arab Minds” initiative.
Launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, in January 2022, the initiative is the Arab world’s largest movement designed to search for exceptional talents among Arab scientists, thinkers, and innovators across key fields.
The Great Arab Minds initiative, under the MBRGI, aims to identify, support and acknowledge leading thinkers in the region, amplify their impact and inspire future generations. One of its main purposes is to reduce the emigration of Arab scientists, specialists, intellectuals, doctors, and engineers.
He affirmed that “The Great Arab Minds” initiative reflect His Highness’ vision in reigniting the Arab World’s Civilisation Drive, support great Arab minds and acknowledge their work and achievements, in service of humanity.
Mohammad Al Gergawi pointed out the importance of the Arab Reading Challenge initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, among many other development projects, serving more than 91 million beneficiaries.
A study conducted by KPMG, showed that ignorance costs the Arab world more than US$2 trillion. The Great Arab Minds initiative aims to change this reality and contribute to shaping a brighter future for Arab generations.
During an event organised in the Museum of the Future to announce the details of the initiative, Mohammad Al Gergawi witnessed the signing of four partnerships between “The Great Arab Minds” initiative and KPMG, LinkedIn, Meta, and Majarra.
The initiative’s mission is to search for exceptional talents among Arab scientists, thinkers, and innovators across key fields, aiming to identify, support and acknowledge leading thinkers in the region, amplify their impact and inspire future generations.
Over a 5-year period, “The Great Arab Minds” will reward scientists, thought leaders, scholars, and innovators across 6 categories: Natural Sciences (Physics and Chemistry), Medicine, Literature and Arts, Economics, Technology and Engineering, and Architecture & Design.
The initiative includes the “Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Great Arab Minds”, which will be awarded to 6 winners of six categories each year.
The Great Arab Minds initiative aims to facilitate the recognition of Arab thought leaders, scholars, scientists, geniuses, and transforming their ideas to real-life breakthroughs and solutions. It also aims at empowering cluster of Arab scientists and thinkers and building a network of Arab thinkers, scientists, and exceptional talents in various fields to work as one team to drive the Arab world’s intellectual renaissance.
Nujoud Fahoum Merancy started the Twitter hashtag ‘YallaToTheMoon’ to support latest mission.
A Palestinian-American woman is one of the leaders of the Artemis missions, a programme by Nasa that aims to fly astronauts to the Moon.
Nujoud Fahoum Merancy, 43, is the chief of exploration mission planning at the US space agency and has been working in the space sector for more than two decades.
She started the Twitter hashtag ‘YallaToTheMoon’ to support the Artemis 1 mission, which is scheduled for another launch attempt on Saturday, from Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre. ‘Yalla’ is an Arabic word that translates to ‘let’s go’ or ‘come on’.
Before the historic event, Ms Merancy spoke to The National about her Palestinian roots and her involvement in the Artemis programme.
A stellar career
The Artemis 1 mission is an unmanned flight around the Moon that will test the performance of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft.
If successful, it would pave the way for Nasa to launch Artemis 2 and 3, crewed flights around the Moon and the first human lunar landing mission under the programme.
“As a Palestinian-American, I’m very excited to be a part of this programme,” she said.
“And, really, Nasa and Artemis, it is a much more diverse workforce than it was during the Apollo era.
“It’s important to me and to a lot of us that it represents all of humanity and Artemis itself is international because we have international partners.”
Ms Merancy, a mother-of-two, earned her bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Washington in Seattle.
From there, she joined the aerospace company Boeing to work on the International Space Station.
She then started working on the development of Orion, the spacecraft launching on top of Nasa’s mega Moon rocket on Saturday that will fly around the Moon — and one day carry astronauts.
“From that, I’ve transitioned into the mission planning for Artemis, which is designing and integrating the missions across all the programmes for Artemis, and that’s my current role,” she said.
Connecting with her Palestinian roots
Ms Merancy went viral on the internet in 2019 when she posted her official Nasa photo, in which she wore a blazer embroidered with Palestinian tatreez, a traditional cross-stitch, that she bought during a visit to her father’s home town of Nazareth.
Her father moved to the US more than 40 years ago to go to college.
Although she was born in the US and does not speak fluent Arabic, she said her Palestinian roots were important to her.
