MADAR Festival in Casablanca

Amandine Coquaz, Jan. 15, 2025

In January, the MADAR Network Plus hosted a three-day knowledge, exchange and impact (KEI) festival in Casablanca, marking the conclusion of the Network grant.

MADAR Festival Casablanca

In January, the MADAR Network Plus held a three-day knowledge, exchange and impact (KEI) festival in Casablanca, Morocco. Marking the end of the MADAR Network Plus grant, the event welcomed around 75 people and showcased research findings and artistic outputs from MADAR-funded projects and beyond.

Organised by Racines aisbl, the festival took place in the Ritz Cinema, in the centre of Casablanca. The delegates reflected the interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral approach of the MADAR Network Plus. Among attendees were researchers and students (from across humanities and social sciences), journalists, NGOs, UN representatives, artists and translators. People travelled from across Morocco and from Tunisia, Italy, Germany, South Africa and the UK, with colleagues from Algeria joining virtually.

Mariangela Palladino, MADAR’s Principal Investigator and Co-Director, opened the festival with a speech that reflected on the impacts of the project and the challenges faced. Palladino emphasised the need for better protection measures for vulnerable displaced people in the central Maghreb. What followed were two days of engaged knowledge sharing, with academics and NGO representatives coming together to discuss key migration issues and shine a light on protection needs. The sessions were organised around three key topics:

• Freedom of movement, settlement and integration
• Protection, vulnerabilities, rights
• Reflection on the research process: methods and ethics

Research findings, best practice, innovative initiatives and lived experiences were generously shared by our panellists. The public was responsive and engaged – so much so that the time allotted to Q&As proved too short! Thankfully, delegates were able to carry on these crucial conversations over coffee and delicious cakes, in between sessions.

Alongside panels, the festival showcased several documentaries and art films:

• En suspens is a documentary by filmmaker Francesco Clerici, produced as part of a project led by the Institut de Recherche sur le Maghreb Contemporain (IRMC): Vulnerabilities, Racism and Political Subjectivities in Tunisia: The Ethnographic Case Of Migrants From West Africa. The festival delegates got an exclusive look at the latest draft. The final version will soon be showcased in festivals.
• Field Flowers is a documentary co-directed by Houssem Ghades and Association Awledna, as part of a project led by the University of Edinburgh. Highlighting the vital work of the Tunisian NGO among migrants and refugees in Sousse, the documentary is a useful fundraising tool.
• The Minority Globe (TMG) showcased three art films, produced as part of a project titled Organic Knowledge. Mirage, by Emeka Okereke and Mathangi Krishnamurthy, is a philosophical conversation taking place through Tangiers, which came out of an artist-researcher residency hosted by TMG. QUE SERA SERA, with its silent focus on shipwrecks was the product of another residency duo, Wiame Haddad and Léa Morin, with Haddad as the filmmaker. Finally, Mer’chant singer is a social art film, produced by Yemoh777s in collaboration with Senegalese and Ivoirian communities.
• BOZA! was directed by Racines aisbl in collaboration with migrants living in tranquillos, forest camps where migrants wait for their chance to cross into Europe. Focusing on three of these migrants and their journeys, the documentary has met great success at various festivals and been showcased internationally, most recently at a festival in Sheffield (UK).

For those three days, the Ritz Cinema was also home to three art installations.

Elephant in the Mediterranean

1. Delegates were greeted at the entrance by a life-size sculpture of The Elephant in the Mediterranean. This came out of another project led by Racines aisbl, in partnership with Pigmalaio and Menassat, that sought to understand the relationship between Moroccans and migrants and to raise awareness among Moroccans about migrant experiences.
2. In the Ritz Garden, delegates could admire a selection of photographs from the Organic Knowledge project. These photographs were produced during the residencies and workshops facilitated by TMG, which brought together Moroccans and migrants and opened a dialogue led by art and creativity.
3. Finally, looped screenings in the cinema’s annex showcased some of the shorter films produced by MADAR projects: Témoigner pour Agir, a series of short interviews, available on YouTube, in which migrants testify about their experiences; a further selection of films from the Organic Knowledge project, as well as a sound piece, co-produced with workshop participants.

TMG

The MADAR Festival was a useful reflection on the work that has been achieved within the different projects that together comprise the MADAR Network Plus. Palladino shared some key numbers and one of those particularly stands out: as a Network, we have engaged with over 1500 local, national and international stakeholders. But the festival was also a stark reminder that there is much yet to achieve before adequate protection measures are in place. This was echoed in many presentations, with updates from Tunisian colleagues on the worsening situation for Sub-Saharan migrants. Although the festival celebrates the end of the road for the MADAR Network Plus, the work of academics, journalists, NGOs – all the delegates of this festival – on these issues does not end. MADAR Co-Investigators and Partners will carry on advocating for the humanitarian protection of vulnerable displaced people. Future projects include online archives; masters, PhDs and post-doctoral research fellowships; collective publications; new research projects; and much more. Subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media for what comes next.

March 5, 2025, 10:34 a.m.

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