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Historian wants UNESCO to consider Moroccan ceramic skills as intangible cultural heritage

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A historian and curator at a national museum in Morocco, Said Chemsi said the Moroccan government hopes to submit an application to the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to consider the ceramic skills of the city Safi as an intangible cultural heritage at some point in the future.

Safi was the site of Operation Blackstone, one of the landing sites for Operation Torch during the Second World War. The beautiful city of Safi is in western Morocco on the Atlantic Ocean in the capital of Asfi Province.

“…contributes to the marketing of ceramic products internationally. That prompted the Ministry of Culture to prepare a file in order to classify the ceramic skills of Safi as an intangible heritage on the UNESCO list,” says Chemsi.

A potter based in the city, known for its colourful ceramics, Mohamed Sentil Rbati has said the geology around the city gives it an edge advantage and access to plenty of raw materials.

Rbati was quoted in a report on africannews.com that “the clay of the city of Safi is famous worldwide thanks to the raw materials that we have here, and this makes it an easy material to knead, and when we work on it, it is very flexible, and this material is available in the city of Safi and it is easy to obtain.”

Rbati has worked as a potter since 1972, in a small workshop where his grandparents worked for nine generations. Many artisans like Rbati shun modern techniques and technology in favour of traditional methods.

“We, as potters in Safi, are proud because we still adhere to the traditional and simple ways of working and this method we inherited from our ancestors, and despite the fact that we are in the era of technology, but people always encourage these traditional ways of working, whether in the matter of kneading clay or mixing colours,” Rbati said.

Although the city has chemical (phosphate-based) and food-processing industries located nearby to the south, it is best known for its pottery.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and the governorate of Marrakesh-Safi signed an agreement in 2018 that was designed to improve the business climate and bolster the competitiveness of local enterprises, part of an effort to create jobs and drive economic growth in the region.

Culture

Trevor Noah set for ‘Off the Record’ world tour

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South African comedian and talk show host, Trevor Noah, has announced a date for his “Off The Record” global tour where he hopes to spread humour and bring his social commentary to audiences across the globe.

The former host of “The Daily Show”, who made the disclosure on his social media pages, said he would kick off his tour on July 29 in Europe.

The multi-award winning comedian known for his insightful commentary, took to his social media platforms on Thursday to share the news of his upcoming international tour.

“Love that we were able to add some US & Canada shows for 2024! See… there’s still a chance for us CA, NJ, CT & Ontario!” he wrote.

According to the itinerary he put up, the tour is set to kick off in countries like Monaco in France, Germany, the United States, Canada, The Netherlands, New Zealand and Australia, bringing his captivating comedic style to audiences across the country.

Noah’s announcement of the “Off the Record” tour was met with enthusiastic responses from his devoted followers, who took to social media to express their joy and anticipation.

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UNESCO removes Senegal’s Niokolo-Koba National Park from list of World Heritage sites in danger

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The United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has removed
Senegal’s Niokolo-Koba National Park from the list of World Heritage sites in Danger after citing positive results achieved by the West African country and its formal commitment to reappraise plans to the development of the property.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee, which took the decision during its meeting in New Delhi, India, made the announcement on Wednesday July 24, saying it was satisfied with measures taken by the country to allocate considerable resources to the surveillance of the park in order to combat poaching and illegal gold panning.

The park, which is located in a lush area along the banks of the Gambia River, was included in the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2007 as poaching, basalt mining and other human activities were becoming growing threats.

The gallery forests and savannahs of Niokolo-Koba are home to a rich wildlife, including the world’s largest antelopes.

According to UNESCO, since then, monitoring of emblematic species has been stepped up and considerable resources have been allocated to the surveillance of the park in order to combat poaching and illegal gold panning, as well as to better organize the transhumance of livestock.

The body also commended the setting up of a mine pollution control system, and hailed Senegal for work that has been carried out to improve the fight against the invasive species Mimosa pigra.

The World Heritage Committee called on Senegal to continue its efforts in the coming years in so as to improve the National Park which became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1981.

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