Algiers, Algeria – A leading Algerian official has emphasized the crucial role of history and national memory in shaping the nation’s future. Speaking at a coordination meeting in Algiers, Mohamed Lahcen Zeghidi, head of the Algerian Committee for History and Memory, asserted that progress and development are inextricably linked to a thorough understanding and preservation of the past.
The meeting, held at the Ministry of Environment, brought together members of the Algerian Committee for History and Memory and the National Committee for Environmental Memory. The focus was on monitoring and implementing the Colonial Environmental Memory Project.
“This meeting is historic,” stated Zeghidi, “because it marks the first time in independent Algeria that the Ministry of Environment has taken charge of the national memory file to address environmental damage and ensure a healthy life for citizens.”
Zeghidi lauded the Algerian Committee for History and Memory as a valuable addition to the Algerian state, stating that it “enhances and translates the national memory discourse outlined in the President’s messages.”
The coordination meeting, overseen by the Minister of Environment and Quality of Life, Kaouther Krikou, aims to advance the national project of identifying and documenting the environmental damage caused by colonialism. The initiative provides a platform for discussing approaches to monitoring, coordination, and the exchange of ideas on how to support scientific and institutional efforts related to researching environmental memory.
This collaborative effort with the Algerian Committee for History and Memory seeks to raise national awareness of the environmental impacts of the colonial era and analyze their consequences on Algeria’s ecological balance and environment.