“I don’t speak Arabic, unfortunately, it’s one of those regrets that I’ll always have,” she said.
“I know the basics, a few words here and there, and the polite greetings.
“But I do enjoy the food and that is something I grew up on. And then as an adult, I started cooking.
“So, I have a whole bunch of Palestinian cookbooks just to learn other recipes that my family didn’t teach me.
“I do like to cook Palestinian food and that’s probably the biggest connection to the culture that I have.”
Palestinian presence in the space sector
Other Palestinians are involved in the Artemis programme or are making a name for themselves in the US space sector through other projects.
Soha Alqeshawi, born and raised in Gaza city with her seven siblings, currently works for Lockheed Martin as a software engineering associate manager and looks after Orion’s back up-flight software.
And Loay Elbasyouni is a Palestinian-American electrical engineer who helped design Nasa’s Mars rover, Perseverance.
“My parents did their best to provide me and my siblings with a good education and shield us from the effects of the continuous horrific conflict that Gaza has been living under,” Ms Alqeshawi told Portuguese journalist Margarida Santos Lopes in 2015.
“Living under constant fear and despair where everything is uncertain and basic life necessities such as electricity and sometimes water are unavailable for most of the day.
“Although I was the only one in my family who had the opportunity to leave Gaza for the US to study and work, all of my brothers and sisters are college-educated with degrees in science, engineering and business.”
“Going to school was sometimes a dangerous journey that could have death waiting at any step of the way.
“However, that made us more determined to achieve our dreams in receiving an education.’
Nujoud Fahoum Merancy went viral in 2019 when she posted her official Nasa photo, in which she wore a blazer embroidered with Palestinian tatreez, a traditional cross-stitch that she purchased during a visit to her father’s hometown of Nazareth. Photo: @nujoud
Architect Omar Degan reflects on the experience of designing a restaurant that celebrates local identity and cultural tradition in the Somali capital.
Think back to your childhood. Even if the memories are blurred, many of the flavours and aromas remain. The time we spent with parents and grandparents is often remembered in scents and spices — returning us to those moments, even after many years. Passed down through the generations, dishes and cuisines are vessels of culture and tradition and embodiments of the world’s diversity. Think of a plate of tagliatelle in Bologna, a freshly baked naan in New Delhi, the sweet taste of a chai bought in the streets of Mogadishu, or a mate tea savoured in Buenos Aires. Each is a powerful reflection of its place and people.
I think about architecture in the same way. Just as culture and tradition is conveyed through gastronomy, the built environment can be a physical representation of local knowledge, passed down through the generations. Like food, buildings can convey ways of knowing, rooted in working with local materials and resources, and adapting to climate and culture. In this way, architecture should celebrate and enhance the places it transforms. It’s a paradigm few would disagree with — yet one that’s rarely reflected in how we build.
A neo-colonial conception of modernity still shapes buildings around the world. It’s a flat, globalized approach in which a tower in Toronto is similar to one in Shanghai, and in which the glass used for a New York skyscraper can be nearly indistinguishable from the cladding of a residential building in Mombasa. This is an architecture that does not earnestly strive to understand places, people and traditions, but seeks to pursue a vision of universal modernity which finds its expression in a detachment from local knowledge.
So how can architecture celebrate cultural diversity? As a Somali practitioner — and principal of Mogadishu-based DO Architecture Group — my answer is always rooted in the local community. And appropriately enough, it’s reflected in a recent project that brought together food and architecture: In 2019, I designed a restaurant called Salsabiil in the outskirts of Mogadishu.
From outside, Salsabiil’s façade appears modest and simple — almost private and introverted. But like an old book cover with layers of dust on its surface, a surprise awaits inside. Crisp white walls, ceilings and floors greet visitors as they enter, with the room framed by plantings that hint at the once-abundant local greenery that’s been lost through decades of deforestation.
Mogadishu was once known as “The White Pearl of the Indian Ocean” for its white buildings, beautiful palm trees and stunning blue coastal waters. As a reminder of the city before the civil war, the restaurant interior is pure and clean, white and simple. Decorating this crisp white canvas, traditional Somali fabrics adorn the pillows and upholstery, including the textiles traditionally used for women’s dresses (a fabric called Halindi) and men’s macawiis sarongs.
