This year, the International Prize for German Geography has been awarded to Moroccan professor and researcher Abdellatif Bencherifa, the Frithjof Voss Foundation announced. A senior advisor to the president, honorary dean of the College of Social Sciences, and director of the Public Policy Center at the International University of Rabat (UIR), Bencherifa has been recognized for his groundbreaking contributions to geographic science, work that resonates far beyond the borders of his home country. The award ceremony will take place on October 24 at Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany. Renowned internationally, Bencherifa's expertise spans cultural geography, rural development sociology, and change studies. His research primarily focuses on Morocco's rural regions, including oases and mountain areas, pastoralism, migration, and development. In addition to his academic work, he explores fundamental philosophical questions within geography, while also bringing deep expertise in public policy, educational leadership, and territorial governance. He has authored or edited seven books and around 50 scholarly articles in French, Arabic, English, German, and Spanish. After earning his bachelor's degree in 1973, Bencherifa pursued postgraduate studies in human and social geography at Mohammed V University in Rabat, completing them in 1978. He later obtained a State Doctorate from Clark University in the United States in 1986. Alongside his academic research, he served as vice-dean of the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences at Mohammed V University (1990–1994), and vice-president of Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane (1994–2002). He was later appointed president of Moulay Ismaïl University in Meknes (2002–2005). Bencherifa was also a member of the first administrative council of the Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture (IRCAM) between 2002 and 2005. He contributed to the Fiftieth Anniversary Report and served on the Consultative Commission on Advanced Regionalization (2010–2011). Outside academia, he held several senior territorial positions between 2005 and 2016, including wali of the Gharb-Chrarda-Bni Hssen region, director of personnel at the Ministry of the Interior, and wali-director general of local authorities. He returned to academia in 2017, joining the International University of Rabat.
