The first Morocco Day, in Washington, D.C., celebrated the culture and heritage of the city of Zagora, the gate to the Moroccan Sahara desert.
The Moroccan American Network (MAN), an organization dedicated to create business opportunities for Moroccan small enterprises in the US, is preparing a list of Moroccan city candidates for the second annual Morocco Day, in which the culture and heritage of Moroccan cities are celebrated.
The network said in a previous statement that it will celebrate one Moroccan city from each of the 12 regions of the North African country every March 29 for the next 12 years in Washington, D.C.
The head of MAN, Mohammed El Hajjam, said in a recent press release shared with Morocco World News that a committee of the network is now studying the files of the candidate cities for 2020 Morocco Day.
“We are now studying the files of the cities that are expected to be the guest of honor next year, and will be selected from one of the following: Chefchaouen, Essaouira, Marrakech, Rabat, Agadir, Casablanca, Tan-Tan, Laayoune, Tangier, Oujda, Fez, Tata, Ouarzazate, and El Jadida,” said El Hajjam.
The network’s goal is to introduce Moroccan cities to America and “open the door for the exchange of experiences between businessmen from the US capital and their counterparts in Morocco, so we are studying all the rationales in order to make the event a success,” he added.
The network celebrated the southern city of Zagora as its guest of honor on the first Morocco Day on March 29.
The celebration of Morocco Day in Washington, D.C., came about when the mayor of the district, Muriel Bowser, declared March 29 “Morocco Day” to celebrate the country’s culture and diversity.
The first “Morocco Day” event will be followed by a festival to celebrate Moroccan culture, music, and history, in Alexandria, Virginia, on June 9, after Mayor Justin Wilson announced the date as a day to celebrate Morocco.
El Hajjam said that the festival “is meant to be a window through which the Americans look to Morocco to explore its history and its cultural heritage.”
A business delegation will visit Alexandria during the festival to discuss ways to exchange experiences and investment.
The network promised that a group of businessmen and American politicians would also visit Zagora in September to explore the potential of the city.
The 2019 Morocco Day program is scheduled to conclude with a field trip to four US cities: New York, Miami, Dallas, and Washington, D.C, where meetings will be held between businessmen, politicians, educators, and investors of Moroccan origin.
The Moroccan network, in partnership with a group of doctors from the US, will organize a medical convoy to Zagora to provide medical help to locals.
The medical team will consist of pediatricians, internists, surgeons, and a dental team.