The “Talks that taste like tea” are an attempt to bring together people who are interested in taking part in a dialogue, in a relaxed manner and in an informal atmosphere, to discuss topics of mutual interest and current events taking place in Spain and Morocco’s societies.

All of the talks will be attended by two professional women, one Moroccan and one Spanish, who will host the sessions and enliven the debates and talks, which we hope will always be pleasant, constructive and mutually enriching. In this case, those women will be Professor Rajae El Khamsi, of the Institute of Spanish-Portuguese Studies at Mohammed V University in Rabat, and Josefina Bueno Alonso, a professor of Philology at the University of Alicante. 

Courtesy of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco, tea and Moroccan pastries will be served at the session.

Rajae El Khamsi is a researching professor at the Institute of Spanish-Portuguese Studies at Mohammed V University in Rabat. She has a PhD in Sociology from the University of Valencia (2013) and a bachelor’s degree in Spanish Language and Literature from Mohammed V University in Rabat (1999). Her doctoral thesis, titled “Identity and Gender: Approaching the feminist discourse in Morocco” was directed by Professor Inmaculada Serra Yoldi and earned the Sáenz de Descatllar Award (Spain, 2014). She is an expert on gender, migration, feminism and identity, and has had many articles published. Her latest publication, The Moroccan Diaspora and Its Contributions to Receiving Countries: Revealing a hidden value, coordinated with Professor Joan Lacomba of the University of Valencia, was published by the Institute of Spanish-Portuguese Studies in 2018.

Josefina Bueno Alonso is a Spanish philologist who was born in France. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Letters at the University of Murcia. Since 1992, she has been a professor of Philology at the University of Alicante, where she also held the position of Vice-Rector for the University Extension program. Most notable among her research studies are those on the relations between intellectuals on both shores of the Mediterranean, as well as the role of the Spanish language as a language of literary creation on the African continent. She is the director of the African Library, within the Miguel de Cervantes Virtual Library. Moreover, she has completed studies on feminism and gender theory. From 2015 to the present, she has been the Director General of Universities for the Department of Education of the Autonomous Regional Government of the Valencian Region.

Despite the profound changes which have occurred in Morocco and Spain in terms of participation by women in social development, the public portrayal of men and women in the media continues to bring up certain challenges. At this event, we will be examining the feminization of the profession in both countries and the dynamics surrounding this process. We will also be discussing the topic of gender as it relates to the changes which have occurred over time in the profession of journalism and in the media, when performing the task of providing information and in terms of the structures and corporations which possess influence and power at the heart of societies.
 
The meeting will also deal with the existence of trends in recent years which have worked their way into the exercise of the entire profession of journalism, affecting the way information related with gender is handled, in terms of topics such as positive discrimination and the visibility of diversity.

Zoubaida El Fathi
A Moroccan journalist, the editor-in-chief for the Spanish language version of the news program broadcast by Morocco’s number one television network, a space which is turning 30 this year, El Fathi won the award for civil merit bestowed by King Felipe VI. She has a degree from the Journalism School of Seville and is considered a Hispanist who staunchly defends the Spanish language in Moroccan society.

Trinidad Deiros
A journalist who specializes in international news with a special interest in the Arab world and Sub-Saharan Africa, for over seven years, Deiros was a North Africa correspondent for Cadena Cope, the EFE News Agency and El Mundo. Since 2014, she has worked and lived between Sub-Saharan Africa and Spain.

In order to make the events more interactive, the talks will be held in a meeting hall of a smaller size (with no more than 30 participants), so it is essential to sign up in advance by e-mail at cultural@embajada-marruecos.es. Only the first 30 people to sign up will be able to attend. After the talk, there will be a Moroccan tea ceremony with traditional sweets served.

Conference information sheet

Nisrine Hachlaf Bensaid
A lawyer with a bachelor’s degree in Law and Journalism from the Universidad Carlos III of Madrid,  she has been an analyst of doctrine at Spain’s Constitutional Court. An attorney responsible for Institutional Relations at the Spanish-Moroccan Forum of Legal Experts, she has also collaborated with the Center for Social Responsibility among Lawyers within the program CONOCE TUS LEYES (“Know Your Laws”). ICAM of Madrid. A lawyer providing legal guidance services for the Autonomous Region of Madrid in the fields of migration and victimhood, she is a legal advisor for the IBN BATTUTA Foundation for the defense of the migrant population in Spain.

