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SWAG��Ƶ Vice President for Global Affairs Anouar Majid was interviewed by Al Massae, Morocco’s largest Arabic daily, about the Tangier Global Forum’s inaugural season.

The first lecture in the series, “The Enlightenment for Our Troubled World,” featured Anthony Pagden, a distinguished professor of Political Science and History at the University of California, Los Angeles. The lecture took place Thursday, September 15 at 7 p.m. local time (2 p.m. EST) in the auditorium at SWAG��Ƶ’s Tangier Campus. It was live-streamed to students and faculty on SWAG��Ƶ’s two Maine campuses and to viewers around the globe. 

In the interview, Majid discussed how he first established the Center for Global Humanities in Maine in 2009 to give the public free access to lectures from some of the greatest thinkers in the world. Creating a similar forum in Tangier was one of his goals when establishing SWAG��Ƶ’s campus in Morocco.

When was asked if one of the forum’s goals is to bring East and West closer together, at a time when hatred is ascending in the world, Majid replied that since most lectures will be on subjects people are not often exposed to, the forum may inadvertently show that, at the end of the day, we are one humanity, tied together by the same stories, and condemned to share a common future.

SWAG��Ƶ’s Tangier Global Forum is designed to encourage discussion and critical examination of the burning issues facing the global community. American, Moroccan, European and other thinkers from around the world give lectures and conduct seminars to shed light on — and provide new insights into — histories and cultures that are critical to a better understanding of our human condition today. All events are free, open to the public and streamed live around the globe. 

To learn more about the Tangier Global Forum, visit

To apply, visit