Fouzia Elbayed: The Journey of a Writer Blending Academic, Cultural, and Political Dimensions

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Without much fanfare, we are presented with a profile of endurance featuring discreet steps that have taken on an academic path combining Literature, Humanities, Public Law, and Political Sociology—a result of a dual academic training and a rich versatility that has been developed. This is particularly evident when linking theoretical frameworks to practical fieldwork.

Fouzia ELBAYED, as a writer, art critic, and research educator, embodies the category of calm and discreet intellectuals often characterized by measured writing, careful observation of the world, humility regarding her work, and a moderate public presence.

For over three decades, she has contributed to the training of leaders and mentoring generations of students. Additionally, during her tenure as a Deputy in Parliament from 2011 to 2016, she engaged in oversight of the executive branch and debated public policies, revised legal frameworks, and advocated for human rights in international bodies and commissions focused on legal issues and human rights, including the Council of Europe, in Geneva, Paris, Strasbourg, at the ICC in Rome, and at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, facilitating both multilateral discussions and bilateral diplomatic efforts.

She participated in programs for the leadership and empowerment of women, addressing economic vulnerability, building confidence, and enhancing self-esteem. The issues she championed relate to equal opportunities, access to social services, health, and education, as well as the provision of services based on universally recognized gender-sensitive rights.

Her work in the commission for equality and with civil society focused on advocating for the expansion of social protection programs, revising gender-sensitive laws and basic income initiatives, reducing the burden of care, covering domestic work, strengthening the pillars of the solidarity economy, and increasing investment figures in the budget concerning health coverage—essentially proposing preventive strategies and policies to remedy dysfunctions and social inequality.

Her writings merge disciplines, encompassing anthropology, sociology, arts and letters, alongside research in educational innovation and teaching-learning processes. Her experience in supervising research topics and evaluating theses, combined with her interdisciplinary training, grants her adaptability in debates and an analytical capability regarding issues, reflecting a broad vision evident in her writing and literary output.

She began writing her first articles in 1996, focusing on cultural journalism. Her output reflected a special interest in the arts and letters, crowned by her earning a DESA in 1999 from the UFR Literature and Aesthetics at Med V University on Cultural Politics, alongside the first cohort of art critics who studied cinema, painting, theater, novels, poetry, photography, and the history of art criticism and ideas, and aesthetic and artistic movements. She later obtained a doctorate in French Language and Literature, examining the Impact of Sociopolitical Context on Cultural Production: The Case of Morocco, through a cultural anthropology approach at the same university in 2006.

Alongside her scientific research, she has engaged in producing writings on art exhibitions and cultural performances. She published her first poetry collection, Mindil A’dar, with Dar Atakafa in 2002, followed by The Colors of Reminiscence, published by Eddif in 2003, and Sculpted Words in 2018—a form of artistic collaboration between the writer and painter-sculptor Azdem Abdeslam, supported by the Ministry of Culture.

In addition to her academic work as a thesis jury member and participating in festivals and editorial committees for publishing houses, Ms. Fouzia ELBAYED has served as the editor-in-chief of Alfonoun, a journal for the Moroccan Ministry of Culture and Communication, since November 2018. This journal is dedicated to art, cultural products, and events related to both material and immaterial heritage, festivals, and new book publications in the same field.

Three additional works on theater emerged as part of her research project over the years, including Theater and Identity: Aesthetic of Transcendence and Immanence, published by Marsam in 2018; The Nursery of University Theater in Morocco, with Manahil in 2019; and The Virtual Theater: From Subversion to Transgression, published by L’Harmattan in Paris in 2025.

She was among the initiators at the Ministry of Culture for the preparatory round table for the sessions on Cultural Industry, titled Cultural Industries in Morocco: Towards a Public-Private Partnership for Sustainable Development Perspectives, held at the National Library of the Kingdom of Morocco (BNRM) in Rabat on July 9, 2019.

In addition to several scientific contributions and articles on public policies in media outlets, she continues her scientific research activities by participating in national and international colloquia and congresses as a member of research teams and laboratories at the Faculty of Educational Sciences and the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences in Mohammedia, as well as at the CRMEF in Casablanca. This collaborative research effort culminated in a collective work titled Soft Skills in Teaching French and Arabic: A Leverage for Student Competencies published in 2022 with the support of the Ministry of Education.

In the field of education, she has produced four other books in the educational literature category: two related to assessment and exam development for secondary education—Succeeding in College Exams and Keys to Success in High School Exams. Two additional publications relate to the acquisition of linguistic competencies and writing skills, which are often challenging for students in their educational journeys, including The Grammar Guide to French and The Secrets of Writing in French.

Furthermore, she has shown particular interest in inclusive education and learning disabilities, supporting and mentoring parents of children with disabilities within the framework of associative work and raising awareness among future teachers concerning diagnostic, support, and remediation methods.

Among her interests lies reading—public and school-related reading as it relates to writing and literature. Her new book, titled Reading and Writing: Pedagogical Tools and Acts of Cultural Transmission, reflects on the connection between these two disciplines and the issues and specificities of each in literature education.

When asked why reading holds such importance for her, she responds, “‘Reading’ as a cultural and educational activity is a matter of great interest within the community of intellectuals and producers in the book industry. Furthermore, it is a crucial component in the educational trajectory of learners, emphasizing the connection between reading and writing didactics as a primary focus in acquiring linguistic competencies.”

What is the relevance of this? Her general objective is to open the debate surrounding reading as both a cultural and educational activity, to encourage creativity, and to foster interest in the nuances of literature among learners, teachers, and all those engaged in intellectual production. Specifically, she aims to equip trainee teachers to become project bearers centered around the theme of reading, bridging the gap between physical or digital books and readers, while promoting quality in writing and continuous publishing.

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