Assilah Forum Foundation wins Sultan Qaboos Prize for Culture, Arts and Literature

MUSCAT - The Diwan of the Royal Court of the Sultanate of Oman, through the Sultan Qaboos Global Center for Culture and Science in Muscat, announced that the Assilah Forum Foundation in Morocco has won the Sultan Qaboos Prize for Culture, Arts and Literature in the category of Private Cultural Institutions (Culture Branch), in its 12th edition.

Hatim Betioui, Secretary-General of the Assilah Forum Foundation, said in a press release that the Foundation received the news of winning this prestigious award with overwhelming joy and great pride, as it represents the culmination of a journey spanning more than four decades of committed and serious cultural work.

Betioui added that this recognition from the sisterly Sultanate of Oman was a touching moment for all members of the Forum's family, as it represents a noble Arab acknowledgment of Assilah's pioneering role in making culture a lever for development, openness, and dialogue, and also an acknowledgment of the cultural radiance of the Kingdom of Morocco under the leadership of King Mohammed VI.

The Secretary-General of the Assilah Forum Foundation explained that the award was a pleasant and great surprise and that this selection "gave us a significant moral boost and confirmed to us that sincere efforts are bound to find their resonance."

Betioui thanked the Sultanate of Oman, its Sultan, government, and people, and said that this selection will give a major impetus to Assilah to work towards achieving greater prominence for our esteemed cultural institution.

Betioui pointed out that winning the prestigious Omani award is due to the clarity of vision and the continuity of work, as since the Forum's establishment, its founders believed that culture is not a luxury, but rather a means to build human beings and promote the values of beauty and creative difference.

"The Forum has succeeded in combining authenticity and openness, the local and the global, and in creating a space for dialogue and creativity, which is renewed every year without interruption. Furthermore, betting on youth and involving the local community in cultural action have made Assilah a unique model of a small city carrying a universal message," he said.

"We cannot overlook the significant and decisive role played by the founder of the Forum, Mr. Mohamed Benaissa - may God have mercy on him - and his team, who made cultural work a long-term civilizational commitment, far from temporariness and narrow interests," concluded the Secretary-General of the Assilah Forum Foundation.