Moussem of Tan-Tan: promoting Sahraoui-Hassani culture
For the third consecutive year, the CNDH celebrated the right to culture at the Moussem of Tan-Tan held from 4 to 8 June 2014. The Moussem is listed by UNESCO as an intangible heritage of humanity since 2008.
Under the Moroccan Constitution, the Sahraoui-Hassani culture “is an integral part of the unified Moroccan cultural identity”. The Council held a seminar advocating for this culture and heritage to be part of the national school curriculums. Five main recommendations were made in this regard: unifying vision and goals among all stakeholders concerned, developing content, pedagogical supports and dictionaries and compliance with the cultural and social transformations; adopting an approach that values Sahraoui-Hassani culture heritage and avoiding “folklorising” this heritage; and giving due importance to the training of trainers and including the Hassani culture in teacher training curriculums and continuous training programs.
The Council also scheduled several activities under the heading “Right to culture”: roundtables and workshops on Saharan intangible cultural heritage, films screening, plays, music, book reading sessions, workshops for children, etc.
CNDH publications and more than 100 publications on Sahara were available for consultation for the public of the Moussem.