Driss Ksikes decorated with the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Ambassador to Morocco

“Arts and letters are an infinite territory that I have explored for thirty years, first out of curiosity, then out of passion. Since my studies in translation, I have moved forward without wondering too much about the destination.” This is how the writer Driss Xikes expressed his gratitude during the reception organized in his honor at the headquarters of the French embassy in Rabat.

Translator, journalist, researcher, writer… Ksikes has taken on many roles during his career. However, he favors a single title: “Although I have been given qualifiers such as sociologist, philosopher or economist, I always want to remember that I am above all a writer, and secondarily a researcher engaged in public debates. Today , I realize that this is more than enough, since some recognize a certain value in it”, he underlined with modesty.

Driss Ksikes has been a professor at HEM since 1996 and has directed Economia, HEM’s research center, since 2007. He is also the initiator of the “Les Presses de l’Université Citoyenne” collection. Former editor-in-chief of TelQuel magazine (2001-2006), he leads several research projects in media and culture at the regional level. Curator of “La Nuit des Philosophes” in 2017 and 2018, he is the author of numerous novels, essays and plays.

Among his distinctions, in 2000 he received the prize for best text for “No memory… memory of not” at the International Theater Festival of Sibiu, and in 2009, his text “IL” was awarded at the International Festival of Constantine theater. In 2015, he was awarded the Grand Atlas Prize for the best essay in Morocco for “The Intellectual Profession”.