The motif also extends to the ground floor restrooms, where fabric patterns traditionally associated with men’s and women’s clothing are used as door coverings. In lieu of formal signage — and the western gender binary that it reflects — the restrooms are rooted in the culture and tradition of Somalia. Regardless of age or social background, the designs are a signifier that every local person knows.
Throughout the restaurant, photos portraying scenes of daily life in pre-war Mogadishu guiding visitors through a visual journey of stories and nostalgia. Designing Salsabiil was also a personal journey through my own culture and identity. I explored and studied things that I’d never had the possibility to experience — from discussing old ways of building furniture with community elders to finding the appropriate pictures to frame, the creation of this space was an adventure.
As a resident of Mogadishu, my hope is that Salsabiil continues to serve as a local landmark and a meeting place for the community — and as a representation of the cultural identity of Somalia. As an architect, I hope it offers a modest case study of integrating architecture and culture, demonstrating the power of weaving cultural identity and social fabric into the built environment. I didn’t want to impose a design vision on the community; I wanted the community’s culture to become the main protagonist of the space. It’s a contemporary environment, but one strongly rooted in tradition.
Salsabiil’s case is not unique in the world. It doesn’t matter if you are in Somalia, New York City or the mountains of Peru. If we understand the knowledge embedded in culture, community and history, then we also understand how to make a humble but substantial architecture — an architecture that embraces its environment. On a global level, it translates to an embrace of the world’s cultural diversity. Like local cuisines, local designs are something to celebrate.
On Twitter, I’ve documented the tremendous variety of African architecture, chronicling how vernacular building styles offer a culturally rich and climate-sensitive response to local conditions. From humble residential interiors to major cultural landmarks, traditional structures across the continent present diverse alternatives to the ubiquitous — and carbon-intensive — concrete, glass and steel design introduced in the colonial period. And today, globally renowned African practitioners like Diébédo Francis Keré and Mariam Kamara are introducing traditional methods into contemporary practice, nourishing richer and more culturally responsive new architectural traditions.
My own practice follows the same principles. To me, designing for a better future means embracing locality and diversity. In this way, I hope the design process itself can — directly or indirectly — become a means to fight climate change, racism, inequality, poverty and much more. Of course, these are large and intractable problems, and their solutions lie far beyond the drafting table alone. But I know this much for a start: The architecture of the future is not made of glass and steel, but of community, culture and diversity.
Omar Degan is a Somali Architect, Principal and founder of DO Architecture Group, an office specialized in post-conflict reconstruction and cultural diversity. Born in 1990, Omar has dedicated his career in the study of emergency contexts and developing countries, focusing on the interactions between culture and architecture. In 2021, he was selected as one of the African Leaders by the Obama Foundation, recognizing his work in the post-conflict reconstruction of Somalia.
Saudi inventor Nasser Al-Shemaimry showed a method to harness energy from ocean currents using turbines at a press conference at the Movenpick hotel in Jeddah on Wednesday.
The press conference was attended by Prince Abdulaziz bin Nasser, who served at the Ministry of Interior for more than 40 years.
Al-Shemaimry, CEO of OceanBased Perpetual Energy, founded in Miami, signed a memorandum of understanding with Prince Abdulaziz.
“This memorandum will be presented to the inventor Nasser Al-Shemaimry for engineering supplies and most office services,” he told Arab News. “And to connect with ministries, and we will help him with anything he needs.”
Al-Shemaimry’s project was first used in south Florida to harness the Florida Gulf Stream current and convert it to clean and renewable power.
“Oceans and seas have some currents that go from one direction to another, the current varies in speed, but the current we are using is 5 to 6 miles per hour,” he told Arab News.
“Five-six miles per hour is enough to make the propellers turn, and our propeller is 64 meters long, so as it turns, it turns the turbines inside of the cowling, and that turbine rotates the generator, which produces electricity,” he said.
He said that his project takes the electricity from the generator to a substation then the substation regulates the electricity to what is needed.
“Then it goes to the shore and we connect it to the main substation on shore, then it is up to the city hall or the people who are in charge of the town, city or country to take it from there and take it to the power lines,” he said.
