PRESENTATION OF THE THREE CULTURES FOUNDATION
Hassan II pavilion, Three Cultures of the Mediterranean Foundation headquarters.
Three Cultures of the Mediterranean Foundation originally dates back to 1998, when the Junta de Andalucía regional government and the Kingdom of Morocco decided to create a forum to encourage encounters between the peoples and cultures of the Mediterranean based on the principals of peace, tolerance and dialogue. The Centro Peres por la Paz (Peres Centre for Peace), the National Palestine Authority and other personalities and Israeli institutions with commitments in line with the Foundation’s philosophy later joined the initiative, which was finally constituted as such in the city of Seville on the 8th of March, 1999. The spirit of this Foundation is also a reflection of the Euro-Mediterranean Conference of Barcelona, held in November 1995, which marked the beginning of a new stage in relations between the countries of the Mediterranean basin. A series of ministerial meetings to address the main political, financial and social issues in the countries in this area began on the 28th of November, 1995 in the city of Barcelona at the request of the Spanish Government. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of 27 EU member countries and 12 southern Mediterranean countries expressed their determination to make peace, stability and safety a common asset among the riparian countries. The main areas of action of the Three Cultures Foundation come from the Barcelona Declaration: a political section, a financial section and a cultural and social section. Moreover, the Foundation worked from the beginning in the field of immigration, a topic which would, for its vital importance, be included in the goals laid out at the 2005 Barcelona Summit.
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Three Cultures Foundation was conceived as a unique tool to support the spirit of creation of a new horizon for the ensemble of the Mediterranean basin: to establish a zone of peace, stability and progress on both sides of a sea which has been a cradle of civilisations. True to this premise, the Foundation will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2024, satisfied with the road travelled thus far and a prestige which it has earned through hard work, through the hundreds of activities it promotes year after year and backed by a patronage in which the highest institutions of Spain and Morocco are represented. 2.As well as the High Patronage held by the monarchs Morocco Day in Expo 92 of Seville with the presence of the Prince Moulay Rachid. of both countries, the Patronage of Fundacin Tres Culturas (Three Cultures Foundation) has a rotating presidency which alternates between Antonio Sanz, Regional Minister of the Presidency, Home Affairs, Social Dialogue and Administrative Simplification, Junta de Andalucía (Regional government of Andalusia, Spain) and André Azoulay, Advisor to H.R.H. the King of Morocco. Prominent members of the Spanish and Moroccan governments and representatives of financial, social and diplomatic fields also make up this body. They include the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Spain, José Manuel Albares; the Minister for Youth, Culture and Communication of the Kingdom of Morocco, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid; and the Minister for National Education, Preschool and Sports of the Kingdom of Morocco, Chakib Benmoussa. The participation of Ricardo Díez-Hochleitner, Spanish Ambassador in Morocco and his Moroccan counterpart in Spanish territory, Ambassador Karima Benyaich, is also worthy of mention.
High Patronage - On the left: SM Mohamed VI, King of Morocco. On the right: SM Felipe VI, King of Spain.
From left to right: Mr. André Azoulay, Royal Counselor of the Kingdom of Morocco, Mr. Antonio Sanz, Regional Minister for the Presidency, Home Affairs, Social Dialogue and Administrative Simplification, Junta de Andalucía (Regional government of Andalusia, Spain), Mr. Ricardo Díez-Hochleitner, Ambassador of Spain in Morocco and Mrs. Aziza Bennani, Permanent Ambassador of Morocco
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Throughout 2019, the Three Cultures Foundation has carried out a very intense programme of activities with considerable institutional support. In June, for example, the headquarters of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation for the Kingdom of Morocco in Rabat hosted a meeting of the Patronage of the Thee Cultures Foundation with the presence of the president of the Junta de Andalucía regional government, Juanma Moreno Bonilla, who was on an official visit to the country.
