The first edition of the Tangier Mediterranean Encounters will take place from June 19 to 22, featuring meetings with researchers, authors, and artists from Morocco and beyond, all centered around the city's literary heritage. Events will be hosted at several iconic venues, including the Ibn Battouta Memory Exhibition Space – Borj En Naam, the Kent, Dar D'art, El Kasbah galleries, Riad Sultan, the Rembrandt Hotel, and the Librairie des Colonnes. Organized by the Founoun Al Boughaz Foundation – Arts of the Strait, under the auspices of the Ministry of Youth, Culture, and Communication, the event aspires to be more than a periodic gathering around books. It seeks to explore the interplay between artistic and intellectual worlds that have shaped Tangier's vibrant cultural identity, through a multidisciplinary program that blends readings, debates, exhibitions, music, and performances. These expressions will unfold in a city that has long been a hub for cultural exchange—a crossroads of imagination and a historical landmark. Among the featured voices are Mostafa Aklay Nacer, Somaya Sebari, Abdelkarim Wakrim, Mostafa Hassani Idrissi, Ahmed Siraj, Tahar Benjelloun, Rachid Benzine, Jamal Amiar, Gonzalo Fernandez Parrilla, Hyam Yared, Dima Abdallah, Maï-Do Hamisultane, Moncef Chebbi, and Khadija Tnana. At its core, the Mediterranean Encounters aim to «weave connections between the shores of the Mediterranean and bring a fresh dynamic to the region's cultural landscape». Organizers describe the event as «cross-cutting and inclusive», with a rich program of educational, artistic, environmental, and awareness-raising activities. Ultimately, the organizers hope to «establish Tangier as a literary capital». This year's theme explores the «literary myth of Tangier», with the aim of «making the book travel through the city», reaching diverse audiences and promoting access to reading and knowledge for all. Emphasizing «the evocative power of Tangier's streets», the Foundation recalls how the city's winding alleys have inspired generations of writers—revealing the raw, street-level genius of Mohamed Choukri, known as «La Horszone» in the hallucinatory writings of William Burroughs and Truman Capote, or as the place where the Rolling Stones once held court. In this spirit, the Tangier Mediterranean Encounters present a «unique literary panorama», while engaging with contemporary cross-media practices and the specific cultural challenges facing Africa today.