Highlighting how it compares to other sustainable power sources such as solar or wind, he said the ocean provided a continuous and uninterrupted supply of energy.
For solar energy requirements, he said as long as the sun was up the panels would work and charge batteries.
“Each energy source has its own advantages and disadvantages. Solar energy has been around forever, it works and serves its purpose, it’s inexpensive and on land,” he said.
“Windmills are everywhere, but the difference in my opinion is that our energy is perpetual; it doesn’t stop, it works 24/7 and 365 days a year.”
Since the launch of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 in 2016, Saudi Arabia has made effective efforts to protect the environment and reduce the effects of climate change to achieve sustainability.
Extensive studies within the Green Saudi Initiative revealed a reduction of carbon emissions by more than 4 percent, and efforts to provide 50 percent electricity through renewable energy projects by the year 2030.
source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)
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Saudi inventor Nasser Al-Shemaimry, CEO of OceanBased Perpetual Energy. (Supplied)
Project shines a light on the cultural exchange between Algeria, France and Italy during the 1960s.
Zineb Sedira has outlined plans for her presentation at the French pavilion at this year’s Venice Biennale (23 April-27 November), revealing that the project will focus on Algerian cinema of the 1960s and 1970s and its links to the Italian and French film industries. The subject matter is timely as 2022 is the 60th anniversary of Algeria achieving independence from France. On 5 July 1962, Algeria became a sovereign state after an eight-year war which resulted in the deaths of at least 400,000 Algerians.
Sedira is the first artist of Algerian descent to be selected as the country’s representative. Sedira, who was born in Paris to Algerian parents, attended college in London, completing her undergraduate studies at Central Saint Martins school of art. She is now based in South London.
Sedira revealed her ideas for the cinematographic installation Dreams have no titles in an online press briefing held 18 February, outlining how she initially researched the history of Algerian film for an exhibition at the Jeu de Paume in Paris in 2019. Her passion for cinema was sparked by childhood trips to the local cinema in the 1960s in her home town of Gennevilliers outside Paris (these film outings were made with her father every Thursday when school was closed).
This interest developed further during her time as a student in London. “As part of postcolonial studies, I came across [the philosopher] Frantz Fanon and [the 1966 film] The Battle of Algiers. In France, I never came across those people because The Battle of Algiers was still censored in France [in the late 1970s and early 1980s],” she said. “There were no intellectual role models to me of Algerian origin; in England, I discovered there was a wealth of [Algerian] men, women and filmmakers.”
For the pavilion piece, Sedira carried out research at the Cinémathèque in Algiers, discovering that many films financed by the state of Algeria at the time were also co-produced with Italian and French filmmakers. “So when I was asked to propose an idea for the French pavilion, I thought of the Mostra [Venice Film Festival]. I thought it was interesting to do something around the three countries,” she said. Sedira wants to focus on the cooperation between France, Italy and Algeria— and the solidarity between the trio of nations—though her Venice “project goes beyond that”, the artist stresses.
Sedira visited numerous film archives in Algeria, France and Italy as part of the research process. “In Italy, [we visited] Venice, Turin and Bologna. We discovered a film that had disappeared,” says Yasmina Reggad, the co-curator of the French pavilion, referring to Les Mains Libres made by the Italian director Ennio Lorenzini in 1964.
“It was the first international film collaboration between Algeria and another country [Italy],” said Sedira, but after 1966 Les Mains Libres was lost. She eventually found the forgotten work in a small archive in Rome. “It is an important film for anyone interested in post-1962 Algerian history,” she adds.
The French pavilion project aims to be a starting point for discussions on other topics such as colonialism, collective and individual histories, national identity and the fight against racism. “The notion of a nation begs to be critiqued and challenged. What is a nation at the end of the day? It is a big fiction to believe that when you draw a certain line, everyone who happens to be behind this line is of the same mentality and culture,” said Sam Bardaouil, the co-director of the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin along with Till Fellrath (the duo have also co-curated the French pavilion).
“In a sense, a pavilion is an attempt to give a physical form to a fiction, so to use fiction in the language of cinema as a way to critique nation and belonging is such an intelligent and timely way to discuss these issues,” Bardaouil said.
