Morocco kicks off international music, arts festival

Rabat, Sep 29 (IANS)  The second edition of the WOMAAF International Festival of World Music and Arts has been kicked off in the Moroccan city of Tangier.

The event began on Thursday evening at the Ahmed Boukmakh Cultural Centre in Tangier and several Moroccan and foreign artists, intellectuals and academicians were participating in the event. 

Speaking on the occasion, the festival's founding president, Dintchen Coucke Elise, stressed this edition "puts Senegal at the forefront" and gives a large place to artists of 14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Morocco. 

He said the event highlighted the deep relations between Senegal and the Kingdom, which have long shared an exceptional tradition of tolerance, openness and hospitality. 

"The cultural symbiosis between Senegal in particular and Africa as a whole can find here in Tangier a dimension like no other," said Elise. 

Birane Niang, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Culture and Communication of Senegal, said that the event was "an opportunity to reveal the cultural influence of the continent and to give the various participating countries the opportunity to express their artistic talent". 

The festival will end on Saturday.