On the occasion of the Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025, the Foundation for the Safeguarding of the Cultural Heritage of Rabat has unveiled a wide-ranging cultural program designed to accompany the continental football event and enhance Morocco’s cultural visibility.
Presided over by Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa, the Foundation aims to align heritage promotion with the festive and international spirit of AFCON 2025, turning Rabat into a major cultural destination alongside its role as a host city.
Rabat, a UNESCO-listed capital at the heart of Africa
According to the Foundation, the initiative draws on Rabat’s unique status as Morocco’s capital and a UNESCO World Heritage site, recognized as a historic crossroads of dialogue, exchange, and openness toward Africa.
From December 27, 2025 to January 18, 2026, visitors will be offered free guided tours every weekend across Rabat’s eight UNESCO-listed heritage sites. These tours will be led by trained volunteer students participating in UNESCO’s World Heritage Volunteers initiative.
The goal is to make heritage more accessible to the general public, encourage youth engagement, and strengthen collective responsibility for the preservation and transmission of cultural heritage, particularly in an international context marked by the presence of visitors from across Africa and beyond.
Immersive exhibition celebrating African heritage
As part of the program, the Foundation is also organizing an exhibition titled
“Africa: World Heritage – A Journey Through Landscapes, Civilizations and Dreams.”
Designed as an immersive cultural experience, the exhibition combines photography, trilingual interpretation panels (Arabic, French, and English), and interactive digital installations. It invites visitors to explore the richness and diversity of African sites listed as UNESCO World Heritage.
The exhibition highlights Africa as one of humanity’s essential cradles, where landscapes, ancient cities, and historic trade routes reflect the depth of human memory and centuries of cultural exchange.
A podcast linking football memory and youth transmission
Extending beyond exhibitions and visits, the Foundation has also launched an intergenerational podcast dedicated to Moroccan football heritage. The episode brings together two young participants from the Foundation’s educational programs with former Moroccan international Redouane Guezzar, a member of the national team that won AFCON 1976.
Lasting over 28 minutes, the podcast offers a narrative of Morocco’s collective sporting memory while connecting it with the perspectives and aspirations of the younger generation through a contemporary digital format.
Heritage as a pillar of major events
Through this cultural program, the Foundation for the Safeguarding of the Cultural Heritage of Rabat reaffirms its belief that heritage can meaningfully accompany major international events and enrich their significance. Heritage becomes a space for learning, dialogue, and shared experience.
Created by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, the Foundation works to preserve Rabat’s material, immaterial, and landscape heritage. Since 2012, Rabat has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site under the title
“Rabat, Modern Capital and Historic City: A Shared Heritage.”
Under the leadership of Princess Lalla Hasnaa, the Foundation pursues an ambitious policy centered on education, awareness, and collective engagement, making cultural heritage a powerful driver of social, economic, and cultural development in Rabat and across Morocco.
Source: Maroc.ma
