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The acclaimed Fès Festival of World Sacred Music, launched in 1995,will celebrate its 10th anniversary in June, 2004 as a well established andadmired annual music and arts event. The Festival takes place in theancient city of Fez, Morocco, a glorious city with a rich history andrenowned cultural heritage. It draws inspiration from the city’s longtraditions of cultural harmony and artistic and intellectual excellence,and from the dynamic confrontation of modern and ancient strands inthe Fez of today.

The Fès Festival

The music festival has as its explicit aim the bridging of cultural dividesand celebration of diversity, through music and art; its underlying themeis Giving Soul to Globalization. The artistic program is invariably rich andremarkably diverse. The 2003 bill of fare opened with an oratorio, “Rec-onciliation”, performed by Goran Bregovic (Yugoslavia/Russia/Bulgaria/Morocco/France), and featured artists from around the world, includingGilberto Gil (Brazil) Mohamed Reza Shajarian (Iran), Yungchen Llamo(Tibet), Doudou N’Diaye Rose (Senegal), Sheikh Habboush, the Al KindiEnsemble and the Whirling Dervishes (Syria), and The Anointed Jackson

Al Kindi Ensemble and the Whirling Dervishes

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Sisters (United States). The 2004 Anniversary program (May 28–June 5)promises to bring the finest and most challenging artists from theFestival’s life, with a unifying theme of peace and what is termed “Tracesde Lumières” (“Web of Light”) — referring to the light of both individualand community inspiration.

Yungchou Llamo, Tibetan Artist

Besides the formal concerts, the Fès Festival has grown to include ayouth program, evening sufi encounters, and concerts in the Medinafor the general public. There are concurrent photographic and filmexhibitions. The Festival website has much additional information(http://www.fesfestival.com/), and CDs of the Festivals are readilyavailable.

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The Fès Festival is very much grounded in and run from Morocco but isan international event. It has won wide international acclaim and sup-port, including special recognition by the United Nations, which namedits founding genius, Faouzi Skali, one of its “Unsung Heroes of Dialogue.”A Moroccan scholar, anthropologist, and entrepreneur, Skali is also partof Romano Prodi and the European Commission’s “Groupe des Sages”(Group of Wise People). The Festival comes under the patronage of theKing of Morocco, and his special advisor, Mohamed Kabbaj.

Faouzi Skali, Director, Fès Festival

Faouzi Skali and Zeyba Rahman

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In March, 2004, the Festival will sponsor an 18 city “Spirit of Fès” tour inthe United States, including highlights of the Festival.

Reverend Jim Morton, Colloquium partner

Symposium, Giving Soul to GlobalizationSince 2001, a Symposium addressing issues of Globalization has been anintegral part of the Festival and, like the Festival itself, is grounded in thetheme “Giving Soul to Globalization”. The Colloquium sets out to helpbridge the gulfs in dialogue separating very different world views, usingthe inspiration of the music and art and the tangible and audible ex-amples of intercultural exchange that constitute the Fès Festival tostimulate new reflection about global issues. The notion that Fez couldoffer a bridge between diametrically opposed world views —exemplifiedin the widely separated annual meetings of the World Economic Forum(Davos) and the World Social Forum (Porto Alegre, Mumbai)— waspresent from the start. Another hope is that the Fès Symposium will giverise to a continuing “Club de Fès”, with various activities and networksextending over the course of the year, between the annual symposia.

The first, 2001, Symposium began with little fanfare but it concluded on anote of hope, as participants saw that it offered a rare avenue towardsdifferent and useful kinds of dialogue on critical and sensitive topics. Thedialogue at Fez highlighted the great span in approaches to globalizationissues, but also some elements —practical as well as ethical and spiri-tual— that united even those who represented sharply opposing views.There was a start to communication between some who described

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globalization as a vampire force, destroying traditional cultures, or as ajuggernaut threatening fragile ecosystems, and others who reveled in theirhopes for a world where frontiers to opportunity were broken down andprosperity helped to fulfill dreams of a just society.

The May 2002 Symposium was a more ambitious effort, drawing a widerrange of participants and larger audience. Its theme was “Paths to Wis-dom”, a topic that generated much reflection on common values versusdiffering perspectives. The Symposium generated considerable interestboth at the Festival and in subsequent discussions as a different andimportant forum for discussion of globalization issues. The World Bankbecame a supporting partner of the Symposium in its first year.A book about the 2001 and 2002 Symposia was published in June, 2003by Albin Michel: Donner une Âme à la Mondialisation.

