WOCMES 2018 Seville Inauguration

Yesterday, Monday, July 16, the inauguration of WOCMES 2018 Seville took place, a world congress of Middle Eastern studies that is held every five years, which in this edition is based in the city of Seville and has been organized by the Three Cultures of the Mediterranean Foundation.
The congress has the participation of more than three thousand participants from ninety different countries and more than five hundred work sessions will take place, in addition to a series of parallel activities such as a book exhibition, film screenings or concerts.
The opening session in the morning was attended by His Majesty, King Felipe VI, as well as other authorities such as the president of the Junta, Susana Díaz; the Minister of Culture and Sport, José Guirao; the mayor of Seville, Juan Espadas; the Government delegate, Alfonso Rodríguez Gómez de Celis; the advisor to the King of Morocco and president of the Three Cultures Foundation, André Azoulay, or the president of the International Council of Wocmes, Gunter Meyer.
In the speech given by Felipe VI, he highlighted the need for cooperation on the different shores of the Mediterranean and how this cooperation has positive effects when it is carried out, as demonstrated by the organisation of this event by the Three Cultures Foundation, which was founded by the Kingdom of Morocco and the Regional Government of Andalusia.
He also stressed the need to make the Mediterranean a shared space of peace and prosperity since European stability and prosperity have historically been linked to the fate of North Africa and the Middle East.
The King also spoke of Seville, Andalusia and Spain as “a land of encounter that knows how to combine tradition and vocation for the exchange of ideas with dialogue between cultures and the construction of bridges”.
Susana Díaz, president of the Junta de Andalucía, called on European countries not to turn their faces to what is happening in the Mediterranean, and especially to what is happening with immigrants, since it is an “obligation and responsibility” of the European institutions to make this sea a place of “shared solidarity” since it is a “common sea of culture and civilization”.
The title of this WOCMES 2018 is “Your roots. Your heritage. Knowledge that unites”, and along these lines, Juan Espadas, mayor of Seville, spoke of this city as a place that integrates cultures and of Al Andalus as part of our lived history.
He also mentioned the Mediterranean as a place where world geopolitics is reflected very precisely and that we are at a time where it is not useful to look for solutions by dictation but to sit down to dialogue and reflect to solve common problems.
The Seville Mosque Foundation is very grateful for the invitation extended by the Three Cultures Foundation to attend this event, from which we hope that fruits will emerge that lead to a better coexistence on both shores of the Mediterranean and that will make the city of Seville an example of this.