The new design is being put in place in Fès

Initiated from 03 to 08 June at the initiative of the Ministry of Crafts and the Agency for Partnership for Progress and the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the fourth national craft exhibition allows the discovery of the manual dexterity and creative spirit of some 70 ordinary artisans from the cities of Fès and Marrakech through carefully selected and skilfully crafted works. The national exhibition offers to see and appreciate a wide choice of items combining tradition and modernity ranging from simple art and decoration objects to simple traditional costumes and ordinary products. The exhibited items, including tapestry, basketry, embroidery, wrought iron, carved wood, jewellery, ceramics, and copper products as well as carpets, highlight the richness and specificity of national craft items and their strong cultural and civilisational charge as well as an ancestral know-how jealously preserved. In a statement to MAP, the Minister of Crafts indicated that this exhibition aimed to strengthen the artisans' sales revenues and select the best works of the artisans of Fès and Marrakech to satisfy the demand of national and international visitors while warning, in this context, against the phenomenon of unfair competition from "copied products" and imports from certain Asian countries. The minister also highlighted the efforts made by his department to improve the quality of the products exhibited through the supervision and accompaniment of artisans to implement new designs and new models, highlighting the partnership with the Ministries of Economy and Finance and Industry, Trade and New Technologies to establish standards applicable to national products in order to facilitate their certification. Initiated within the framework of the implementation of the "Promotion of mono-artisans and craft SMEs" project, which is part of the 'Crafts and Medina of Fès' project of the Millennium Challenge Account-Morocco programme, this exhibition also aims to promote and revalue local craft products and to allow artisans to sell their items and seek potential clients. During this edition, the Mohammed V boulevard in Fès will be invested with an exceptional craft exhibition in the image of the previous exhibitions organised in Marrakech in January, March, and April, which had together attracted more than 20,000 visitors. This fourth and penultimate national exhibition will be followed from 12 June 2013 by the Expo Artisan Salon in Marrakech, which will unveil the talent and know-how of the 300 best artisans and craft SMEs of Fès and Marrakech. The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has granted the Kingdom of Morocco a donation of 697.5 million US$ with the objective of fighting poverty and stimulating economic growth.

Provider / Source : MAP, Le Matin