The Netherlands: Amazigh culture stands for the values of tolerance and coexistence between cultures
* the event
As expected, the 12th edition of the annual celebration of the advent of the Amazigh New Year 2973 was launched on the evening of Friday 13 in Amsterdam and Saturday 14 January in The Hague, Netherlands, at the new headquarters of the newly built AMARE cultural landmark in The Hague, a cultural event organized by the MJG Youth Foundation. annually in the cities of Amsterdam and The Hague, through which it seeks to consolidate the values and principles of tolerance and societal coexistence between cultures based on the slogan “Unity in Diversity” in the hope of mobilizing the Amazigh cultural components that evoke the history and civilization of the Amazigh people and their distinguished cultural advancement throughout history, as well as providing added value through this The cultural tributary of the new generations, especially the youth.
Attendance/organisation
Last Saturday, more than 2,000 people, from different age groups, generations and nationalities, flocked to the Palace of Culture, a distinguished presence that exceeded the expectations of the organizer, amid a rainy winter atmosphere that gave the occasion a special flavor that reminds us of the January celebrations inside the Amazigh towns and schools in the past decades, all of them answered the call of the Foundation MJG and its partners in order to attend for the success of the distinguished cultural event, which has become one of the major annual cultural events in the Amazighen of the Netherlands, and has become a professional cultural work that lives up to and responds to the standards and requirements of cultural programming in the halls and theaters of the great Netherlands, an accumulation and achievement that is unparalleled in the cultural scene in the center of the Amazighen of the Netherlands.
*Objectives
According to the head of the organizing institution, the cultural event aims to: “.. Defining the Amazigh culture in the Netherlands, and giving its real place alongside the cultures present in this country known as a multicultural society, in which Amazighs constitute an important proportion at the level of cultural dynamism, with the cultural actor Mustafa Barboush. He affirms that the cultural event is appropriate to highlight other elements of the cultural components of the identity of the Amazigh youth who were born and raised in this country and suffer from the crisis of “the usurpation of the mother identity.”
As there has been a great interest in recent years in the Amazigh culture, which requires intensifying efforts for joint work with all actors and those involved in the cultural field at the national level, so that the year 2974 will be a national year in the lowlands.
Celebrating and honoring
As the organizing party, every year, has always honored and celebrated Amazigh artists and creators, from different age groups and historical entities, the current version chose to celebrate the Amazigh artist and creator coming from the depths of the countryside, the melodious voice and the owner of words and melodies expressing the Amazigh community in the countryside. Whether inside or outside the countryside. According to the organizer, this award seeks to “..Mustafa Barboush, President of the Voice of Youth Foundation in the Netherlands, and the general coordinator of the cultural event. For his part, the artist Mimoun Rafuou’ praised this honor and as usual, with all spontaneity, stating that its celebration is a celebration of all rural and Amazigh creators wherever they are. He praised the tight and professional organization and discipline of the 12th session of this year, hoping that the next session will be another shift for the Diaspora Amazigh cultural scene.
* the program.
The general program of the cultural demonstration for this year was opened by presenting the two novels of the American anthropologist Stephens Carlton Kuhn, “The Meat of the Wild Bull” and “The Rural” in the presence of the translator and veteran rural researcher, Mr. The countryside area and related to issues of memory and history. Azouzi gave an interesting presentation about the heroes of the two novels and the geographical area that witnessed their events through what the American anthropologist Stephens Kuhn experienced during his presence in the countryside from after 1926 to the late thirties of the last century.The MJG Foundation was the main supporter of bringing this creative product into existence by providing all the possibilities of printing and translation. Finally, the participants and organizers commended the great role played by Mr. The countryside in relation to issues of memory and history.
* Amazigh Book Fair.
This year's exhibition opened with the signing of my novel by the American anthropologist Stephens Carlton, "The Meat of the Wild and Rural Bull" by the translator Abdel Majeed Azouzi. It is also an occasion to get acquainted with the latest cultural and historical publications about Amazigh and the Rif region. It was well received by young people, mothers, and other age groups.
* Ezran workshop.
“Azran” is the original poetic creativity through which the rural Amazigh women immortalized in the most remote villages and towns of the deep countryside throughout history, epics and great occasions, through which they rose to the history of the daily life of the people for decades, this creativity that has been standing up to the transformations of Amazigh societies, is still It attracts many interested people and researchers, as well as the cultural public in general. It is also an occasion to organize a special workshop that received a distinguished turnout from young men and women of the third generation in particular, mothers and grandmothers.
Amazigh cooking.
* The presence of Amazigh cooking this year was exceptional, the attendance of different nationalities, Dutch, Turks, Surinamese, Africans, Belgians, they praised and praised the good taste presented during this session by a group of Amazigh women through dishes and sweets that recalled the ingredients and characteristics of this multi-variety cooking.
* Music platform.
As was expected, the ceremony witnessed an exceptional turnout. Two thousand people of different generations and nationalities came from various European countries, Belgium, Germany, Spain and France, in an atmosphere of brotherhood, solidarity and responsible discipline. Outside the Netherlands, and I hope that the Amazigh New Year for this year will be an occasion to renew the continuation of solidarity and brotherhood for all Diaspora Amazighs and that they achieve their rights, and that the year 2973 will be a good omen for everyone, as I noted the joint work and unconditional support provided by the officials of the Palace of Culture in The Hague AMARE and all partners And cultural actors at the level of the Netherlands. Also suitable to evoke the accumulation of 12 years of hard work
To serve the Amazigh cultural work in the Netherlands through a participatory approach with the spectrum of professional cultural civil society.
Immediately on stage, the iconic rural Amazigh artist Mimoun Rafrou', who comes from the countryside, took to the stage. After a long absence on the cultural scene in Diaspora, amidst the ululation of mothers and girls and the welcome of those present.
Mimoun, the icon of the Amazigh song in the countryside during the eighties and later, presented his most beautiful creative songs amidst interaction and collective chanting for the audience and the ululation of the Amazigh women in a panoramic atmosphere that reminds us of a time when rural Amazigh music was the voice of the hearts. For its part, the present audience interacted in particular, reminding everyone of what the countryside is suffering today through slogans with the silence of the current stage, demanding the release of political prisoners and responding to their demands.
The rural artist Abdelkader Aryaf, as usual, was present and distinguished. Creative choices reminded the audience of the pioneers’ melodies with a modern fit. They made the present youth revolt in dance and group chanting. With his cheerful and joyful nature, he was able, through the first minute, to move the conscience of this group that mostly knows nothing about the Amazigh in the countryside except by name. .
Aryaf, in conclusion, promised the audience something new in the coming months, praising the organizers and attendees, and reminding them of the need to release political prisoners.
The artist Najat Atabou, coming from the depths of the Atlas country, the special Amazigh voice, the artist and the icon of the Atlas, was on time, amidst a special welcome. The multiplicity of Amazigh creativity and what confirms the privacy of the Amazigh parties and the diversity and multiplicity of creativity in them. In conclusion, she praised the organizers and the audience, wishing Amazighs around the world a happy Amazigh year.
* Bet and challenge.
In conclusion, before the curtain fell on the cultural demonstration, the festival coordinator, Mustafa Barboush, thanked everyone, noting the distinguished attendance, participants, partners, volunteers, and everyone who contributed from near or far to the success of this cultural demonstration, and promised to move forward in order to present more cultural programs in the future of interest to the Amazigh culture. For him, it is a challenge and a bet that we owe as an institution.
Source: websites