During the meeting, which coincided with the institution’s 20th anniversary, the Three Cultures Foundation received the recognition of everyone present, Andalusian and Moroccan patrons alike. Two particularly noteworthy members of the group in attendance were Palestinian writer and UNESCO ambassador Elías Sanbar and Tsvia Walden, co-chair of the Centro Simon Peres por la Paz (Simon Peres Centre for Peace). The many words of support for the Foundation are particularly noteworthy, especially those that underline its important role in the complex international scene. To this respect, the president of the Junta de Andalucía regional government stressed that “the Foundation can rely on the firm support of the Andalusian Government. We’re going to back it because, at a time when threats we cannot underestimate, such as different forms of fundamentalism, exclusionary nationalism, intolerance or xenophobia are -4-
appearing or increasing, the way to face these negative phenomena is to find the common values that unite us all, based on human rights, respect for people and equal rights, duties and opportunities. That’s why the aspiration for peace, tolerance and co-existence that characterises the Three Cultures is more valid today than ever and, for that reason, institutions such as the Fundación Tres Culturas are even more necessary.” Likewise, André Azoulay, advisor to H.R.H. the King of Morroco and president of the Foundation, stressed that Three Cultures “is the space that the Kingdom of Morocco and Spain, the Spanish people and the Moroccan people, have chosen to remember and protect the Mediterranean values. Now more than ever we must mobilise and act with determination to defend, teach and promote the values of respect for others, dialogue, tolerance and peace.”
With their declarations, the ambassador of Morocco in Spain, Karima Benyaich; her Spanish counterpart in Morocco, Ricardo Díez-Hochleitner; and the advisor to the Presidency of the Junta de Andalucía regional government and delegate president of Three Cultures, Elías Bendodo, among other patrons, also confirmed the good state of health of the Foundation which was further improved by this meeting in Rabat on its twentieth anniversary. Moreover, all the attendees agreed that this encounter was a landmark event for Three Cultures, after which a strategic reflection began on the institution’s projection to face the future with new and ambitious projects. Later, the members of the Patronage travelled to the National Library of the Kingdom of Morocco for the launch of a photographic exhibition displaying the history of the Three Cultures Foundation, with twenty images accompanied by texts written in Arabic, a travelling exhibition which will also be displayed in other Moroccan cities such as Tetuan, Essaouira or Marrakech. -5-
At the end of the summer, the Foundation’s programme once again intensified with very important events and institutional dates such as the visit of the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of the Spanish Government, Josep Borrell; or a meeting of the new delegate minister for Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expats of the Kingdom of Morocco, Nezha El Ouafi, and a delegation from Three Cultures led by its director and also attended by Enrique Millo, general secretary for Exterior Actions of the Junta de Andalucía regional government. Those important encounters of the highest level were held in November 2019, a month that ended with another particularly relevant event: the ’20 years of public diplomacy in the Mediterranean’ Conference in Seville on the 27th of November. This event began with a meeting of the Foundation’s Patronage, followed by the inaugural act for the conference, with the intervention of the President
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of the Junta de Andalucía regional government, Juanma Moreno Bonilla, and the advisor to H.R.H. the king of Morocco and President of Three Cultures, André Azoulay. The Andalusian president stated that the Foundation “is today the main instrument for cooperation between the two shores of the Mediterranean and an example of how to understand and perfectly adapt to the oft turbulent reality of this bridge between Europe and Africa.” He also defended this institution’s status as a lighthouse from which to shine a light of concord with which to neutralise the lack of understanding and hatred between peoples. “We’re immensely lucky to have a Foundation which, in itself, is the best antidote to intolerance and fanatisms,” he stressed. After his speech, the audience attended the conference by Nasser Kamel, who has since July 2018 been the general secretary of the Unión por el Mediterráneo (Union for the Mediterranean), an intergovernmental organisation formed by the 28 members of the European Union as well as 15 Mediterranean member countries from northern Africa, the Middle East and south-eastern Europe.
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25 YEARS OF A UNIQUE FOUNDATION Since its creation, the Three Cultures Foundation has worked on three areas of action which are well defined from a geographical point of view. Firstly, Mediterranean cooperation, with particular attention to collaboration between Andalusia and Morocco as a basic axis derived from the hybrid root that characterises this institution. The second priority area has been the Near East, reinforcing the role of the Foundation as an instrument of dialogue which is able to group society’s concerns regarding the present and the future of this conflictive zone. Finally, the European Union, as maintaining a privileged relationship with the EU and Mediterranean Third Countries allows the Foundation to be an instrument of application of policies and execution of projects in the field of Mediterranean cooperation. All in all, three complex settings which, as goals for a single institution, made this a unique foundation among those dedicated to cultural diplomacy that set itself an ambitious challenge: to work to encourage dialogue and respect between different people through culture in all its different facets: education, business exchanges, academic dissemination, international cooperation and professional encounters, among others.
5th edition of WOCMES, organised by the Fundación Tres Culturas in July 2018.
