Editorial team: Mr Bennani, you visited denkmal in 2022. After returning with many impressions and contacts, the idea arose that Morocco should also showcase its rich cultural heritage at the trade fair in Leipzig. What significance does this have for you on a professional and personal level?

Zouhair Bennani: I came to denkmal Leipzig in 2022 at the invitation of my dear friend Manfred Fahnert. Manfred loves Morocco and is a passionate artist who specialises in working and handling earth for building purposes. He is planning to found the "Atlas Chantiers", an earthworks school in Agdz, where he is restoring a historic kasbah made of clay and building an extension with trainees from all over the world. Exchange projects of this kind have been taking place for over two decades.

Together we met Barbara Barzi, who has a special and close connection to Essaouira, a Moorish harbour town that has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, organises music festivals and is home to several art galleries. As an engineer and expert in the diagnosis and restoration of historical heritage in Essaouira, I have been involved in the restoration of several buildings and monuments classified as historical heritage, such as the Sqala du Port, the Portuguese Church, the Bab Marrakech Museum, the Medina of Essaouira and more. I have also worked on several emblematic historical monuments in the royal cities of Morocco: Fez, Rabat, Salé, Marrakech, El Jadida, Casablanca, Tangier, Tetouan (the list of monuments covered is extensive).

Thanks to our expertise, we formed a trio and visited the last denkmal together - the exchange with the exhibitors and mutual friends who are enthusiastic about cultural heritage and building with clay was very intensive and the contacts were very cordial. The idea was born to present the richness of Morocco's historical heritage and the traditional techniques of earth building at denkmal 2024. Regarding the professional and personal significance of this event: For me, professional and personal interaction have merged, the passion is more than a profession.

Another factor was that on 8 September 2023, Morocco experienced a magnitude 6.9 earthquake in Ighil in Haouz province, which caused very severe damage to several historic buildings and structures in several areas of the surrounding regions. As an expert in diagnostics and a specialist in the restoration of cultural heritage, I would like to establish partnerships with German professionals to work together on the earthquake-proof restoration of the damaged buildings and the reconstruction of the destroyed houses using local materials in compliance with building regulations and Moroccan tradition and culture.

Editorial team: In preparation for participation in this year's trade fair, there have been numerous meetings, consultations and discussions in the ministries, including with the embassy and the Chamber of Foreign Trade. What is currently being prepared? What topics can visitors to the trade fair look forward to?

Zouhair Bennani: As the aforementioned Barbara-Manfred-Zouhair trio, we have set ourselves in motion as an intercultural committee under the aegis of denkmal. Since July 2023, we have been in contact with the institutions concerned by the theme of cultural heritage, professionals in the field of restoration and conservation of cultural heritage as well as actors, companies and specialists in construction techniques with local materials in order to realise Morocco's participation in denkmal 2024.

The first professional heritage company to join the intercultural team was G3C. The company is the market leader in the construction sector in Morocco and has successfully carried out several heritage restoration projects on behalf of the state, including the Villa Carl Ficke (1910 German-based merchant) and the Lincoln Hotel in Casablanca, the Cervantes Theatre, Plaza Toro and Villa Harris in Tangier, as well as several typical kasbahs in the south of Morocco.

As Deputy Secretary General of ICOMOS MAROC, I have been campaigning for the Moroccan presence in Leipzig - together with my colleague, we unanimously decided at a board meeting in favour of participating in denkmal as a prestigious event for the preservation of cultural heritage. In this context, letters of invitation were sent to the various authorities and ministries to persuade them to participate and support this event.

The ICOMOS MOROCCO office subsequently chose the Ecole Nationale d'Architecture (ENA) de Marrakech as its partner for the organisation of this event. The first joint workshop took place in May 2023 at the ENA in Marrakech and enjoyed a lively participation of the various stakeholders, including architects, engineers, historians, archaeologists and companies, with a strong representation of craftsmen from Marrakech.

The planned advanced workshop programme has been temporarily suspended due to the earthquake in the Al Haouz region on 8 September 2023 and ICOMOS has prioritised urgent measures to make an effective contribution in the affected areas. Despite this situation, we have continued preparations for denkmal within the framework of the Intercultural Committee by making direct contact with companies and professional groups wishing to participate in the exhibition of the Moroccan stand.

The German Chamber of Commerce, associations and professional organisations from the construction industry as well as Rotary Morocco, of which I am the current president, and Club Florida have been approached to help prepare the stand and put together the Moroccan delegation for denkmal.

We are currently expecting three types of Moroccan participants in Leipzig: exhibitors such as experts and engineering firms, inspection and testing companies and educational institutions, scientific speakers and simply interested visitors. We have planned five main topics for the conference programme:

- Cultural heritage and earthen architecture in Morocco

- Reconstruction and restoration of cultural heritage after the earthquake of 8 September in Al Haouz

- Examples of heritage valorisation through new uses

- Valorisation of local materials and innovations/needs

- Earth building regulations in the context of earthquake risks/knowledge transfer

Editorial team: Morocco is the first African country to present itself at denkmal. What expectations do you and the participating companies/institutes have of your trade fair appearance in Leipzig?

Zouhair Bennani: Morocco is a crossroads of civilisations due to its geographical and strategic location, its long history and its historical monuments, offering a great historical and cultural diversity and heritage, including various traditional building techniques and styles with specific ornaments of the Moroccan dynasties.

In His Majesty King Mohammed VI's speech of 14 September 2023 following the earthquake, the importance of preserving the historical heritage and in particular the reconstruction of villages with local materials while preserving the authentic cultural identity of the affected regions was emphasised.

In this sense, Moroccan professionals are called upon to implement the high royal directives in accordance with Moroccan regulations and to ensure the operational safety of buildings and constructions made of local materials in the affected regions.

Ultimately, we would like to see a fusion of Moroccan and German expertise, both traditional and technological, to provide appropriate and safe solutions for Moroccan heritage restoration projects and to keep pace with the growing global trend to promote sustainable green building practices in harmony with the environment.