An information meeting was held on Monday evening at the Carthage National Museum by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs in honour of the ambassadors and heads of diplomatic missions accredited to Tunisia, to present the new features in the application to include the Island of Djerba on UNESCO's World Heritage List. This diplomatic action is organised in support of the inscription file was attended by Minister of Cultural Affairs Hayet Ketat Guermazi, Minister of Tourism and Handicrafts Moez Belhassine and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Mounir Ben Rjiba. This diplomatic action in support of Djerba's application was held ahead of the Extended 45th Session of the World Heritage Committee, scheduled for September 10-25 in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). The application for the inscription of the site "Djerba: cultural landscape, testimony to a mode of occupation of an island territory" will be on the agenda of this session. After several initiatives launched in the 1970s, the application to include the island of Djerba on the World Heritage List was finally accepted by UNESCO at the beginning of March 2022. The application, submitted on February 1, 2022, was accepted after being assessed by the UN's Advisory Body on Cultural Heritage. Taking the floor, the Minister of Cultural Affairs said that measures had been taken in consultation with the various stakeholders to ensure that Djerba had every chance of being included on the World Heritage List. Tunisia will ensure the legal protection of all the components of the cultural site, Guermazi pointed out, adding that it undertakes to issue decisions for the protection of historic monuments in addition to the creation of protected areas for rural and exclusive gatherings, in accordance with the provisions set out in the Heritage Code. Tunisia ratified the 1972 Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1975, she recalled. The country boasts 8 world heritage sites, including 7 cultural sites and one natural site. The Ichkeul National Park has been listed since 1980. Lake Ichkeul is the last large freshwater lake in a chain that once stretched across North Africa. The listed cultural sites are the Medina of Tunis, the Site of Carthage and the Amphitheatre of El Jem (1979), the Site of Kerkouane (1986), the Medina of Sousse and the Medina of Kairouan (1988) and the Site of Dougga (1997).
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse