Dr Leïla  MEZIAN-BENJELLOUN

Dr Leïla MEZIAN-BENJELLOUN

Foundation President

The decoration by His Majesty King Mohammed VI with the Wissam Al Arch in the “Officer” category in 2016 made Leïla Mezian particularly emotional. It is the royal recognition, and by her country of heart, of a long journey: "For centuries, the Amazigh people contributed to the construction of the Islamic civilization in Spain”, Leïla Mezian could speak for hours and hours about the influence of Amazigh culture, the restoration of ancient monuments and access to the education of little girls. In 2011, the IRCAM Institute for the Amazigh Language and Culture awarded her the Grand Prize of Merit for the promotion of Amazigh culture, language and arts. In 2014, She created the International Chair of Amazigh Culture with the Euro-Arab Foundation for Advanced Studies. Born in Valencia, she grew up in Spain. Her father, Marshal Mezian, encouraged his daughters to study. "From an early age I wanted to be a doctor. At that time, in Spain, medicine was not a career open to women, but my mother encouraged me”. As an ophthalmologist surgeon, she practiced medicine for over twenty-five years in Moroccan hospitals and in her clinic. Married to a prominent banker and businessman, she presided with him the Benjelloun-Mezian Foundation dedicated to the restoration of ancient monuments: "We must bequeath to future generations the treasures of yesterday”, she says. Mother of two children, Dounia, movie producer, and Kamal, anthropologist and environmentalist, she is sensitive to the fate of girls in rural areas. The BMCE Bank Foundation, which she has chaired since 1995, has constantly promoted education in disadvantaged areas. The Foundation ensures that children enrolled in the schools of the "Medersat.com" network benefit from quality education: "Innovation lies in the distance teaching of some subjects. Children not only learn Arabic, Amazigh and French but also Mandarin. "In 2013, the BMCE Bank Foundation, received the Wise Award from Qatar Word Innovation Summit for Education in recognition of the quality of its program and for its innovation in language teaching. In 2016, the Rockfeller Foundation presented the Rockfeller Bridging Leadership Award.

Yasmine BELMAHI

100 Femmes

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