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.