The three pavilion curators will participate in a film to be shown in the pavilion. “We’ll be turned into actors and actresses,” said Reggad. Bringing together an artistic community was paramount, added Sedira, who relished the opportunity “to work with friends, to be surrounded by friends”. The film production will also include members of the crew and her son. “I was playing on the aesthetic and structure in cinema in the 1960s in low-budget films when one would play many roles,” she said
The pavilion project will also include a “conversation” with the UK pavilion artist, Sonia Boyce, and the Swiss representative, Latifa Echakhch. “Sonia was my neighbour for many years and she taught me at one point when I was studying art in London,” said Sedira.
At the briefing, the curators also discussed the three accompanying journals linked to the pavilion project. Each issue refers to a city—Algiers, Venice, and Paris—that has played an integral part in Sedira’s practice. “The journal is an extension of what the project entails inside the pavilion. The cities mark the phases of Zineb’s life, they become entry points to questions that are related to the themes that will be discovered in the film and installation in the pavilion,” said Bardaouil. Contributors include the French artist Laure Prouvost and the actor Nabil Djedouani.“The journal has allowed for a diversity and plurality of voices,” Bardaouil added.
The journal design is based on film magazines of the 1960s and 1970s, added Reggad, and also borrows from militant leaflets of the era. The journals are “doors to an intellectual horizon [with] texts, images and playlists”, said Eva Nguyen Binh, the president of L’Institut Français which is supporting the pavilion. Other sponsors include Arts Council England and the dealer Kamel Mennour who represents Sedira
Moroccan-Spanish athlete Mohamed Katir won on Tuesday a silver medal after finishing second in the 5,000 meters final at the European Championships. The tournament is taking place between August 11 and 21 in Munich, Germany.
Katir finished the race in 13 minutes, 22 seconds, and 98 milliseconds, behind the gold medalist Norway’s Jacob Ingebrigsten, who recorded a time of 13 minutes, 21 seconds, and 13 milliseconds. Italy’s Yemanebrhan Crippa finished third with a time of 13 minutes, 24 seconds, and 83 milliseconds.
Nine minutes and 30 seconds into the race, French runner Hugo Hay, who was positioned between fourth and fifth place, fell to the ground and was unable to recover, finishing 19th in the race.
The Moroccan-born holds impressive records in medium and long-distance running competitions. Katir is the 27th all-time fastest runner to ever compete at Golden Gala, an annual track and field event.
The runner won the record after completing 5,000 meters in a personal best time of 12 minutes, 50 seconds, and 79 milliseconds in June 2021.
Last month, Katir claimed a bronze medal in the 1,500 meters race at the World Athletics Championships held in Oregon, the United States.
Katir was born in 1998 in the Moroccan city of Ksar El Kebir but immigrated to Spain with his family when he was a young child. He received Spanish nationality in 2019, allowing him to compete under the Spanish flag since January 1, 2020.
source/contents: moroccoworldnews.com (edited)
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Moroccan-Spanish Mohamed Katir Wins Silver Medal at European Championships
Tunisian-French Nadia Dhouib has been named the new General Manager of Paco Rabanne. The former Galeries Lafayette Champs-Elysees managing director succeeds Bastien Daguzan, who served in the role for five years.
Dhouib will report to Vincent Thilloy, chief brands officer of Paco Rabanne and Jean Paul Gaultier, another fragrance brand owned by Spanish firm Puig.
Dhouib, founder of RethinkRetail Advisory, has aided designers in their shift from Galeries to RethinkRetail.Advisory. “Retail isn’t dead – it’s boring,” she explained to Vogue Arabia at her Galeries appointment, saying that she wanted to create an experience for clients. Keep an eye on this place to observe the transformation she brings to Paco Rabanne’s property.
The maison was founded in 1966 and rapidly developed an avant-garde and current identity. Its Spanish founder, Francisco Rabaneda y Cuervo, was the son of Balenciaga’s head seamstress. He fled Spain’s Civil War for France, where he took the name Paco Rabanne. He began his career as an architect before transitioning to avant-garde accessory design and creating one-of-a-kind pieces for haute couture houses. In 1966, he started his eponymous label, which featured outfits comprised of moulded plastics, hammered metal, aluminum jersey, and knitted fur. His eponymous chainmail gowns—as worn by Françoise Hardy—remain emblematic of the house to this day.
