Morocco, sentinel of civilizations and compass of intercultural dialogue

In collaboration with the Moroccan Millennium Leaders Association, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Morocco organized the “Leaders Ftour Talk” at the Palais Kabbaj in Rabat on March 17, 2025, where topics such as cultural coexistence and inter-religious dialogue in Morocco were debated by high-level guests from government, diplomacy, academia and also civil society.
The exchange was based on Morocco as a model of civilization combining tradition and modernity, but also as a landmark for diversity, coexistence and intercultural and interreligious dialogue in a period of uncertainty and crisis. Civil society actors and artists were invited, as well as Imam Marouane Rassine and Rabbi Levi Bannon, who each made a religious contribution to the conception of the Ftour-debate.In his opening speech, Steven Höfner, Resident Representative of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, spoke of the shared values of tolerance and respect which characterize the cooperation between the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Moroccan Millennium Leaders Association, and which thus unite Morocco and Germany as countries. He also highlighted the “Moroccan light”, based on the values mentioned, which he discovered at the start of his mandate at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Morocco, during Ramadan last year. On that occasion, he especially encouraged young people to preserve and pass on this special model.
Marouane El Idrissi, President of the Moroccan Millennium Leaders Association, similarly focused on the guidelines of the history of tolerance, coexistence and openness to others, expressing the ambiguity of Moroccan identity as follows: being Moroccan means both rootedness and openness.
Lahcen Essaadi, Secretary of State for Handicrafts and the Social and Solidarity Economy, took the opportunity to underline Morocco's deep-rootedness in the traditions of handicrafts and architecture, which shape life in society and must not be forgotten in this respect.
Der Staatssekretär für Handwerk und Sozialwirtschaft, Lahcen Essaadi, betonte bei dieser Gelegenheit die tiefe Verankerung Marokkos in den Traditionen des Handwerks und der Architektur, die das Leben in der Gesellschaft prägen und in dieser Hinsicht nicht vergessen werden dürfen.

In another speech, Her Excellency Assia Bensalah Alaoui, Ambassador Itinerant of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, stressed the importance of former minister Moulay Ahmed Alaoui, who fought tirelessly for the dissemination of Moroccan heritage. Bensalah Alaoui described the Kingdom's cultural-historical heritage as a place “where Amazigh echoes, Arab inflections, Andalusian shimmer and African rhythms mingle”.
In his closing speech, His Excellency André Azoulay, Advisor to His Majesty the King, described Morocco's uniqueness in terms of social diversity and otherness. Where others would take a step backwards, the Kingdom is moving in the right direction. Already today, Morocco is one of the world's leaders, for it is humanity it modestly embodies. Mr. Azoulay concluded by echoing the words of Steven Höfner, who spoke of the “light of Morocco”. According to André Azoulay, the Moroccan light lies in the fact that its society has always refused regression, denial and exclusion, demonstrating even today a capacity for resistance during crises and periods of uncertainty.