By Larbi Arbaoui
Morocco World News
Taroudant, April 21, 2012
On the occasion of the World Book Day, Moroccan civilian activists called on their countrymen and countrywomen to massively participate in an event that will celebrate the importance of books and reading in building a sound and knowledgeable society.
The event is scheduled to take place on Monday 23 April before the Parliament in Rabat under the theme “Culture in the face of absurdity.” Every participant is supposed to bring a book to read for an hour.
According to the organizers, the aim of this initiative is to raise awareness of the role and importance of the book in the lives of people, and to advance the real Moroccan culture that glorifies the noble human values ??and calls for mutual respect and tolerance.
According to several studies that were published recently, Moroccans tend not to be fond of reading books. Every Moroccan spends 1 MAD per year to buy a book while the global average is 25 MADs.
Morocco also produces only a thousand new books a year compared to 60 thousand books in France and 30 thousand in Iran.
The writer Mustafa Gtara, a member of the Writers Union of Morocco, said to Alarabia: “This initiative deserves attention, because the book has not been given due attention by those in charge of culture in the country.”
He regretted that the officials have not been yet aware of the role of culture in creating an open citizen who is able to contribute to the development of his/her country. “The book is the last thing being thought about in Morocco,” he added.
