Scientific speakersScientific speakers
Taghazout Surf ExpoAt the heart of its scientific programme, Taghazout Surf Expo brings together an international committee of researchers and lecturers from Morocco, France, Belgium and Brazil. This diversity of expertise allows surfing to be approached as a truly global phenomenon — at the intersection of social, economic, cultural and environmental dimensions.
TSE is proud to be one of the few surf trade shows worldwide to combine academic rigour with field experience, fostering meaningful dialogue between researchers, professionals and institutions.
Below, discover the scientific speakers of this 4th edition — leading voices whose work and insight help make Taghazout Surf Expo a unique space for knowledge-sharing, innovation and international collaboration.
International Scientific Coordination
Mokhtar El Maouhal is Professor at Ibn Zohr University in Agadir, Director of the Laboratory for Research on Languages and Communication (Larlanco), and Academic Coordinator of the Master’s in “Organizational Communication”.
His recent publications:
- “Virtual platforms as a means of self-training in digital literacy”, in Digital University Pedagogy: What perspectives in the era of multifaceted uses of social networks for learning? Mulhouse, May 2021, University of Haute Alsace.
- “Analysis of students’ communicative interactions in an online learning system”, in Adjectif Journal of Paris-Descartes University, 2021 T 1. (Special Issue: Writing production and technologies) Issues in Education Quality: Teaching, Volume 1. (Editors: M. El Maouhal, M. Zniber & O. Barakat), Agadir, Ibn Zohr University, 2020
Stéphanie Crabeck holds a PhD in Tourism Sciences and Management and a DEA in Land Planning and Environmental Management (Université Libre de Bruxelles). Her research focuses on sustainable tourism development and heritage mediation.
Her expertise covers sustainable tourism, territorial planning, heritage enhancement, local governance, and city branding. She advises local authorities and private operators through diagnostics, project evaluations, territorial planning, mediation content, and cultural interpretation tools. She promotes a systemic and geo-historical reading of territories, participatory and inclusive methodologies, and dialogue between universities, local authorities, international donors, and private investors.
Professor in the Department of Marketing, Tourism and Hospitality Management at HEPH Condorcet, she also teaches as a visiting professor in several universities in Europe, Africa, and Latin America. She is the founder of the ULYSSE Lab-network, the first inter-institutional higher education structure in Belgium dedicated to applied research in tourism.
Larlanco Research Team
Amal Ben Attou is a tenured professor at Ibn Zohr University (Agadir) and a member of the LARLANCO laboratory. Her research focuses on architectural and heritage communication from a territorial perspective, analyzing urban identity, the tensions between architectural-tourism marketing and collective memory, as well as governance and sustainability dynamics.
Abdelfettah Nacer Idrissi is a university professor, PhD in Language Sciences, and professor of French linguistics at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Ibn Zohr University in Agadir. He previously served as an expert evaluator for ANEAQ (National Agency for Evaluation and Quality Assurance in Higher Education and Scientific Research) in Rabat and as Coordinator of the Master’s program in Didactics of French as a Foreign Language: Culture and Mediation (2016–2020). He is currently President of the Moroccan Center for Studies and Research in Human and Social Sciences and a member of the Research Laboratory in Languages and Communication (LARLANCO), accredited by the CNRST–Morocco. His research fields are rich and diverse, including language sciences, discourse analysis, language didactics, Arabic dialectology (with a focus on Moroccan Arabic), and communication. He has authored several publications in indexed national and international journals, as well as books and conference papers at local, national, and international levels. In October 2022, he organized an international symposium on “Discourse, Spaces, and Mediations: Cross Perspectives.” He is currently invited, within the framework of Erasmus+, to lead a seminar on Intercultural Management at HEPH Condorcet in Brussels.
International University of Rabat Research Team
Architect, PhD in Geography at FLSH Rabat (2016). Assistant Professor at the International University of Rabat since 2020, Nawal Benabdallah is a member of the UIH Lab. She conducts research at the interface of sustainable urban planning, health, and territorial innovation.
