Kennesaw State University’s Museum of History and Holocaust Education has been awarded a $72,000 grant for an oral history project with a museum in Casablanca, Morocco.

The grant, from the American Association of Museums and the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, will allow Kennesaw’s museum and the Ben M’sik Community Museum in Casablanca to work together to foster greater understanding of the Muslim culture in Morocco. Kennesaw’s museum was one of only five in the United States to receive one of the grants.

In 2005, Kennesaw formed a partnership with Hassan II University in Casablanca and helped it expand the Ben M’sik museum, which is located in Casablanca’s poorest district.

“We firmly believe that this project of gathering oral histories in Morocco and U.S. will certainly promote global peace‚ mutual respect and understanding between both countries‚” Samir El Azhar‚ co-coordinator of the Ben M’sik museum and a professor of English and American Studies at Hassan II University said in a news release. “The exchange of information and histories will dispel stereotypes and misunderstanding and will promote values of trust and dialogue.”

The oral histories will be showcased through public programs by both museums. The museums will then collaborate on a joint exhibit. “This grant helps us reach into a community with whom we have not yet connected‚”  Catherine Lewis‚ associate professor of history at Kennesaw and director of the history and holocaust education museum, said in a news release. “The dialogue and faculty and student exchanges built into this grant will help us all be better citizens of the world.”

This is the latest in a series of international partnerships at Kennesaw, the third largest university in Georgia, with 21,000 students from 142 countries.

Last month, Kennesaw signed a partnership agreement with Ain Shams University in Cairo that will encourage student and faculty exchanges and joint research efforts. With more than 180,000 students, Ain Shams is among Egypt’s largest universities.

Kennesaw also has similar agreements in Egypt with Alexandria University, Helwan University and the Egyptian University Sports Federation.

For more information on the Museum of History and Holocaust Education, click here . For more information on the Ben M’sik Community Museum, click here .