All of this has given form to what we could refer to as the “Tres Culturas stamp”, a hallmark of quality and prestige which endorses the activities driven by this institution, both for the level of their participants and for the response from their audiences and their considerable national and international backing. An example of this was the fifth edition of WOCMES, organised in Seville by the Three Cultures Foundation from the 16th to the 20th of July, 2018, which was judged to be the best edition so far. This was not, however, a one-off event, it was in fact the result of a trajectory which in 2019 has concluded its first two decades of a very successful history. -8-
Three thousand experts on the Near East and Northern Africa from more than 90 countries, 517 academic sessions, a record number of exhibitors at the Book Exhibition, 40 films screened at the Film Fest, three exhibitions, a performance, ten book presentations, five great concerts and a number of flamenco and Mediterranean music performances with a financial impact of more than four million Euros for the city of Seville. Those were the final figures for the most lauded edition of this world congress, which was inaugurated by H.R.H. King Felipe H.R.H. Felipe VI, King of Spain, inaugurating WOCMES Seville 2018. VI; André Azoulay, advisor to H.R.H. the King of Morocco; and High Representative of United Nations for the Alliance of Civilisations, Nasser Abdulaziz Al-Nassir among other national and international authorities.
The most representative voices of contemporary Mediterranean literature have gathered at this biennial festival organised in Granada by the Three Cultures Foundation in 2016 and 2018. Authors such as Almudena Grandes, Buket Uzuner, Abraham B. Yehoshua, Hubert Haddad, Nawal El-Saadawi, Alessandro Baricco, Asli Erdogan, Günter Wallraff, Tahar Ben Jelloun, Zeina Abirached, Mathias Enard, Rutu Modan, Elías Sanbar, Alicia Giménez-Bartlett, Slavenka Drakulic, Hélé Béji, Antonio Lozano and Luis García Montero are all a part of this festival, 5. which in 2022 gave Tres Festival in Granada way to the literary encounters ‘Mediterranean Literature’. World renowned writers such as Hisham Matar, Theodor Kallifatides, Tatiana Țîbuleac, Nuccio Ordine, Mohamed El Morabet, María Belmonte, Mauricio Wiesenthal, Joumana Haddad, Philippe Claudel, Aurora Luque, Zülfü Livaneli, Gabriela Adameșteanu, Mohammed Bennis, Anne Plantagenet and Thomas Sparr, among many others, participated in the festivals which took place in 2022 and 2023. -9.
Culture as a place for development and resistance against radicalisation and an instrument of cooperation between administrations, businesses and civil society on both shores of the Mediterranean. Those ideas were the cornerstones at the base of two intense days of debate, conferences, workshops and business exchanges within the TANMIA (Tunisia, Algeria, Andalusia, Morocco in Interaction) Forum held in February 2016. An encounter of the highest level attended by figures Inauguration of the TANMÍA Forum in Seville. such as Moroccan ambassador in Spain at that time, Fadel Benyaich, and Secretary General of Immigration and Emigration of the Spanish Government, Marina del Corral, as well as a number of experts in heritage and cultural diversity.
Málaga was the city chosen in 2016 and 2018 to become the epicentre of debate on the media and current affairs in the Mediterranean by hosting both editions of the TRESMED Forum. Professionals such as Manuel Campo Vidal, Rosa María Calaf, Ángeles Espinosa, Emilio Morenatti, Claudio Cappon and Pepa Bueno took part in the
forums.
Rosa María Calaf at the 2nd Tres MED Forum in Malaga.
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As well as those already described, various other noteworthy congresses have been organised such as the two seminars on Women in the Mediterranean zone (2017 and 2018), the Andalusia and Morocco. Educating in diversity Forum (November 2017), the international Geopolitical situation and values in the Mediterranean and Near East Forum (November 2016) and the successive edition in 2017.
2nd World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace (March 2006).
