For
five days a remarkable group of
participants met beneath the spreading
branches of the oak tree of Fès . The
tree offered both constant inspiration
(a metaphor of ancient life, of unity
of roots and branches) even as it
suggested challenging questions (how
to link nature and humankind). It
sheltered the birds which sang throughout
and gave some respite from the heat
of the June sun of Fès.
This
fifth anniversary of the colloquium
took a bold venture to a new stage. Conceived
initially as a quite modest event
at the periphery of the Fès
Festival of World Sacred Music, the
Colloquium has moved to a central
position, an integral part of what
stands at the same time as a celebration
of different cultures and a model
of what a diverse multicultural world
can look like. The Colloquium
is a global forum that offers rare
hope as it pursues its probing, creative,
and doggedly honest dialogue about
difficult issues. Its participants
are remarkably diverse, with politicians
and scientists, artists, poets and
scholars, media and business leaders,
and many more. Some 120 people
participated, from all the continents,
with a loyal and engaged audience
that at times numbered several hundred
people. The vision for this
colloquium is ambitious, unusual
and daring – its aim is no
less than to build new kinds of understanding
on urgent world problems and to translate
ideals and insights into practical
forms, for Morocco, for Europe, for
the Middle East, and for the world.
The
theme of the 2005 Fès Festival
was “Paths of Hope”,
and the Colloquium built on that
metaphor and vision as it looked
towards inspiration and solutions
for the future. The Colloquium
agenda also linked organically to
discussions in earlier years, notably
in its focus on communication, whether
through the media or education, and
on personal and community roles in
the process of change, whether towards
more balanced and just societies
or towards peace.
Under
the chairmanship of Mohammed Kabbaj,
and led by Faouzi Skali, the 2005
Colloquium also brought together
different partners. The European
Commission supported the first segment
of the Colloquium, and the Aga Khan
Trust for Culture the third day. The
World Bank, for the third year, was
a central partner. Many others,
notably the Fès city and region
and the Moroccan government, also
lent their support. Of special
note is the “Spirit of Fès” network,
a core group of individuals who form
a web of counsel and engagement,
many over the colloquium’s
five year lifespan. A devoted
group of volunteers who believe deeply
in the vision and mission of both
Festival and colloquium, their support,
from Morocco, Europe, the United
States, and Asia, gives continuing
life and energy to this Forum.
The
voices at the Fès Colloquium
were remarkable both for the individuals
concerned and for the unusual blend
of perspectives and experience. All
brought extraordinary witness and
challenging ideas that inspire us
to remember, reflect, and pursue. Of
special note was the personal message
and challenge of HRH the Prince of
Wales, the incisive, honest and challenging
insights of Rajmohan Gandhi, the
passionate engagement of Leila Chahid
and of the Wali of Fès, and
the living symbols of peace given
by the side by side testimony and
action of Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bokhari
and Eliyahu McLean from Jerusalem.
The
Colloquium met each morning for five
days, and its form varied from presentations
by the invited participants to panel
dialogue and exchange with the Colloquium
audience. Each day, one or
more afternoon workshops continued
the dialogue with a focus on its
action implications. A summary
of the discussions follows (based
on daily summaries by Katherine Marshall,
co-moderator). These summaries
are an aid to memory but also a challenge
to continuing reflection, dialogue
and action. Action proposals
from the workshops also will serve
as a goad and a guide to future action. Two
important traditions of this colloquium
set it apart from a classic intellectual
exchange: the first is the practice
of musical introductions, binding
the event to the music festival and
giving life to the challenge of multicultural
exchange; the second is its focus
on symbols and metaphors that many
use to bring personal and artistic
insights extending beyond words and
ideas to the heart and soul.
The
Colloquium agenda was constructed
around the specific, urgent and very
practical challenges today that face
pluralistic, multicultural societies
in our era of globalization. Underlying
all themes and days was a concern
with tracing paths towards more just
and balanced societies and towards
peace, respect, and care for humanity.
Identity
was the first topic explored, with
three central challenges: fighting
against exclusion and stigmatization
of groups and individuals, finding
ways to balance individual freedom
and identity in the face of the unifying
and sometimes homogenizing forces
of globalization, and looking to
models that deepen personal and group
identity in tandem with genuine respect
and understanding for others. This
challenge is (as it always has been)
the essence of democracy; but today
the challenges for democratic institutions
are far broader and deeper than ever
before. In our fast-moving
world where national and community
boundaries seem to melt and blend,
ancient wisdom and experience is
needed but so also are new visions,
leadership and creative energy. The
challenges of linking periphery and
center, individual and community,
past and future are alive equally
for Europe, for global institutions,
for Morocco, for Fès and for
the Middle East
How
do we achieve this creative balance,
among cultures, traditions, history
and modernity, ideals and realities,
individuals and communities? The
2005 Colloquium focused on three
central topics: education, cultural
heritage, and memory. It also
returned often to the multi partner
core of its participants: whether
media, formal education, the living
arts, business and enterprise. What
are the roles of each, and what are
the synergies among them?
Painful
memories perpetuate conflict and
fear and stand as obstacles to
peace and viable societies. The
Colloquium, looking always towards
the “paths of hope”,
explored examples of inspiration
with special reference to Fès,
Morocco and the Middle East.
The
daily summaries offer a glimpse
of the richness of exchange and ideas
and proposals for action. A
few themes were woven throughout
the discussions. The honesty
and openness of the discussions was
both a remarkable inspiration and
a model: without honesty, to one’s
self and in dialogue, resolution
and progress are impossible. The
role of women needs to be far more
central in all dialogue and action,
and this imperative calls for some
new paradigms, new criteria for listening
and engagement. Participation
and breadth is a challenge exemplified
in the Colloquium itself: extending
both messages and hearing beyond
the circle of the engaged, the center,
to those who are involved was a constant
reminder. Young people need
to be much more central in the dialogue. Spiritual
perspectives, dimensions and voices
need to be more vividly portrayed
and more actively engaged. And
the Colloquium was reminded often
of urgency and stakes of this agenda:
the metaphor of the hourglass was
often evoked, as time passes with
the steady passage of sand.
The
Colloquium and “Spirit of Fès” will
move forward along several “paths
of hope”. Most immediate
is the call for action for more coherent
and dynamic action to revitalize
the historic city of Fès. Partners
were challenged to come together
in support. The remarkable
formula of drawing inspiration from
the cultural energy and audience
of music festivals to build new forms
of dialogue is leading to “Spirit
of Fès” events inspired
by the Colloquium in other cities,
countries and continents. The
bold concept of “intercultural
diplomacy” offers a path forward
and is taking form as an Institute
that will give ongoing life to dialogue,
mediation, and engagement over the
years ahead. And the Fès
Forum will meet again from June 3-7,
2006.
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Note: Draft, subject to
review.
