In the spotlight: literary events organised by El Hizjra in Morocco and the Netherlands

The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Rabat, Morocco, was involved in the contest's awarding ceremony. The Dutch literary centre El Hizjra will also organise the Night of Arabic Literature on Saturday 2 November in De Nieuwe Liefde in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. On this night, the 28th El Hizjra Literature Prize will be awarded to a young and talented writer.

El Hizjra has awarded prizes during the Writers Connected project, a writing competition in the Tamazight language for students. Of the 80 participating students, 8 finalists received a prize. The prize was awarded by the Dutch ambassador in Morocco, Désirée Bonis, and Ahmed Boukous, the director of Royal Institute for Amazigh Culture (IRCAM). The 8 finalists are from the Moroccan cities of El Hoceima, Nador, Tiznit, Tangier and Khemisset.

Writers Connected is organised in close collaboration with IRCAM with the aim of encouraging young people to write creatively in their native language. For this writers' competition, the young writers wrote prose and poetry texts in the Tamazight language.

El Hizjra is organising the Night of Arabic Literature in Amsterdam on Saturday 2 November. This literary, cultural festival will focus on the power of words, the connection of cultures and shared values. Moroccan-French writer and journalist Leïla Slimani is the special guest of the evening; she has won the prestigious French literary prize Prix Goncourt and is appointed the ambassador for the Francophonie (French language) by President Emmanuel Macron. Leïla Slimani will be interviewed by Myriam Sahraoui, DutchCulture's Morocco advisor.

Are you a Dutch or Netherlands-based artist performing abroad in the (near) future and would you like to be in the spotlight? Send us an email with detailed information and two horizontal high res images. The editing team will make a selection and get back to you.

Check out the complete overview of Dutch cultural activities in Morocco in our database.

If you are a cultural professional who wants to go to Morocco, feel free to contact our Morocco advisor Myriam Sahraoui.