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 Professor Mahdi Elmandjra
Professor Mahdi Elmandjra graduated from Cornell (USA)
and obtained his Ph.D. (econ.) from the London School of Economics. He
teaches international relations at the University of Rabat since 1958. He
was Director General of the Moroccan Broadcasting Service and Counselor of
the Moroccan Mission to the UN. He occupied various functions in the UN
System (1961 to 1981) including that of Assistant Director General of
UNESCO for Social Sciences, Human Sciences and Culture and of Coordinator
of the Conference on Technical Cooperation between Developing countries
(UNDP).
He was President of the World Future Studies
Federation and of Futuribles International (Paris) as well as the Founding
President of the Moroccan Association of Future Studies and the Moroccan
Organization of Human Rights. He is a member of the African Academy of
Sciences and of the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco. He has been a
Visiting Professor to Tokyo University (1998) and a Visiting Scholar of the
Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) at the Tokyo Keizai
University (1999).
M. Elmandjra has published over 400 articles in the
fields of the human and social sciences. He is a co-author of "No
Limits to Learning" (Report to the Club of Rome, 1979) and the author
of several books including "The United Nations System" (1973),
"Maghreb et Francophonie" (1988), "Premiere Guerre
Civilisationnelle" (1991), "Retrospective des Futurs"
(1992), "Nord-Sud, Prelude a l'Ere Postcoloniale" (1993),
«Cultural Diversity Key to Survival» (1995), «Dialogue about Communication»
(1996), «Decolonisation Culturelle : Defi majeur du 21e Siecle» (1996), and
«Aoulamat El Aoulama"» (Reglobalization of Globalization, 2000)
Professor Elmandjra received the Prix de la Vie
Economique 1981 (France), the Grand Medal of the French Academy of
Architecture (1984), the distinctions of Officer of the Order of Arts and
Letters (France, 1985) and of the Order of The Rising Sun (Japan, 1986). He
also received the Peace Medal of the Albert Einstein International Academy
and the Award of the World Future Studies Federation (WFSF) in 1995. He has
been selected by the International Biographical Center (Cambridge, UK) as
one of the “2000 Outstanding Scholars of the 20th Century” to be published
in mid 2000.
wafin.com: Tbarkellah
alla Si Mahdi. Mrehba bik f Wafin.com
wafin.com: A lot
of Moroccans are wondering what you are up to lately. Can you tell us about
your latest research?
Dr. Elmandjra: My
latest research is around the phenomenon of "intifida" (which I
translate as "upheaval" rather than uprising). This is a deep and
authentic collective reaction against injustice and for the defense of
human dignity. A justified phenomenon which no one can stop. The
Palestinian tragedy is an excellent example. My next book to be published
in March or April will be entitled "Intifadate" (upheavals).
Another preoccupation is the role of the "elites" in the third
world, in general, and the arab world in particular, which has not been as
constructive as was expected because of cultural alienation and a too rapid
absorption by the power structures in the case of a sizeable number of
them.
wafin.com: Do you
have any comments on the recent discovery of Oil in Morocco?
Dr. Elmandjra: I have
no comments because so far there is no oil. I pray God that we do not find
more than what we need for our local needs. Many years ago (1988) I wrote
that the countries who have oil are those that God has damned. I still
think so.
wafin.com: What
would you tell Moroccans who reside in the U.S if you had to advise them?
Dr. Elmandjra: To be
themselves. To learn and take socially and culturally advantage of the
environment which surrounds them and to adapt to it but without losing
sight of their cultural values.
wafin.com: what do
you think of Wafin.com? What would you suggest to improve our services?
Dr. Elmandjra: It
would be pretentious of my part to tell a young initiative like
"wafin.com" what to do. I think it has to learn from experience
and to concentate on the needs of its public, their needs, their
aspirations and their hopes and dreams ... The visitors of the site are
those who will determine their future. So just LISTEN to them. Good
continuation.
wafin.com: Si
Mahdi, thank you so much for your time. We wish you the best of luck in
your research.
Dr. Elmandjra: Many
thanks for your kind initiative. Having gone to the United States to study
as a young school boy more than fifty years ago as the first Moroccan
student in America, I continue to have a lot of sympathy and compassion for
all the compatriots there. Thank you again for giving me this opportunity
to be in touch with them.
You can learn more about Dr. Mahdi Elmanjra by going to his site:
http://www.elmandjra.org/
E-mail : <elmandjra@elmandjra.org>
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