All of the above are part of the Foundation’s most recent past, yet many other important moments came before them such as the 1st Andalusia-Morocco Cooperation Seminar (2000); the European Neighbourhood Policy and cross-border and interregional cooperation in the Western Mediterranean congress (2005); the 2nd World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace (March 2006); the International Seminar of Young Israeli and Palestinian Leaders, organised in 2006 by Three Cultures with Geneva Initiative and the Palestinian Peace Coalition in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs via the Spanish International Cooperation Agency; the Seminar of Palestinian, Israeli and Spanish experts in public opinion (2008); the MoroccoEuropean Union: the future of the relationship encounter (2010) and the two editions of the Moroccan and Andalusian Women in the Rural Environment Forum (2011 in Granada, 2013 in Seville), among others. One of the most important milestones over the years was the commemoration of the 600th anniversary of the death of Ibn Jaldún in 2006. The Fundación Tres Culturas (Three Cultures Foundation) collaborated with the Fundación Legado Andalusí (Andalusi Legacy Foundation) with a commemorative exhibition and an International Seminar, Ibn Jaldún and his times, the Alliance of Civilisations, a challenge of future.
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International cooperation has always been a distinguishing mark of the Three Cultures Foundation, a characteristic which was accentuated from 2011 onwards with the launch of various cross-border cooperation programmes backed by the European Union.
The first were MENARA (Observatory for Migrations and Promotion of Intercultural Dialogue) and CREAMOS (Artistic Creation between Andalusia and Morocco with Social Objectives). All three fell within the POCTEFEX (Spain-Exterior Frontiers Cross-Border Cooperation Programme) and included actions in Andalusia and Morocco in accordance with their corresponding topical areas: cross-border workshops, publication of research findings, awareness programmes, educational activities, business guides, artistic exchanges, exhibitions and landscape interventions, etc. These projects were followed by others such as home (hands-on for mobility and employment. EuroMediterranean Youth Exchange), PLUS (Politicians Listening to Us), and CARPET (Craft, Art and People Together) with activities in Spain, Portugal, the UK and Morocco and INTREPIDA plus, with initiatives in Andalusia, the Algarve and Alentejo; and ‘Halal Market: market resilience to new tourism trends’, which aimed at generating competitive advantage for the products and services of the companies in the cooperation space, by adapting them to the criteria defined as Muslim friendly favouring the increase in exports. The project centred in Andalusia and the Portuguese region of Alentejo. All of these programmes, which have European funding, have been created within the Three Cultures Foundation, thought up and formed by teams which specialise in this type of project. Thus, for example, the CARPET project was one of six Spanish initiatives chosen within the framework of Europa Creativa, which has an extremely strict selection process that just 66 proposals from the whole European area passed. - 12 -
Within cross-border cooperation programs, those to which the Three Cultures of the Mediterranean Foundation has dedicated the promotion of business entrepreneurship and internationalization deserve special attention, especially spotting the light on two priority groups: young people and women.
INTREPIDA project B2B encounter in Faro, Portugal.
On the one hand, CUDEMA project (Culture and Development in Morocco and Andalusia, as its acronym in Spanish) stands out, with two editions (between 2010 to 2015) and some other different proposals developed from 2010 to 2015 and aimed primarily at students, future entrepreneurs and specialists in cultural management, both Andalusians and Moroccans. Through skill workshops, side events and professional meetings, the Foundation offered these young people instruments to develop its business activity in the scope of cultural and creative industries, on both sides of the Strait. On the other hand, The Three Cultures Foundation has fostered several lines of work to promoted woman entrepreneurship with programs such as MERE (Women Entrepreneurs of the Strait Regions, as its acronym in Spanish), an initiative for cross-border cooperation between Andalusia and Morocco which included the creation of a social network, professional meetings and free training workshops, among other activities between 2012 and 2014.
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Heir of this program, although in this case geographically focused on the regions of Andalusia, Algarve and Alentejo, it is INTREPIDA project (Internationalization of Women Entrepreneurs of Spain and Portugal towards Insertion, Development and Alliances, as its acronym in Spanish), which has been developed since 2017 and which during 2020 will continue as INTREPIDA +. Among the different actions previewed, there are several work forums, training modules on new technologies and internationalization, and visits to SMEs.
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Cultural expressions have been and continue to be valid instruments to encourage closer relationships between peoples. For this reason, from the beginning, the Foundation committed itself to a programme to allow the city’s public to discover other cultures. The first great event in this respect was the Tres Culturas Concert, organised in what was then the Cartuja Auditorium in September 2002 with Israeli artist Noa, Algerian Khaled and Spanish group Ketama. A triple recital in which the Jewish, Muslim and Christian peoples were represented by artists of the highest relevance, all accredited cultural ambassadors of their respective homelands. From that point onwards, the Foundation gained a prominent, active, cultural position in the city which has not only been consolidated over the years with a wide-ranging and diverse programming defined by the diversity of artistic disciplines.
