Report 2nd Quater 2009

AIMS-WARA International Conference June 6, 7, and 8:
TALIM was the setting for an international conference involving nearly 40 participants from North Africa, West Africa, and the United States in a three day program about North-South cultural contacts entitled Saharan Crossroads. For the first time the American Institute for Maghrib Studies (AIMS) that TALIM represents in Morocco, partnered with the West African Research Association (WARA). The American organizers were Dr. Cynthia Becker and Dr. Jennifer Yanco from Boston University and Wendy Wilson Fall from Kent State University. This is the seventh AIMS conference that has taken place at the Legation. In my welcoming remarks, I noted, “Having lived in West Africa for several years, I am personally delighted to be associated with this ground-breaking event that speaks to the many centuries of cultural exchange North and South across the Sahara.”

Research Library: The research library was busy during the period. Of the many researchers, 63% were Moroccan, 43% were from the Abdelmalek es Saadi University in Tetouan, and 21% used JSTOR, an online research tool providing access to over 10,000 journals. (The Council of American Oversears Research Centers – CAROC purchased the JSTOR research tool for all American research centers abroad)

Visitors
In addition to the hundreds of drop-in visitors, TALIM provided special tours to the following groups:

MCT Travel Agency
Travel Link Travel Agency (two visits)
Italian delegation
Windsurf cruise ship passengers
Intermedes Travel Agency
University group from Rabat
French social security advisors
American Rotary Club
Granada School of Architecture
Spanish Association of former Tangier residents
Moroccan high school students
Moroccan English language graduates
French high school students of English

Other visitors of note were:
-- Dr. Mary Ellen Lane TALIM Board member and Executive Director of CAORC

--Dr. James Miller, TALIM Fellow and president of AIMS and newly appointed Executive Secretary of the Moroccan American Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange (MACECE) that provides an array of Fulbright and other grants for Moroccans to study in the U.S.

--TALIM Fellow Jean R. AbiNader, Managing Director, Moroccan American Center

--TALIM Treasurer, Stephen E. Eastman, who came to Morocco for the American School graduation ceremonies in his capacity as Chairman of the Board of the American Schools in Tangier and Marrakech;

--Robert Ford, Deputy Chief of Mission at the American Embassy in Iraq accompanied by his wife Alison Barkley, Administrative Counselor at the American Embassy in Rabat;

--Esther Silver Parker, president of the International Women’s Forum; and

--Roland Estrada, from the State Department’s Overseas Building Office (OBO) whose area of responsibility includes Morocco, accompanied by the OBO representative at the American Embassy in Rabat, AJ Biteng. They made a number of suggestions for expediting routine repair work at the Legation.

TALIM and the Moroccan American Friendship Foundation
TALIM board president, Dr. I. William Zartman, professor emeritus from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) visited the Legation and went on to Rabat where he spoke to the newly organized Moroccan American Friendship Foundation concerning President Obama’s first months in office. Dr. Zartman also spoke at a conference organized by the Minister of Planning in Rabat.

TALIM board member Timothy Resch and his daughter attended activities at the Legation for Moroccan student graduates of the State Department’s Access program that offers free English language instruction to promising young Moroccans. I gave the students an extended tour of eight Legation galleries.   Ruth Petzold, the Regional English Language Officer from the American Embassy in Rabat, animated the discussions that followed my presentation. Yasmine Hasnaoui, a teacher at the American Language Center in Mohammedia, was a principal organizer bringing her students by bus from Mohammedia to the Legation. Three former International Visitor recipients also attended: a prominent local journalist and two senior professors from the Abdelmalek es Saadi University in Tetouan.
The program ended with a musical recital by Dr. Julia Banzi (guitar) and her husband Tarik (lute, drums, and Arab flute). They explained the origins of El Andalus music during the centuries of Arab presence in Spain and the revived interest in this music today. The Banzi’s have performed widely in Europe and the United States as well as giving numerous performances throughout Morocco.

Museum Donation
A large pastel painting of Essaouira was given to the museum by a longtime friend and supporter who wished to remain anonymous.
The painting is labeled “In honor of Judge Joan Powell.” Judge Powell was elected recently to the Circuit Court in Illinois.

Summer Arabic Language Program:
For the 16th year, American students from universities across the U.S. are enrolled in an intensive program of modern standard Arabic held on the campus of the American School of Tangier. This two month program that began in June, is financed through a grant from the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC). Class size has tripled from previous years, with 45 students divided into five different levels of proficiency. TALIM hosted the students in a tour of the Museum and offers administrative and program assistance. The Director of the summer program is Becky Schulthies, a doctoral candidate at the University of Arizona.