Signed by Minister of Tourism, Handicrafts and Social Economy, Fatim-Zahra Ammor and Director of the UNESCO office for the Maghreb, Eric Falt, this agreement aims to establish a sustainable system of skills transfer and transmission of know-how related to crafts, including those classified by the national inventory conducted by the Ministry with the support of UNESCO, as being in danger of disappearing.
Indeed, some knowledge and skills related to the Moroccan handicrafts are at risk of disappearing. The transmission remains the most effective solution to ensure the continuity of these skills and know-how.
The agreement signed provides on the one hand the encouragement of master craftsmen bearers of knowledge and unique ancestral skills, and who will be granted the title of Living Human Treasures, to share their knowledge and skills, and on the other hand the encouragement of young people to learn, rebuild and recreate this craft heritage, while offering a training program qualifying them.
In a statement to the press, Ammor said the purpose of this partnership is to address the concern of loss of know-how in the field of handicrafts because often the master craftsmen finish practicing their knowledge without having had time to transmit it to future generations.
For his part, Falt said he was proud of the signing of this new agreement on intangible heritage which is part of a meeting that brings together experts from around the world, highlighting the wealth of Morocco’s heritage estimated very important.
This agreement was signed during a ceremony held on the sidelines of the seventeenth session of the Intergovernmental Committee of UNESCO for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which the Kingdom hosts from November 28 to December 03.