Movie Tuesdays, held routinely since 2007, are unavoidable dates for fans of cinema. Screenings are programmed in monthly thematic cycles with original language version films subtitled in Spanish, some which generally go unnoticed on the commercial circuits and others which have never been shown on Spanish screens before. They provide different points of view on other peoples’ customs, sentiments and experiences. Summer cinema.
At the same time, the Foundation has collaborated with international festivals such as the African Film Festival (in Tarifa, Tangiers and Córdoba), the South of Granada Film Festival and the European Film Festival of Seville, among others, as well as organising occasional cycles in different parts of Andalusia and Morocco.
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Apart from the aforementioned Tres Culturas Concert, the musical project that brought the most attention to the Foundation in its early days was the organisation, during three years, of the initiative launched by Palestinian writer Edward Said and musician of Israeli origins Daniel Barenboim: the West Eastern Divan, an orchestra of Arabic, Israeli and Spanish musicians which transcended the purely musical to become a forum of dialogue and reflection upon the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the search for solutions. This project acquired such relevance that it later created its own foundation, however, the seed was planted and it took its first steps within this institution. Another of the most significant projects where music is concerned was the Tres Culturas Choir, created by the Foundation in 2003. This group of singers, initially consisting of young Moroccan and Andalusian voices aged under 30, spread to include teachers, directors and singers from Egypt and France until 2011 and, recently, in June 2023, with two concerts in Rabat and Casablanca which gathered 2.500 people. On that occasion, the singers came from the Moroccan ensemble Les Voix du Choeur from Rabat, as well as from others from Seville such as ProyectoeLe, Seville’s Chamber Choir, Seville’s Musical Society, Codice Choir, A5 Vocal Ensemble and the Choir of the Friends Association of the Maestranza, among others. The Foundation also has an intense musical and performance programme each year both at its headquarters and in other Andalusian provinces and Morocco. 9. A m o n g them, specific mention goes to the performances by the singer Cheikh Lô (January 2008); Mongolian artist Urna Chahar-Tugchi (February 2008); the One Thousand Nights and One Night show, an adaption by Mario Vargas Llosa starring Aitana Sánchez-Gijón (July 2008); the joint performance by Noa and Mira Awad at FIBES (February 2009); the tribute concert to Mahmud Darwish in Córdoba (May 2010); the Concert by the Tres Culturas Choir at Seville Cathedral. performance by Enrique Morente and the Chekara Andalusí Orchestra of Tetuan (May 2010); the performances by Farah Siraj, representing Jordan during the celebration of the United Nations World Peace Day (June 2013 and May 2016); the charity shows with Sufi music and dance by the group Alturaz Al Andalusí (September 2015); and the performance by Tanmía Ensemble at the Alcázar in Seville of Airs of Andalusia, from Baghdad to Andalusia passing through the Maghreb (February 2016). - 16 -
Concert of the ROSS directed by John Axelrod as part of WOCMES Seville 2018. Maestranza Theatre, Seville.
Within the framework of WOCMES Seville 2018, the Foundation offered a performance by pianist Dorantes and the Taksim Trio from Istanbul at the Patio de la Montería (Courtyard of the Hunt) in Seville’s Alcázar fortress, and a concert organised to mark the presentation of the WOCMES Award at Maestranza Theatre, in which the Royal Symphonic Orchestra of Seville played the emblematic Scheherezade by Rimsky-Korsakov, under the director of Maestro John Axelrod.
Finally, it is worth mentioning the Three Cultures Festival, which has been organized every year since 2021, an event with three nights of open-air concerts dedicated to Sephardic music, Andalusian rhythms and flamenco, where artists from all over the world have already performed, such as Ana Alcaide, Imán Kandoussi, Rocío Márquez, the group Med Ziani and Amazigh Groove, Laia Tamar, Laura Vital, Eduardo Paniagua, Mor Karbasi, Abir El Abedy or Ángeles Toledano.
Festival of the Atlantic Andalusias, Essaouira.
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Added to all the above, there has been a number of collaborations with festivals such as Etnosur Festival in Jaén, Territorios in Seville, Seville Dance Month, the Luna Mora Festival in Guaro (Málaga) and a special collaboration with the Festival of Atlantic Andalusias which is held every year in the Moroccan city of Essaouira.
