The Fondation Attarik represents the Moroccofrom October 4 to 6, 2024, during the Science Festival to the City of science and industry has Paris. This edition, organized on the theme of the French-speaking world, will highlight scientific collaboration within the French-speaking world. “The Attarik Foundation will stand out with two main activities, focused on meteorites and the planetologyareas where Morocco plays a key role. An interactive workshop will allow visitors to discover fragments of meteorites, understand their origin and their importance in the formation of the planets and the solar system, with a particular focus on meteorites discovered in Morocco. The public will thus have the opportunity to explore the mysteries of the cosmos through these fragments of stars,” indicates the Foundation in a press release. “At the same time, a fun activity dedicated to the youngest will be organized around the illustrated story “Me, Tamdakht the meteorite”, an adventure inspired by the fall of the Tamdakht meteorite au Morocco in 2008. This story aims to educate children about space science in a captivating way,” adds the same source.
The participation of the Fondation Attarik This event highlights Morocco’s crucial role in the discovery of meteorites and the country’s scientific contribution globally. “Morocco is one of the countries richest in meteorites in the world, it allows all scientists working on this theme to have access to these exceptional rocks in a relatively simple way. This wealth can be explained by the large expanse of the Moroccan Sahara, the interest shown by nomads in these rocks, the community of meteorite hunters who are experts in the matter and the security guaranteed in the desert areas where these rocks have accumulated. , declared to the newspaper “Le Matin” Pre Hasnaa Chennaouipresident of the Attarik Foundation.
The scientist also explains that meteorites are alien rocks who are witnesses to the origin of solar system and of the Universewhich inform us about very varied aspects of knowledge, such as understanding the origin of water and organic matter on Earth, the formation and evolution of the Universe and the solar system, or even mass extinctions of species, such as the well-known one of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. “Meteorites provide access to invaluable information on rocky bodies in the solar system from which there has not yet been any return of samples or from which space missions have only brought back dust. They are an excellent substitute and complement to space missions which are extremely expensive and limited in the possibility of taking pieces of rock from their parent bodies and bringing them back to Earth. Except for the Apollo missions which repatriated several dozen kilos of lunar rocks,” she emphasizes.
Professor Chennaoui also returns to the activities planned during the Science Festival, including the reading of the story “Me, Tamdakht the meteorite”. “This illustrated tale presents a meteorite that fell in Morocco in December 2008, namely “Tamdakht”, named after the village closest to its fall. It is aimed at young and old, the meteorite expresses itself and tells its story. A lot of information regarding its origin, formation and components is presented in the tale,” she emphasizes. “I wrote it precisely because I wanted to convey all this information in a very simple and pleasant way. The illustrations are magnificent, they were created by a young Moroccan comic artist named Driss Ouamrougraduated from the School of Fine Arts of Tetouan and is originally from Ouarzazate. The tale “spoke” to him, he expressed the story with his artistic sensitivity of his soul,” continues our interlocutor.
Professor Hasnaa Chennaoui: Morocco has a privileged position in the scientific world
Le Matin: One of the Foundation’s objectives is to raise Moroccan youth awareness of Earth and Universe sciences. How do these activities, like the meteorite workshop, contribute to this goal?
Pre Hasnaa Chennaoui: Attarik Foundation carries out a large number of activities to raise awareness and awaken young Moroccans to the love of discovery and scientific curiosity. For this, we participate in several festivals and general public scientific events in Morocco, in educational establishments, both primary and secondary and higher, and any event in which knowledge can be shared. One of our flagship actions is the establishment, since July 2021, of our Expo-Museum “Meteorites messengers from the sky”, first at AnfaPlace Mall and then currently at Marina Shopping in Casablanca. This approach to creating a museum in a Mall aims to bring museums closer to the public and make access easy for everyone. It is a place that welcomes both the general public and school students. We present all the meteorites that have fallen in Morocco over the last twenty years, fossils from Morocco, minerals, a space dedicated to the contribution of Muslim scholars to astronomy and sciences in general. The exhibition-museum also contains a professional planetarium with a rich program.
What are the main difficulties you encounter in promoting science in Morocco, particularly with regard to youth engagement?
One of our biggest challenges is financing, we try to survive financially without help, which is not easy. I believe that our society has not yet fully realized the importance of promoting science for the development of a country. Policymakers often encourage “applied” science or “research and development” to the detriment of fundamental research, which forms the basis of applied research and allows a country to develop through innovation. Young people try to follow academic paths where they see professional opportunities, unfortunately, sciences are not sufficiently valued as job providers. They will move more towards rather short and applied courses, which are certainly necessary, but not sufficient for the development of a country and its technological and intellectual development.
Morocco is recognized for the wealth of its meteorite discoveries. What initiatives has the Foundation undertaken to promote and preserve this unique scientific heritage?
For twenty-four years, a whole strategy, based on three axes, has been put in place by our teams. This firstly involves the development of scientific research through cutting-edge publications, including in prestigious magazines such as “Science”, as well as the supervision of several doctoral students. The second axis concerns the introduction of a teaching module in Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry at the national level, intended for all geology undergraduate students. The last axis of the strategy concerns communication both with the national and international media to provide clear, verified and fair information, as well as to make this heritage known to Moroccans, but also increased scientific communication through the organization of congresses and of scientific events which have attracted to Morocco the greatest researchers on these themes in the world. All these actions have allowed Morocco to have a privileged position in the world, not only by the large number of meteorites received, but also by its dynamic scientific research recognized by all.
Collaboration with institutions like Universcience and the French Embassy highlights scientific exchanges between Morocco and France. How does this type of partnership contribute to strengthening Morocco’s place in global scientific research?
The Morocco-France scientific partnership is historic and well-established. Personally, I prepared my first doctoral thesis at Pierre-et-Marie-Curie University Paris 6, my goal was to return to Morocco to continue doing research. By joining Hassan II University in Casablanca, I continued to collaborate with the laboratory in which I had prepared my thesis.
Moreover, Professor Albert Jambon, who supervised my first thesis, also supervised the second on meteorites. It was through him that I discovered the fascinating world of meteorites, especially those from Morocco. The collaboration never stopped, after his retirement, I tried to develop other partnerships in France, in particular with the Natural History Museum of Paris or the CEREGE (European Center for Research and Teaching in environmental geosciences)
in Aix-Marseille. Several doctoral students were welcomed in these structures and others through mobility grants. This cooperation is important and allows us to build links and give visibility to our work. It also makes it possible to demonstrate – if necessary – the great wealth of Moroccan youth, capable of tackling different themes of cutting-edge scientific research, in Moroccan universities, with the means at their disposal and with openings to international level which are possible thanks to the scientific credibility and rigor of our researchers.
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