HIBAPRESS – Mohammed Zariouh
In a special cultural evening, the fourteenth session of the Cinema and Shared Memory Festival kicked off in the city of Nador, which is one of the most prominent events where cinema meets human rights and transitional justice issues.
The festival honored a number of prominent figures who have contributed to promoting human values, democracy, and peace, including Royal Advisor Omar Azziman, the Kuwaiti poet Princess Souad Al-Sabah, Moroccan director Mohamed Abderrahman Tazi, Moroccan-French actor Said Taghmaoui, and former French-Moroccan Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem. 
In his opening speech, Abdelsalam Boutayeb, the founding director of the festival, expressed his pride in organizing this session, which embodies the commitment of the Center for Shared Memory for Democracy and Peace to providing a free dialogue space to discuss human values. Boutayeb explained that the festival represents a continuation of a vision that seeks to build bridges of understanding between cultures, with a focus on promoting transitional justice, not only at the national level, but also in the regional and international contexts, in light of the challenges the world is witnessing. Boutayeb also reviewed the political and social achievements of Morocco, pointing to the stages the country has gone through in the process of strengthening national unity, especially with regard to the national issue. He considered that the solution proposed by Morocco regarding the Moroccan Sahara, which is self-governance, is the most credible to achieve stability and reassurance for the region. He added that this session comes at a crucial time for the Kingdom, which seeks to consolidate its position among the major nations. The honoring of Royal Advisor Omar Azziman came in recognition of his great contributions to building and activating the principles of transitional justice in Morocco, and in his speech, he confirmed that this honoring represents an honor for him. Azziman explained that Morocco's experience in the field of equity and reconciliation is a unique and unprecedented experience on the Maghreb and Arab levels, and has formed a living model of the political will embodied in the royal initiatives that aim to achieve social justice. For her part, the poet Souad Al-Sabah spoke in her speech about her dream of a world free from hunger and violence, indicating that culture and the word are the best way to build bridges of understanding between peoples. Al-Sabah called for spreading a culture of peace and coexistence among people, considering that women are an essential partner in building societies. She added that words are not a luxury, but a powerful weapon to achieve change. Souad Al-Sabah affirmed that this honoring from Morocco represents the beginning of a new era in her literary and humanitarian career, and expressed her determination to continue writing, creating, and fighting for human values. She emphasized that her role as a writer is to ignite the flame of hope in the hearts of people, calling for solidarity and joint action for peace and coexistence among peoples. At the end of the festival, all the honorees expressed their thanks and gratitude for this honoring, which they considered not only an appreciation for their previous efforts, but also an incentive to continue working to promote human values and human rights in their societies. They emphasized that the festival represents an important platform for renewing the commitment to human principles and social justice, calling for strengthening international cooperation in order to build a more just and peaceful world.
