Rabat (UNA) – Within the framework of the International Open Days of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), the Network of ICESCO Chairs for Thought, Literature and Arts held the fourth edition of the “Global Thinkers Hosted by ICESCO” programme, under the title: “Music Therapy, Art Therapy, Disability and the Right to Culture”, in partnership with the Euro-Mediterranean University of Fez, Ibn Tofail University in Kenitra, Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane in the Kingdom of Morocco, Sorbonne University, and the European Centre for Access to Culture in France.
The fourth edition of the programme continued over two days, 4 and 5 November 2024, during which two intellectual meetings were held. The first was hosted by the Euro-Mediterranean University, and the second was held at the headquarters of ISESCO in Rabat, with the participation of a group of international university professors and specialists in treatment, to discuss ways to integrate the arts into treatment and rehabilitation programmes for people with disabilities, enhance their right to access culture, and highlight the role that the arts can play in promoting social integration.
At the beginning of the two meetings, Dr. Mohamed Zein El Abidine, Head of the Culture and Communication Sector at ISESCO, stressed the importance of the programmes and activities implemented by the organisation as an international house of expertise for studying the most prominent current issues, including the issue of cultural rights and therapy through the arts.
Following this, Dr. Edith Lecourt, Professor of Psychology at Paris-City University, reviewed the experience of incorporating music therapy into universities in France, noting that the method of expression through music goes beyond language problems and the difficulty of translation.
For his part, Mr. Ondrej Vertiye, composer and musician, spoke about the importance of art therapy, reviewing his musical career and the factors that led to his interest in art therapy.
Mr. François Xavier Frey, a music therapist, spoke about the relationship between psychology, neuroscience, and social communication with music, while Dr. Frank Becque, a professor at the Sorbonne University, spoke about the new aesthetics of contemporary arts.
