Berber Academy is primarily associated with
Algerian activist
Mohand Arav Bessaoud, who formed the group with a small group of "Kabyle luminaries from the worlds of scholarships, arts, and politics," including
Ramdane Haifi,
Mouloud Mammeri, Mohand Saïd Hanouz, and singer
Taos Amrouche, who hosted their first meeting in her home in Paris. The association faced internal disagreement as to whether to have an intellectual or grassroots activist focus. This served as a turning point for Berber diaspora culture in France, as well as for the Berberist movement outside of it.
Imazighen and other publications were distributed by the association to thousands of Kabylian coffeehouses throughout Paris, and they were further circulated by readers in Algeria and
Morocco. Though
Imazighen was viewed by many as overly radical, it was generally very positively received by Berber communities, with thousands of letters of support being sent from Algeria and Morocco.
Imazighen ran for thirty issues. Berber Academy was dissolved in 1976, largely due to lack of finances. ==Neo-Tifinagh==