Artistic creation as an element of cultural exchange or as a tool to learn increase knowledge of other realities and countries has been a constant part of this Foundation. In keeping with this, it has organised and hosted exhibitions such as Morocco, by Harry Gruyaert (a first in 2004 and another in 2009); Land of Dreams (2006); 8 Women, 8 Countries (2008); Yemen, the happy Arabia, by Nocem Collado (2008); Tower of Silence, by Aitor Lara (2008); Vignettes of conflict (2010); Visas for Freedom. Spanish diplomats before the Holocaust (2011), as well as a number of displays designed within the MENARA, CREAMOS and CARPET cross-border cooperation projects, among others. Also worthy of a special mention in the section is the Plein Air project, which celebrated its fourth edition in Seville in 2011 following editions in Tetuan, Coimbra and Aix-en-Provence in the three previous years. In 2011, the project brought together 40 young Fine Arts students, graduates and artists from Spain (mostly Andalusians), Morocco, Turkey, France, Italy and Portugal, who spent a week sharing open air drawing and painting classes while at the same time exchanging experiences and learning about each other’s cultures.
‘Parallel Looks. Iran-Spain: Photographers in the mirror’ exhibition at The King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center in New York.
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Then in 2016, the Foundation embarked upon an important artistic project, collaborating with the Parallel Looks. Iran-Spain: Photographers in the mirror exhibition driven by the Western Mediterranean Cultural Association, with work by artists such as Cristina García Rodero, Isabel Muñoz and Soledad Córdoba. This exhibition, which was displayed at the Tres Culturas (Three Cultures) headquarters in 2017 and in Granada in April 2018 during the Tres Festival, was presented in September of that same year at The King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center in New York. Finally, within the Three Cultures expository offerings, we cannot forget the architectural value of the very building that houses its headquarters, which was the Moroccan Pavilion during the 1992 Universal Expo and has become a benchmark to explain the magnitude of that event. Each year, hundreds of people sign up for the various different types of guided tours of the building (free, paid, in different languages for groups of foreigners, adapted for schoolchildren, night visits…) to discover this jewel of heritage bequeathed by Expo’92.
Promotion of Mediterranean literature and authors is one of the Foundation’s main cultural strong points. To this end, it has a specialist library and documentation sector which is unique in Andalusia for its type of materials, the Fátima Mernissi Library. It has more than 10,000 books and 1,500 registered users, and receives an average of 300 visits per month. Its shelves house publications in Arabic and Hebrew, as well as Spanish, French and English, with special emphasis on intercultural dialogue. It also has a media library with films, audio-visual materials and music which are quite hard to find on commercial circuits.
Fátima Mernissi Library.
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To provide its stock with more visibility, the Three Cultures library has belonged to the Andalusian Network of Documentation Centres and Specialist Libraries since 2011, and its catalogue is accessible via the IDEA Network platform. The exceptional nature of this library led the Andalusian Association of Information and Documentation Professionals to award Three Cultures with the 2009 Hernando Colón award for “its valuable work to recover, conserve and broadcast Andalusian bibliographic and documental heritage”.
Reading club session.
The library backs a multitude of book presentations, encounters with writers and specific programmes such as those of the Andalusian Public Reading Day or Intercultural Week, and there is also a reading club, Three with Books, which provides readers with the chance to discuss their views with authors of books they’ve read. The club has received the visits of writers such as Senegalese Fatou Diome (The Belly of the Atlantic), Egyptian Khaled Al Khamissi (Taxi), Antonio Lozano and Waleed Saleh (writer and main character respectively Presentation of ‘The punishment’ with the author, Tahar Ben Jelloun.
of The ashes of Baghdad), Moroccan Abdellatif Laâbi (Fez is a mirror), Bulgarian Angel Wagenstein (The Pentateuch of Isaac), Syrian Salwa al Neimi (The flavour of honey), Tunisian Hubert Haddad (Opium Poppy), Algerian Boualem Sansal (Rue Darwin), Israeli Nir Baram (The shadow of the world), French Mathias Enard (Compass), Greek Petros Márkaris (Offshore) and Moroccans Leila Slimani (Sweet song) and Tahar Ben Jelloun (The punishment), among others. Likewise, the Foundation has played a very active role in the Book Fairs of Seville, Granada and Córdoba, with its own displays and programmes. So much so that in 2010 this institution received an award from the Seville Book Fair Association for its work in promotion of Mediterranean authors and works. Moreover, the Foundation has been present at the Casablanca International Publishing and Book Fair (SIEL 2014) and Rabat (SIEL 2023), as well as in various editions of the ‘Lettres du Maghreb’ at Oujda. Finally, in November 2023, we will organise an event at Casablanca’s Children and Youth Book Fair, with the author from Granada, - 20 -
Alejandro Pedregosa, who will present his Family Album, a collection of poems illustrated by Carole Hénaff, with the collaboration of the Spanish Embassy in Morocco and the Cervantes Institute in Casablanca. at various editions of the ‘Lettres du Maghreb’ Fair in Oujda.
