Minister Bussemaker to open Morocco Institute NIMAR in Rabat

Minister Jet Bussemaker (Ministry of Education, Culture and Science) is to open the new headquarters of NIMAR (Netherlands Institute in Morocco) in Rabat on 1 March, in the presence of Mayor of Rotterdam Ahmed Aboutaleb and Rector of Leiden University Carel Stolker. The institute has been part of Leiden University since 2015.  

Hub for the Arabic world

NIMAR provides teaching, facilitates research and makes an active contribution to broadening knowledge in the Netherlands of Moroccan languages, cultures and society. The institute is open to all students at Dutch academic universities or universities of applied sciences. These new premises will allow more students, researchers and other professionals to acquire well-founded knowledge about Morocco and the Arab world.

Opening programme

At the opening of the new premises, Bussemaker, Stolker and Aboutaleb will talk with Dutch students who are currently following the Rabat semester as part of their programme in Arabic. Aboutaleb is also chairman of NIMAR’s advisory council. On 2 March, Stolker will sign an agreement with the  Université Mohammed V in Rabat aiming to strengthen collaboration across a range of domains, including Museum Studies and African Studies.

Fresh start

NIMAR was established in 2006 and operated until 2015 under the auspices of Radboud University Nijmegen. A subsidy of almost 2.5 million euros from the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science has made it possible for the institute to make a fresh start.