Saint-Exupéry and Hassaniya Culture Celebrated at the AWI
The link between Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and Hassaniya culture was the subject of a round table organized by the Phosboucraa Foundation, the National Human Rights Council  (NHRC), and the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation at the Arab World Institute (AWI) in Paris on December 18.

Culture. How did the Moroccan Sahara influence the work of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry? This question was discussed by participants in the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and the Wisdom of the Sands roundtable discussion, which took place at the AWI in Paris on December 18. The event was organized by the Phosboucraa Foundation, the NHRC, and the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation. 
It was in the Sahara, more precisely in the province of Tarfaya, that the French writer, poet, aviator, and reporter found the inspiration to write Le Petit Prince, which became the most translated tale in the world with its 2017 Hassaniya version (300th language of translation). 
During a ninety-minute debate accompanied by an exhibition and concert by the Moroccan singer Oum and the Hassaniya music group Mnat Aichata, the authors Jean-Pierre Guéno, Frédéric Coconnier, Thomas Fraisse, and Fouad Laroui discussed the duty of remembering and promoting the Hassaniya culture that inspired this major work of literature. They also found an opportunity to connect the Southern regions with their sub-Saharan neighbors through the story of Aéropostale. The Foum El Oued Technology Cluster’s next project will take on this role as it aims, among other things, to create an African and universal cultural dynamic by building a museum dedicated to the promotion of Hassaniya culture and a media library.
 
This initiative of the Phosboucraa Foundation is part of a long-term cultural program aiming to make Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Saharan adventure a catalyst for activity and territorial development in the Southern regions of Morocco.