The 2003 Symposium

The 2003 Symposium reflected a third, much more institutionalizedevent, and it made clear that the Fez process had developed quite strongroots. Under the overall rubric of “Giving Soul to Globalization,” theunifying theme in 2003 was: “From my Soul to your Soul: The Art ofTransmission.” The starting idea was to focus on education and its role inimparting and enhancing cultural values and intercultural harmony. Tothis notion was added the role of the media and communications inglobalization processes, the concept of identity and spiritual citizenship,and our responsibilities towards future generations, as well as the socialresponsibility of corporations.

Michael Moore, Hasan Zaoual, and Sulak Sivaraksa at 2002 Symposium

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The format that has evolved for the Symposium is a plenary session everymorning for five mornings, based on two panels of speakers. Each speakermakes a short presentation, followed by dialogue within the panel, anddiscussion with the audience. The symposium takes place outdoors, in thecourtyard of the Batha Museum under an ancient and glorious fig tree.The beauty of the setting and the musical accompaniment of birds servesas a backdrop that creates a setting that puts participants at ease andshakes them out of habitual patterns of discourse.

The 2003 Symposium had about 60 invited speakers, most international,but also a significant group from Morocco. Because the speakers werenumerous, formal presentations were sharply compressed and sharpened.Participants are invited in their personal capacities (not as representativesof institutions), with the aim of bringing together a wide range of per-spectives and views, blending activitists and thinkers, policy makers andcritics. The speakers included (a partial listing to illustrate the range)Swami Agnivesh, Jacques Attali, Patrice Barrat, Bertrand Collomb, RegisDebray, Peter Eigen, Gilberto Gil, Mario Giro, Candido Grzybowski, MatsKarlsson, Rabbi Matalon, Fatema Mernissi, Njoki Njehu, Jean-ClaudePetit, Jean-Louis Sarbib, and Sulak Sivarksa. The moderators are FaouziSkali and Katherine Marshall.

Setsuko Klossawaska de Rola andMohamed Kabbaj (Festival Chairman)

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Among the topics that sparked particular interest was the ethical respon-sibilities of the media and its descent into public relations, social actionfor corporations, changing roles for and expectations from religion, andthe role of political leadership in focusing attention on global socialjustice. The varied group of speakers attracted to the Fez event tend toshed their traditional perceptions of identity and belonging, and speak ashumans and brothers and sisters first, creating real mutual trust that takesthe dialogue to a new plane.

Faouzi Skali and Katherine Marshall, Moderators

Bertrand Collomb and Philippe de Woot

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The Symposium has two unusual features which aim to promotethoughtful and engaged dialogue, which, as always, begins with listening.The first is a daily short musical introduction, generally with a spiritualtheme, to set the tone; some artists are part of the music Festival, someare unique to the Symposium. These introductions tie the Symposium tothe music segment of the Festival, and underscore that music breaksbarriers that separate us from one another.

Jean-Louis Sarbib and Rama Mani

Peter Eigen, Musical Introduction

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The second is that each participant is asked to introduce themselves witha symbolic object. The range of objects is extraordinary, from elementalsymbols of light, earth, and water to more complex symbolic challengeslike multipurpose cloth garments, a kaleidoscope, and analogy made tothe echoing music of birds.

This device helps to create a discourse with metaphors for different,shorthand views of globalization that highlights far better than standardphrases the images and presumptions each speaker brings. Both musicalintroductions and symbols as introduction help in the central aim ofbreaking away in the dialogue from established patterns. They help also tointroduce a level of trust and personalization—the symbols often leavebehind impressions that words themselves can not carry.

Rabbi Matalon presents symbolic object next to Rachid Benmokhtar

Moroccan Minister of Waqf and Islamic Affairs, Ahmed Toufiq

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The Symposium audience is comprised largely of people drawn to Fez bythe music festival, and is open to the public (for a charge of $100 for the 5days). The event has drawn a substantial, loyal audience of several hun-dred, many returning a second and third year, undeterred by high tem-peratures which are not the norm but can occur.

Swami Agnivesh, Katia Legeret with symbolic object, Patrice van Eersel

Symposium assembly

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Other people come for shorter periods. Such passing participants haveincluded the Prime Minister of Senegal and a number of Moroccan andFrench ministers. People have come from all continents, some invitedguests but many attracted by the rare combination of musical andintellectual fare. Press interest in the events has increased steadily, sometaking off from the musical program (which is widely covered), somespecifically focused on the Symposium dialogue.

