In 1956, Morocco and Tunisia emerged from French protectorate rule,marking a profound political and historical shift. Independence was declared,flags were raised, and new futures were imagined.

Seventy years later, those futures continue to unfold. Independence isremembered and experienced differently across generations and communities. Itis shaped by culture, language, and lived experience—celebrated, questioned,reinterpreted, and carried forward, differently, in everyday life.

To mark the 70th anniversary of independence in Morocco and Tunisia, weare organising a special ftoor gathering: an evening of shared food, music, andconversation as we reflect together on the meanings of independence - then andnow.

The evening is organised and hosted by Dr. Nadia Bouras (LeidenUniversity) and Dr. Farid Boussaid (University of Amsterdam), incollaboration with the University of Amsterdam and NIMAR / Leiden University and is part of Woorden Leven at MAQAM. They are joined by Prof. Dr. AmadeM’Charek, Yassin Akouh, and Prof. Dr. Michael Willis for a panelconversation that brings together different voices and perspectives on Morocco, Tunisia, and their shared histories.

The evening will open with acontribution by Fenna Ulichki, the Chair of the Amsterdam West districtcouncil.

The Panel

Yassin Akouh is a Belgianjournalist whose work focuses on Morocco, social movements, and geopolitics,with a strong commitment to bringing the history of the Rif region into theforefront.

Prof. Dr. Amade M’Charek isan anthropologist at the University of Amsterdam whose interdisciplinaryresearch explores race, colonial legacies, and migration, her work addressingurgent social and political realities.

Prof. Dr. Michael Willis is ascholar of Maghreb politics and history at the University of Oxford and theauthor of Politics and Power in the Maghreb, a key study ofAlgeria, Tunisia, and Morocco since independence.  

Date: 27 February 2026

Time: doors open at 18:00, ftoor starts at 18:20

Location: Maqam, Jan vanSchaffelaarplantsoen 2, 1061 DN Amsterdam

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