As well as being an important cultural and international cooperation tool, the Foundation has earned itself a privileged status as an educational space, mainly for two strong educational commitments: its modern Arabic and Hebrew courses and the Masters in International Relations. The language courses began in 2005 and have become one of the distinguishing marks of Three Cultures as there are very few centres (either public or private) that offer tuition to pupils in both languages. What’s more, in the case of modern Arabic, the Three Cultures Foundation has for many years been the only place in Andalusia to Masters in International Relations. provide advanced-level conversation classes. The Masters in International Relations is a joint initiative of the Pablo de Olavide University, the International University of Andalusia and the Three Cultures Foundation which has been running since 2007 with an average of 35 students each academic year. It is the only Masters in this discipline and its aim is to train graduates in diverse academic fields, focusing on the Mediterranean and particularly the Arabic World, Ibero-America and the European Union, the three great models of international projection in Andalusia. Many of our proposals over the years have also had a marked educational component, especially the conference sessions, seminars and forums. An example of this is the Al-Andalus Cathedra, an initiative launched in 2009 with a very loyal audience who attend to the monthly sessions centred around the study and interpretation of the significance of al-Andalus in the Spanish and European history. Where conferences and encounters are concerned, we must highlight the ‘Actualidad Tres Culturas’ and Ambassadors’ Conferences, which have allowed the Foundation’s audience to obtain first-hand access to the testimonies of researchers, journalists, diplomats and other experts of the highest level, in sessions which always have a clearly educational style. We have been honoured with the presence of former Israeli minister Yossi Beilin; Raphael Schutz, Israeli ambassador in Spain; Musa Ahmed Odeh, general delegate for Palestine in Spain (2009); Marina Ottoway, Near East director of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Ana Ballesteros, researcher for the Electoral Observatory of the Mediterranean International Studies Workshop; Khaled Hroub, director of Cambridge Arab Media Project; Abdullah Baabood, director of Gulf Research Centre, Cambridge; Carlos Braverman, Israeli politician and president of the Open Fields Institute; Ahmed Shafik Ismail Abdelmoeti, ambassador of the Arabic Republic of Egypt in Spain; and Wacef Chiha, ambassador of the Republic of Tunisia in Spain. - 21 -
Al-Andalus Cathedra.
In recent years two novel initiatives from an educational point of view have been developed, the first a programme of studies between Andalusia and Morocco which is jointly organised with educational centres on demand. This initiative provides students with the opportunity to explore the concept of interculturality, finalising with a stay in Morocco with keynote speeches and visits to places of high heritage value in the cities of Tangiers, Tetuan and Chefchaouen. To date, these programmes have been carried out with US universities such as the Florida International University (FIU). Within this programme encounters are held with refugees, university students and young members of Moroccan associations. Secondly, the Foundation collaborates with the Twenty thousand leagues on the Intercultural Sea project, led by the Al Fanar Foundation and chosen within the Network intercultural actions selection by the Anna Lindh Foundation (Alexandria) to be implemented as of 2016. Based on the text of the novel Extraordinary journeys through mysterious lands by Sonia Nimr, Tres Culturas (Three Cultures) staff visit different educational centres to address topics such as culture and identity, freedom, diversity, intercultural relations, gender roles or human rights within the framework of an adventure that happens in the times of Al-Andalus in different Arabic countries, from Jerusalem to Tangiers. In the educational arena, we must highlight all those actions that are part of the field of social inclusion and labour insertion of the Moroccan population residing in the Andalusian community, such as the ‘Learning as a family’ program, one of our most successful proposals since it involves mothers, fathers and children. In fact, while parents are offered the possibility of improving their knowledge of Spanish, the children attend Arabic classes, in order not to lose this important link with their roots. In 2023, this program is being carried out in several towns in Seville and Huelva, with about 200 students in total. On the other hand, along these same lines, it is worth remembering the ‘IntegrARTE’ programme, launched in 2019, stemming from some of the training activities developed in previous years with the female Moroccan seasonal workers who travelled to Huelva to harvest berries. This program included Spanish classes, training workshops on topics such as health or administrative procedures, and cultural events (concerts and theatrical performances in Arabic). - 22 -
The above report offers a broad view of what the Three Cultures Foundationhas accomplished over almost 25 years, in which it has gone from being an ambitious project created between two shores to become a key element of Spanish cultural diplomacy. This fact is backed up by three characteristics which perfectly define the position of the Three Cultures Foundation on the current stage: its important exterior presence, its relevance as an instrument of dialogue and understanding and lastly its national and international prestige.