Ana I. Planet Contreras
With a PhD in Philosophy, Planet specializes in Arab and Islamic Studies and has been a professor with the Department of Arab and Islamic Studies at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid since October 2006. She was an advisor to the Directorate General of Religious Affairs (2004-2006). Since 1991, she has formed part of the International Mediterranean Studies Workshop (TEIM), a group which she currently co-directs. Her academic research and interests revolve around topics such as the sociology of contemporary Islam, Islam in Spain and Europe, Moroccan immigration in Spain and Spanish-Moroccan relations. In 2018, she published Observing Islam in Spain: Contemporary Politics and Social Dynamics, Leiden, Netherlands: Brill publishing firm.

Because of its age-old history, its geographic location and the diverse range of cultural currents crossing the country, Morocco has always been of very great appeal to foreigners. Tourists, adventurers, students, businesspeople and artists from abroad have always had unexpected encounters with exceptional men and women, attending unforeseen, unpredictable couplings between modernity and tradition, between past and future, always discovering a thousand and one landscapes. They have heard a thousand and one stories and found a thousand and one answers to their questions.

Artists have a particular viewpoint of the world. They have their own way of perceiving, thinking and feeling reality. Their viewpoint is filled with meaning but has no fixed traits... It is a free vantage point, built on respect and modesty, seeking to go beyond just the visible, beyond the commonplace... It is a prospective viewpoint that thirsts for discovery.

At this new session of “Talks That Taste Like Tea,” we will be meeting at Casa Árabe with artists who have worked and continue to produce work on Morocco, to share their view of the country, their impressions and their feelings... to rediscover Morocco from different vantage points and through differing ideas.

In order to make the events more interactive, the talks will be held in a meeting hall of a smaller size (with no more than 25 participants), so it is essential to sign up in advance by writing to the e-mail address: cultural@embajada-marruecos.es. After the talk, there will be a Moroccan tea ceremony with traditional sweets served.

Elisabeth Eguía is a photographer. She creates series of photographs that have been exhibited in several countries, the most notable of which include “The Cultural Colors of Morocco,” “The Treasures of Cuba’s World Heritage Sites,” “Rif Women “and “Río Tinto.” She co-authored the book Los Colores Culturales de Marruecos (The Cultural Colors of Morocco). Through her photography, she has documented research and projects related with the country’s artisanal handicrafts and culture, and her work is characterized by a curious viewpoint that penetrates the intimacy and emotions of people, while also spreading into art, nature and landscapes, which she uses to create images with carefully produced compositions in which color plays a fundamental role.

Guillermina Sánchez Oro is an international visual artist who recreates scenes showing people and everyday details from local cultures through watercolor, oil and other types of paintings. She was a professor of Science and a president of Murcia’s Association of Painters. She writes and recites poetry. She is the Vice-President of the House of the Region of Murcia and directs the “Literary Corner” in the Cultural Section at El Corte Inglés. She holds workshops for people with disabilities and children afflicted with cancer. Her latest acknowledgment was the blue medal bestowed by the Order of the Caballeros Custodios de Calatrava de la Vieja. She has held several exhibitions on Morocco.

Thomas Canet is a self-taught photographer originally educated as an engineer. He began his career as an editorial photographer in the year of 2008. Since then, he has specialized in editorial portraits and collaborates with some of the most important domestic and foreign publications, including Rolling Stone and Esquire. He has also created many album covers and directed music videos for musicians like Andrés Calamaro and Ariel Rot. In 2017, he had his first monograph published: Criptogramas (Cryptograms) published by Demente Ediciones. He just completed the exhibition project “Alunizacion,” with photographs of Tangiers in northern Morocco.   

Marta Moriarty is a collector of contemporary African art, a writer and a cultural journalist. She was born in Morocco, where she lived throughout most of her youth, and where she returns constantly due to her strong personal ties and her love for many facets of the country. In 2017, she opened “Window of Art” in Madrid, where she has introduced African artists in Spain for the first time. In 2019, she organized the exhibition “Deep Inside” by Moroccan painter Yamou, in Marrakesh. 

Diego Moya is a visual artist and architect who works indistinctly with sculpture, architecture or painting. Since 1991, Asilah, Morocco has been an important location for his activity, where he researches the symbolic aspects of abstraction in a close relationship with nature. He founded the MEDOCC Association, which has carried out intercultural artistic projects such as “Re.encuentro – Tawassul,” “Affinities” and “Ilham – Inspiration.”