Assahafa.com
The activities of the Moroccan Handicrafts Training Week, organized by the Bayt Mal Al-Qods Acharif Agency with the participation of 38 artisans and young people from the Holy City, were concluded on Thursday.
On this occasion, the Agency’s Managing Director, Mohamed Salem Cherkaoui, presented certificates of participation to the beneficiaries of this initiative during a ceremony held at the Al-Aliyah Foundation for Science, Environment and Arts in Al-Qods, in the presence of academic and community figures, as well as representatives of institutions in the Holy City.
Launched as part of the program “Local Citizen Initiatives for Human Development in Al-Qods,” initiated by the Bayt Mal Al-Qods Acharif Agency, this training week was supervised by a select group of Moroccan artisans specialized in weaving, wood carving, and copper and silver craftsmanship.
These artisans shared their accumulated expertise and experience with their counterparts from Al-Qods through practical workshops, fostering the exchange of skills and know-how in an interactive professional spirit that strengthens cooperation and openness to successful experiences.
The program included intensive practical training sessions and theoretical classes focused on improving the quality of handicraft products and innovation in design, with a view to enabling participants to transform their skills into sustainable productive projects.
In a speech delivered on the occasion, Cherkaoui stressed that this training week falls within the framework of the Agency’s vision, in accordance with the High Instructions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Chairman of the Al-Qods Committee, aimed at the economic empowerment of artisans of Al-Qods and the preservation of the cultural and heritage identity of the Holy City.
He added that investing in traditional crafts is not limited to their cultural dimension, but also constitutes a genuine lever for human development, social stability, and job creation, particularly in light of the economic challenges facing Al-Qods.
For her part, the Director of the Al-Aliyah Foundation for Science, Environment and Arts in Al-Qods, Samar Qirch, indicated that the foundation hosted this training program with the participation of three Moroccan artisans specialized in weaving, wood carving, and copper and silver craftsmanship, within the framework of a partnership aimed at reviving shared traditional crafts.
These crafts, deeply rooted in Moroccan and Palestinian heritage, have experienced a decline in the Palestinian handicrafts market due to the difficult conditions faced by the Holy City. Hence, the Foundation’s efforts to relaunch them through the organization of training workshops targeting various categories of youth and interested individuals. She noted that the program aims to equip participants with strengthened technical and artistic skills and to better prepare them to launch their own income-generating sustainable projects, thereby contributing to consolidating their economic resilience and attachment to their cultural heritage.
For his part, Mohammed Qissi, a beneficiary of the program, described this training week as a rich and fruitful experience, noting that participants were introduced to the fundamentals of the crafts by artisans with extensive practical experience, while also being given the opportunity to apply their knowledge to several wooden pieces during the sessions. This strengthened their confidence and allowed them to test their skills in a professional setting.
The program aims to train a core group of students and interested individuals who will in turn transmit this know-how to other learners, thereby broadening the circle of beneficiaries and revitalizing these traditional crafts within society in the Holy City.
As for Karmel Salah, she stated that she joined the wood-carving workshop with the aim of strengthening her artistic expertise. As a visual artist specialized in art therapy, she seeks to explore new tools and techniques capable of enriching her professional path.
She expressed her ambition to transmit the acquired skills to her students, considering that handicrafts, including wood carving, can generate greater interest among students and stimulate their creativity through non-conventional approaches, opening new horizons for artistic and professional expression.
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