Having three ministers of the government of Morocco on the Patronage and the constant implication of a number of prominent figures from the neighbouring country in the Foundation reinforces the commitment
Business encounter with Arab Ambassadors.
the kingdom has had with Three Cultures since the beginning. A consolidated Spain-Morocco pairing which has brought fruits spreading to other riparian countries and placing the Foundation as a strategic bridge between Europe and the Near East. An example of this was the business encounter with the Council of Arab Ambassadors held and co-organised by the Foundation in April 2018, or the Developing the capacities of the Muslim communities: diversity as a competitive advantage encounter, with the presence of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, Charles of England at the closing ceremony (2011).
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The Foundation also has an important European agenda, not only for the cross-border cooperation projects it develops, but also for some activities organised within the very heart of European Parliament, such as in October 2018.
I Mediterranean Awards.
The presence of the Parallel views. Iran-Spain: Photographers in the mirror exhibition in New York or the support of the High Representative of United Nations for the Alliance of Civilisations Nasser Abdulaziz AlNassir at WOCMES Seville 2018 are also good proof of this international projection. Which reached its peak in 2019 coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the Three Cultures Foundation. This commemoration has two main milestones: the first of them on June 18th at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Morocco, in Rabat, which hosted the meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation attended by the President of the Junta de Andalusia (Andalusia’s regional government), Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla. The second of these important events took place on November 27th at the headquarters of the Three Cultures Foundation in Seville, where we held the conference ’20 years of public diplomacy in the Mediterranean, attended also by the President of the Junta de Andalusia, Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla, and the advisor to His Majesty the King of Morocco and President of the Three Cultures Foundation, André Azoulay, in addition to a lecture by Nasser Kamel, Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean. Finally, it is worth mentioning the creation of the Mediterranean Awards, convened by the Junta de Andalusia through the Three Cultures of the Mediterranean Foundation and under the auspices of the Intermediterranean Commission of the Conference of Peripheral and Maritime Regions. The Award Ceremony for these awards took place on the 29th of March 2023 and was an important recognition for the people, institutions, companies and other organizations that with their trajectory have contributed to boosting the Mediterranean identity, promoting sustainable and integrated development on all its shores, fostering peace, intercultural and interreligious dialogue in the Mediterranean basin. - 24 -
Respect is born of knowledge, so the best way of encouraging dialogue is to encourage actions that enable us to learn more about other cultures, traditions and religions. With this affirmation as a premise, the Three Cultures Foundation promotes a number of proposals focused on better understanding between the Muslim, Jewish and Christian communities. That is the case with acts organised to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day (to pay tribute to victims of Nazism) or Ramadán between cultures, a programme that enables people to learn more about the meaning of this festivity.
Acts organised to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
In 2010, the Three Cultures Foundation also signed up to the Erensya platform drawn up in October 2009 by Sefarad-Israel in conjunction with the Federation of Jewish Communities in Spain and the Network of Jewries in Spain with an aim to recovering emotional bonds between the main Sephardic communities of the world and Spain. Since then, conferences and encounters have been organised with the participation of the Three Cultures Foundation.
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H.R.H. King Felipe VI referred to this institution with these words during his speech at the inauguration of WOCMES Seville 2018, thus backing the work and trajectory of Three Cultures. A trajectory marked by the excellent relationship with other national and international entities dedicated to promotion of dialogue, culture and coexistence such as Casa Árabe, Casa África, the Anna Lindh Foundation, the Cervantes Institute, Casa Sefarad, the Elcano Royal Institute, the European Institute of the Mediterranean and the Al Fanar Foundation. At the same time, this prestige allows it to maintain a fluid collaboration with Universities (especially in Spain and Morocco but also in the Middle East, the European Union and the United States through various international programmes) and important social organisations.
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