Fez — Tetouan will host the 19th edition of the “Forum International de Bande Dessinée” (International Comics Forum), known as FIBaD, from May 17 to 22, with a program dedicated to comics, manga, illustration, animation, and intercultural dialogue.
The event will take place at the “Village de la Bande Dessinée” (Comics Village) at Place du Nouveau Feddan, as part of Tetouan’s designation as Mediterranean Capital of Culture and Dialogue 2026.
Organized under the High Patronage of King Mohammed VI, the forum is led by the Ministry of Youth, Culture, and Communication in partnership with the National Institute of Fine Arts of Tetouan, the Chouf association, and several Moroccan and international cultural partners.
A six-day celebration of the ninth art
This year’s edition will bring together artists, authors, researchers, students, publishers, and comics enthusiasts from Morocco, Europe, the Arab world, and Africa.
The programme includes exhibitions, workshops, screenings, professional meetings, debates, book-signing sessions, and activities for young audiences. The Comics Village will also feature album sales stands, photography spaces, and exhibition routes focused on comics, manga, illustration, and animated film.
The official opening ceremony, scheduled for May 18 at Cinéma Espagnol, will include tributes to Moroccan artistic and comics figures. Abdelilah Nacef will be honored in connection with the legacy of the Tetouan School of Fine Arts, while Aziz Oumoussa will be recognized for his artistic career. Salah Eddine Fellani will also be honored as an emerging young talent.
African talent and youth at the center
One of the forum’s main highlights will be the presentation of the comics album “The Five Continents” in the presence of Moroccan adventurer Hassan Baraka. Produced in collaboration with the Tanger Med Foundation, the album highlights perseverance, self-transcendence, and openness to the world through Baraka’s journey.
FIBaD will also spotlight young African creators through the “International Comics Prize: African Talents 2026.” More than 60 creations from African countries, including Guinea, Congo-Brazzaville, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Madagascar, Rwanda, Côte d’Ivoire, and Morocco, have been submitted. Ten authors will be selected, with three winners expected.
Children and young people will have a dedicated space offering drawing workshops, animated film screenings, a reading corner, creative activities, and youth programming led by students from the National Institute of Fine Arts of Tetouan.
The institute was founded in 1945. It trains students in visual arts, design, photography, cinema, and visual narrative, and describes FIBaD as one of its major cultural events supporting Morocco’s artistic scene.