Her career includes twenty years of experience in architecture (urban projects, public facilities, regeneration of sensitive spaces) and a strong commitment to research, pedagogical coordination, and scientific dissemination. Her expertise includes urban planning integrating health, territorial resilience, social inclusion, and pedagogical innovation. Her research areas include the integration of urban health into public policies, migrant inclusion, ecological regeneration of territories, and the promotion of women in contemporary architecture. Active in international scientific networks, she advocates for an inclusive and sustainable vision of the city.
Oussama Marrouni Alami is currently Assistant Professor at the International University of Rabat (UIR) – College of Engineering and Architecture – School of Aerospace and Automotive Engineering. Co-coordinator of the IPORA program (Interdisciplinary Policy-Oriented Research on Africa), he is also responsible for UIR’s international rankings portfolio.
He previously held the position of R&D Project Management Officer at UIR and UM6P, as well as Head of the PMO at NOVEC, a leading Moroccan engineering company. He holds a PhD in Industrial Engineering from Hassan II University, a State Engineering degree from the Mohammadia School of Engineers in Industrial Engineering, an MBA from Al Akhawayn University, a certificate in Strategic and Economic Intelligence from the Ecole de Guerre Économique in Paris, and a PMP certification.
International Professors and Researchers
Christophe Guibert is a sociologist, HDR Associate Professor at the University of Angers (ESTHUA – Tourism and Culture), and researcher at the “Espaces et Sociétés” Laboratory at the University of Angers. He examines multiple dimensions related to surfing (public policies, employment, social and cultural uses, gender, etc.) in France as well as in other countries (China, Taiwan, Morocco, United States, etc.).
His work is rooted in dispositionalist and multi-methodological sociology and aims in particular to deconstruct spontaneous representations that characterize the surf universe. He is the author or co-author of The Surf Universe and Political Strategies in Aquitaine (L’Harmattan, 2006), Nature Sports: A Questioned Category of Public Policy (Éditions du Croquant, 2017). He directs two undergraduate programs and a master’s in coastal tourism in Les Sables d’Olonne, a satellite campus of the University of Angers.
Florian Lebreton is a socio-anthropologist, specialist in outdoor recreational and sports practices at ULCO (Université Littoral Côte d’Opale) and lecturer-researcher at INRENT (Institute of Research and Teaching in Tourism, Coastline and Heritage), affiliated with the ULYSSE Lab-network. He is also responsible for the Master’s in Tourism & Sport Leisure Management (MTLS-ULCO).
John Van Den Plas is an anthropologist (specialist in ethnographies of intercultural relations) in travel and leisure, and lecturer-researcher in Leisure and Tourism Management at EPHEC Business (Brussels), affiliated with the ULYSSE Lab-network.
He also works as a consultant for project analyses (tourism, NGOs, associations, etc.) and studies their relationships with local populations (mainly in Western Europe, North Africa, West Africa, and Cuba). He also coordinates the project of intercultural and alternative visits to Brussels “Zinneguides”.
Valentin Chenier is a skateboarder, PhD candidate in Sociology and Youth Studies at Tampere University (Finland), and President of the Niort Skate Association (France). He is currently working on a thesis exploring the relationship between the evolution of the skateboard scene in Morocco and the economic and cultural transformations of local territories, with particular attention to youth entrepreneurship.
Séverine Tancredi is a researcher within the ULYSSE Lab-network (HEPH-Condorcet), specialized in educational innovation and support for sustainable tourism projects. She develops creative learning tools (serious games, educational use of Minecraft, international virtual exchanges) and supervises students in collaborative projects related to tourism, heritage, and events.
She particularly contributes her expertise to training in building and promoting professional projects, helping young people structure their career paths and develop transversal skills.
PhD Students – Rapporteurs
