Help to launch a new youth magazine in Marrakech

This project started in the medina of Marrakech with the creation of a small mobile library in the form of a karoussa/cart- we called this Bookaroussa.

 

 

 

 

The aim of this project was to increase child literacy by enabling children within the medina to have access to free books on loan, particularly those who live in Derb El Ferrane, within the neighbourhood of Riad Laarouss where the LE 18 cultural space is located.

 

To continue this initiative of encouraging children to read and given the lack of local children's magazines, we have decided to launch our own magazine that we have called Derbzine. Derb, meaning street and "zine" which refers to both beauty (in Darija) and also magazine / fanzine or zine.

 

 

 

 

 

Derbzine will be an A5 colour magazine full of interesting subjects. We have concocted several distinct sections thanks to our contributors. Alongside a small “Archives” space which brings together tales from the past and also old street games. There will also be poetry, short stories, Arabic calligraphy, ornithology (birds), astronomy, cinema, architecture and even philosophy.....

 

This is a non profit project and all funds will go back into the project with the aim of continuing to increase literacy and access to reading materials to the children of the medina of Marrakech. Eventually, we hope to be able to offer this in other parts of Morocco and even other countries. The texts will be in Moroccan dialect (Darija), Classical Arabic, Berber (maybe), French and maybe English in the future.

 

To make this editorial project a success, we have called upon several contributors from diverse backgrounds. For now, we have the skills and manpower needed to create content for this test edition (Zine#0). What we are currently lacking are the funds to enable us to print and distribute this magazine to the children of Marrakech. Future editions will be sold for a small fee to fund the creation of subsequent editions.

 

The plan is to publish at least twice a year, hopefully quarterly once things get going.

Please get in touch if you would like to become a corporate sponsor of this project. There will be a section on the back cover listing all of our major sponsors.

 

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Meriem Benmhamed

Cultural Blogger & Mediator

Founder of Bookaroussa & Derbzine