Archives du Maroc concluded, on Tuesday in Rabat, two donation agreements under which the institution will receive the archives of former parliamentarian and late minister Abdelouahed Radi, as well as those of French photographer Robert Chastel.
The first agreement, initialed by Lamia Radi, daughter of the late Abdelouahed Radi and the director of the Archives of Morocco, Jamaa Baida, provides for the handing over of the former minister’s personal archives.
In a speech on this occasion, Baida underlined that the archives of the late Radi “testify to his exceptional professional and political career, both nationally and internationally, as well as to his patriotic spirit”, assuring that the preservation of these archives should “contribute to the preservation of common history and its transmission to current and future generations”.
For his part, Lamia Radi assured that his father had, during his lifetime, bequeathed all of his personal archives to the Archives of Morocco “in order to make them accessible to Moroccans and thus perpetuate his commitment to the service of Morocco and Moroccans”.
The second agreement concerns all the archives of the French writer Robert Chastel, a history and photography enthusiast. These archives were acquired by the Moroccan Bank for Trade and Industry (BMCI) for the benefit of the Archives of Morocco. Said agreement was initialed by Baida, Chastel and the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of BMCI, Jaouad Hamri.
Mr. Chastel’s archives include more than 2,500 documents, including 527 postcards, 1,200 slides, 700 photographs, 141 photographic plates and a negative film which, retracing the heritage history of the city of Casablanca from 1880 to 1952, illustrates the passion by Robert Chastel for photography.
The signing of the said agreements is part of the activities of the Archives of Morocco on the occasion of the International Archives Week which will end on June 9, International Archives Day.
The celebration of International Archives Week continues until June 9 with the opening of an exhibition of photos and documents and a meeting-tribute under the sign “Brahim Akhiat: a dense journey of activism for Amazigh culture “.