Listeners include Evence Coppee, Alain de Rosambo, longtime Festival Supporters

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A feature of the Symposium, commented on in some press reports, is theabsence of a specific “stake” — for example, there has never been an effortor move to issue “declarations”. However, over the three years of thesymposium there has been a mounting drive to direct the talk to action,to translate the rare and special dialogue of Fez into something moredurable and wider in its practical application. This translates into anongoing exploration of a vehicle for continuing dialogue with someinstitutional focus.

avenue towards different and useful kinds of dialogue on critical andsensitive topics. The dialogue at Fez highlighted the great span in ap-proaches to globalization issues, but also some elements —practical aswell as ethical and spiritual— that united even those who representedsharply opposing views. There was a start to communication betweensome who described globalization as a vampire force, destroying tradi-tional cultures, or as a juggernaut threatening fragile ecosystems, andothers who reveled in their hopes for a world where frontiers to opportu-nity were broken down and prosperity helped to fulfill dreams of a justsociety.

Pierre Rabhi presents symbolic object next to Asia Alaoui Bensalah

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Candido Grzybowski presents origami sphere, Mario Giro observes

In sum, there is considerable and growing interest in the symposium,both in Morocco and internationally.

Gilberto Gil, Brazilian Minister of Culture

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2004 Symposium

The 2004 Symposium will draw its inspiration from the Festival Themeof “Traces de Lumière” May 29–June 3 with a break on June 1. It willbuild on the dialogue of prior years, pressing further ahead towardsrendering the insights and spirit of engagement into ideas for concreteaction. The Symposium will have three central themes. First, it willexplore the light and inspiration that can be drawn from a few individualswho have truly, through inspiration and courage, made a differenceperceptible at a global level. Second, the issues around global democracy—engagement of different actors, balancing rights with responsibilities,diversity with common human goals— is to be a focus. Third, the Sym-posium will bring leading voices for peace and dialogue in the Islamicworld, broadly, and the Middle East, more concretely, to explore newavenues for joining their efforts towards a better and more just world.

This background note reflects the view of Katherine Marshall, Co-moderator.Photographs by Andre Porto, Katherine Marshall and Hal Schwartz. 2/2004.

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2004 Fès Festival of World Sacred Music Program

Friday, May 28th20:30 — Bab MakinaWhirling Dervishes from Istanbul, conducted by Kudsi ErgunerCeremony of the Jallal Eddine Roumi Sufi brotherhood

Saturday, May 29th20:30 — Bab Bab MakinaYoussou N’Dour (Senegal/Egypt)Messages of Peace

Sunday, May 30th16:00 — Batha MuseumSirin Choir (Russia)Sacred Orthodox Chants

20:30 — Bab MakinaSister Marie Keyrouz and the Ensemble Universel de la PaixMystical Songs

Monday, May 31st16:00 — Batha MuseumA Sei Voci Ensemble (France)Ave Maria and Missa de Oliveria (XVII Century)

20:30 — Bab MakinaMeher Ali and Sher Ali (Pakistan)Qawwali from Pakistan

Tuesday, June 1st17:00 — VolubilisAnaiki Basque Choir (France)/ Ait Ichbaken (Morocco)Traditional and Sacred Songs from the Basque countrySacred traditions from the Atlas

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Wednesday, June 2nd20:30 — Bab MakinaHussayn Al Azami (Iraq)Mystical poetry chants from Iraq

Thursday, June 3rd16:00 — Batha MuseumFrancoise Atlan, Aicha Redouane and the Al Adwar EnsembleWith the Fès Orchestra (Conductor: Mohamed Briouel)Judeo-Arabic tradition and art of the maqam

20:30 — Bab MakinaNoa and Nabil Salame (Israel/Palestine)Cultures of Peace

Friday, June 4th16:00 — Batha MuseumSheikh Al Tuni (Egypt)Sufi chants from Upper Egypt

20:30 — Bab MakinaSabah Fakhri (Syria)Songs of Spiritual Love

Saturday, June 5th16:00 — Batha MuseumSharam Nazeri (Iran)Sufi chants from the Iranian Kurdistan

20:30 — Bab MakinaArc Gospel Choir of Harlem (USA)Special Guest: Mariam Makeba (South Africa)Gospel