Morocco Judge and Author Brahim Elboukhari shares his writing tips for #MedStoryPrize.
I do agree with Oscar Wilde’s statement that “the artist is the creator of beautiful things”, but I also believe it’s not enough.
The artist, in my case the writer, should do more, they should be part of the community to which they belong. I think that what makes us different from animals is more than just language, it’s our ability to create amazing stories and inspire or be inspired by them.
We live in stories. We enjoy them and we enjoy being part of stories, to be heroes of our own stories. So, I think the artist – the writer- should be part of something big, as big as humanity. That’s why when I was asked to be part of The Rooted Everyday SHORT story prize I accepted on the spot. It’s something I enjoy doing.
I enjoy writing and reading especially about life, about the land and this beautiful bond between the two to keep life lingering on this planet till the end.
One of the things I enjoy writing about is nature with all its components especially things that are threatened because of our mishaps and our carelessness about the future and what we leave for the next generations.
An example I want to draw attention to in this post is the High Atlas. Beautiful, marvelous, but it contained more things in the past because a lot has disappeared especially the amazing biodiversity: the thousands of plants and amazing animals.
That’s why I invite people interested in this mission to write stories because in stories life can be preserved. So pick up your pen and write, you can change the world with a scratch of a pen or a stroke of a key .
About the Author
Brahim Elboukhari is a Moroccan poet, author and a teacher of English. His works include: The Soft Wind of Summer: a collection of poems; The dark days of our village: The story of a land; Fragments of Moroccan society and; Representation and Resistance: A Post-Colonial Study to Bowles’ Sheltering Sky.
Workshop Discussions and Research Findings to Culminate in a Shared Resource on Increased Sustainability of Cultural Practices, Biodiversity and Livelihoods in Cultural Landscapes_original
At a workshop held in March 2020, project partners explore economic practices and options that can sustain or improve the viability of cultural practices that support cultural landscapes across the Mediterranean.
Eating an Organic Mediterranean Diet Helps Fight Disease
For years nutritionists have extolled the virtues of a Mediterranean diet, now environmental NGOs like WWF are calling for us to improve our health and the environment by following the Med. The #MedFoodHeroes campaign from 15-27 June coordinated by @RootedEveryday celebrates the rich cuisine the Mediterranean has to offer and the benefits to people and planet when we buy from small sustainable producers.
Meet #MedFoodHeroes Ambassador: Marinos Skolarikos
Marinos studied Greek Culture at the Hellenic Open University, attended Folklore courses at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and has completed a series of seminars in History, Philosophy, Journalism and New Media.
Meet #MedFoodHero Ambassador: Nikos Mastropavlos
Nikos Mastropavlos is a journalist, cultural scientist, and the publisher of www.eudemonia.gr which focusses on the culture of everyday life in Greece - especially food, travel and the arts.
Meet #MedFoodHero Ambassador: Renato Álvarez
Renato Álvarez was born into a “neo-rural” family who were trailblazers of organic farming in Andalusia. They were also members of the first social movements and associations dedicated to the production and organic food. Since he was little he was involved in agriculture until he decided to study Environmental Sciences at the Pablo de Olavide University (Seville).
Meet #MedFoodHero Ambassador: Fábio Bernadino
Fábio Bernardino is a Chef, the CEO of Travel & Flavours, a teacher, gastronomic consultant, trainer and event organizer; a young Chef whose excellence opened the doors to major Portuguese hotels and restaurants, like the Pestana Hotéis & Resorts group or the Heritage Lisboa Hotels, where he left his mark of professionalism and rigour. With a great passion for cooking, and especially for pastry, he started his career at the age of 14, when he attended the Professional Cooking and Pastry Course of the Lisbon Hotel and Tourism School.
Meet #MedFoodHero Ambassador: Alfredo Sendim
Alfredo Cunhal Sendim was born in Porto and spent his childhood between Lisbon (the city), Montemor-o-Novo (the countryside) and Ferragudo (the sea). Studied veterinary and zoo technical. In 1990 he moved to the Monte of Herdade do Freixo do Meio, a territory where, step by step, he has been developing a structural project in the agricultural and social field.
Meet #MedFoodHeroes Ambassador: Sahar Elhallak
Nine years ago, Sahar left her home in California and landed in Morocco in a quest to find herself. While she started a new life in Marrakech, she found some challenges to find restaurants that catered to vegetarians like herself. Since she always enjoyed hosting dinner parties and food-related fundraising events, she started cooking for friends which grew into welcoming people into her beautifully restored hundred-year-old house, for unique culinary experiences.
Meet #MedFoodHeroes Ambassador: Najat Kaanache
Born to Moroccan parents in a small town near San Sebastian in Spain, Najat Kaanache has been cooking at home since childhood. Now based between the US, Mexico and Morocco. She now creates magic in the kitchen as the owner and chef of the beautiful restaurant Nur in the ancient medina of Fez, named World’s Best Moroccan Restaurant in 2017, 2018 and 2019. She also opened CÚS (a Moroccan bistro in the heart of Mexico City) and Nacho Mama (a funky Mexican cantina in the medina of Fez).
Meet #MedFoodHeroes Ambassador: Driss Mellal
Driss Mellal was born in a small town in the south of Morocco, near the beautiful Dades valley. His love for cooking started at the age of 20, when he was in art school in southern France. He missed Moroccan food and flavours and so started cooking and experimenting himself. After graduating from art school, he didn’t work in the arts as planned, but instead went to culinary school. “I finally got to combine my art background with new cooking skills, and it became the start of a new life for me,” Driss says.
