Morocco’s International Storytelling Festival kicked off its 20th annual celebration this week in Rabat, Morocco. The opening event featured traditional drumming and dancing, as well as an impressive lineup of international storytellers who eagerly bestowed their opening remarks upon an enthusiastic crowd of locals.
The festival, which runs until June 25th, 2023, celebrates mothers and their invaluable contributions to the art of storytelling through seven days of performances, exhibitions, film screenings, and workshops across a number of venues in the greater Rabat area. 
The large annual turnout is made possible in part by the collaborative efforts of the International Academy of Moroccan Storytelling for Intangible Cultural Heritage (previously known as Liqaat for Education and Cultures Association), the Ministry of Youth, Culture, and Communication, and the governorate of Rabat-Sale-Kenitra.
Morocco’s International Storytelling Festival in Rabat
Inspired by research conducted in 1993 at the University Research Group on Orality (GRUO), Morocco’s former Minister of Education and Youth, Najima Thay Thay Rhozali created this one-of-a-kind festival to shed light on pertinent social issues through the powerful medium of storytelling.
Mothers as Storytellers and Cultural Caretakers:
This year’s theme, “The Greatness of Our Mothers,” highlights the role of mothers in Moroccan culture as storytellers: Deepening children’s understanding of the world and their place within it, while shaping social landscapes by passing down cultural norms and values. The vital yet often overlooked job of bestowing these stories upon children is thus often called the mother’s ‘favor.’
“Getting to know historical stories in general and [the mothers’] own experiences in the past helps in the development and realization of the current world and [an understanding of] how to deal with problems in the future” Sarah Al-Ali, an employee at the International School of Storytelling Center at the Sharjah Institute for Heritage in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates told MWN.
Morocco’s International Storytelling Festival in Rabat
This theme of intergenerational connection aligns with the objectives of the Academy: Promoting the use of storytelling in the academic sphere as a means of reviving and preserving oral collective history (while also increasing diplomacy and tourism).
Schedule of Events:
The organizers of the festival have released a full schedule of events following the kickoff on Day One.
Morning events throughout the week include storytelling workshops, Baba Arcour web series, film screenings, and tours of Rabat. Evening events include daily Halqas (viewing and listening circles) featuring storytellers and performers from all across the world.
Full schedule is as follows:
Day One, June 19th – (Complete)
10:00-12:00 – Storytelling workshops, Baba Archour Web Series
18:00-22:00 – Halqa (viewing and listening circle) at the following locations:
Rabat:
Kasbah des Oudayas
Bab el Had
Jedah
Mly Hassan
Rabat Agdal Train Station
Mini Parc
Mahaj Riad
Al Manal complex
Palais de Justice
Sale:
Bab Lamrissa
Temara Harhoura:
Mly Rachid
Plage Casino Harhoura
Kenitra:
Kenitra Municipality
Kenitra Train Station
French Institute of Kenitra
Day Two, June 20th:
10:00-12:00 – Storytelling workshops, Baba Archour Web Series
18:00-19:00 – Red Carpet Moroccan Storytelling event at Chellah
19:00-22:00 – Opening festival ceremony at Chellah
Day Three, June 21st:
10:00-12:00 – Storytelling workshops, Baba Archour Web Series
15:00-17:00 – Film Screening, Cinema House
18:00-22:00 – Halqa (refer to locations mentioned in Day One)
Day Four, June 22st:
9:00-18:00 – Roundtable: The Mother of the Universal Imagination at the Mohammed V Rabat University
10:00-12:00 – Storytelling workshops, Baba Archour Web Series at the Cultural institute and Foreign Missions in Rabat
18:00-22:00 – Halqa (refer to locations mentioned in Day One)
Day Five, June 23rd:
Visit to Mohammed V’s tomb, storytelling picnic at Bouregreg, guided tour of Rabat
18:00-22:00 – Halqa (refer to locations mentioned in Day One)
Day Six, June 24th:
10:00-12:00 – Storytelling workshops, Baba Archour Web Series
Village sessions:
Halqa ‘Moroccan Storytelling’ st at Bab Boujloud, Fes
Halqa ‘Moroccan Storytelling’ st at LaHdim, Meknes
18:00-22:00 – Halqa (refer to locations mentioned in Day One)
Day Seven, June 25th:
20:00 – Closing ceremony of the 20th International Storytelling Festival of Morocco
