3rd international El Jem mosaics festival aims at patenting local mosaic, fostering its business potential
Tunis , April 17, 2008 (TunisiaOnline) --The third El Jem international mosaics festival which will take place from April 23 to 26, 2008 at the town's Roman Theatre, will gather experts, academics, students and Tunisian and foreign businessmen involved in the sector.
The dual economic and cultural dimensions of the event, will comprise both a sale exhibit of mosaics made by Tunisian craftsmen, a display of antique mosaics as well as experimental workshops led by Tunisian, Italian and Portuguese experts craftsmen.
An international symposium will also be organised to discuss the historical origins of the mosaic in the world, the economic perspectives of the sector, and the promotion of an international business network in the sector.
It is worth noting that El Jem , whose Roman name was Thysdrus, employs some 500 craftsmen and hosts 30 enterprises, some of which are totally geared for exports towards Italy , France , Belgium , the Netherlands and Germany . The volume of exports in the region has reached 2,700 000 thousand dinars.
Last but not least, plans are afoot to patent the El Jem mosaic with the world organisation of intellectual property, thus protecting its label and quality throughout the world.
Most of the best preserved 2 nd and 3 rd centuries mosaics found in Tunisia and which are currently on display at le Bardo Museum, were found at Thysdrus.
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