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The weather is partly cloudy, getting gradually cloudy in the afternoon in north- and central-west regions with isolated and temporarily stormy rains expected locally in the east during the night.
The wind is blowing west relatively strong to strong near coasts and in the south with local sandstorms and moderate elsewhere.
The sea is rough to very choppy in the north and very choppy to locally rough elsewhere.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse
The Global Textile and Clothing Programme (GTEX-Tunisia) has just launched a call for applications for the selection of SMEs in the Textile and Clothing sector in Tunisia, which will enjoy exclusive support from the GTEX/MENATEX II programme (2024-2027).
To be selected, small and medium-sized enterprises should meet the following criteria, i.e. be
-An industrial company based in Tunisia and employing fewer than 500 people;
-Exporting or ready to export to international markets;
-Committed to sustainable development.
Companies can submit their applications online via the link below:
https://surveys.intracen.org/…/G2tIYnNeTwUCZlJxXlV4S0d5cHY
According to the programme, this is an opportunity for companies to grow globally while contributing to a more sustainable future. The deadline for companies to apply is March 24, 2024.
The GTEX/MENATEX-Tunisia project is the result of a partnership between the Tunisian Government, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the Swedish Internation
al Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), as donors, which have provided the funds needed to implement the project, and the UN International Trade Centre (ITC) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO), as the agency in charge of implementing the project.
The Global Programme for Textiles and Clothing (GTEX/MENATEX) in Tunisia aims to step up export competitiveness in the textile and clothing industry. The envisaged impact of the project is to increase employment and income along the Textile and Clothing (T and C) value chain in the country.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse
Tunisia is hosting the first Maghreb Influencers Congress on May 10-11, with a ceremony to award the prizes for the first Maghreb Competition in this field.
The Steering Committee of the Influencers International Academy (IIA) and its representatives in Tunisia, the Maghreb and the Middle East, announced on March 7 at a press conference in Tunis, that a Maghreb Competition has been launched with a TND 100,000 award for the winner from the Maghreb region.
Tunisia will host this first Congress under the slogan “Content creation and influence in the era of artificial intelligence,” which will be crowned by an awards ceremony for influencers, communicators, journalists and content creators from the Maghreb region in a number of economic, social and technological specialities and sectors.
IIA General Coordinator Wajdi Trabelsi announced at the press conference the launch of an ambitious training programme in a number of technical and professional specialities related to content creation and public influence, co
inciding with the opening of IIA offices in the North African and Middle East regions.
In the era of artificial intelligence, the global content industry and the tools of digital influence are undergoing major and unprecedented transformations.
This first congress, attended by experts, actors, innovators and start-ups, aims to explore and debate the major challenges and exciting opportunities arising from new technologies, artificial intelligence tools and algorithms, and their future use in the media, communications, research and marketing.
During the gathering in Tunisia of opinion leaders, content creators and professionals from the Maghreb region, plenary sessions and workshops will be organised for in-depth discussion on the latest trends in the world and how to improve the uses of artificial intelligence in an ethical and effective manner.
The event will also feature exhibition stands showcasing innovative technologies, products and techniques from the AI ecosystem.
The congress offer the opportuni
ty to interact with emerging companies and strategic partners, create a network of relationships and a platform for communication, training and exchange between the various stakeholders.
A large-scale media and multi-support campaign has been undertaken in the Maghreb countries to launch the first Maghreb Competition for influencers, media professionals and content creators.
Partnerships and cooperation agreements have been established with leading television channels, radio stations and media outlets in the region to ensure joint mobilisation and awareness-raising, while a group of NGOs, companies and innovative brands will support the competition, its prizes and capacity-building initiatives.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse
Despite the wide and varied roles played by women in fisheries, their contributions to the sector are often not captured in official statistics and can therefore go unrecognised, reinforcing existing gender inequalities and potentially leading to inadvertent discrimination, according to a recent study prepared by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).
Titled “Women in fisheries in the Mediterranean and Black Sea region: roles, challenges and opportunities,” this study covers five countries: Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Albania and Georgia, countries “identified as those with limited published information on this topic and thus best positioned to potentially benefit from additional research on women’s participation
in fisheries and to fill gaps in overall regional understanding.
The study reveals that “women play active roles throughout the fisheries value chain in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, including particip
ating in pre-harvest activities like vessel and gear construction and maintenance, harvest activities both on board fishing vessels and from shore, and post-harvest activities such as sorting, cleaning, processing and marketing the catch, as well as in activities associated with running the fishing business, such as bookkeeping.”
Furthermore, women are actively engaged throughout the region in fisheries research and fisheries administrations.
According to the interviews carried out in Tunisia, “many women work from their home in the design and reassembly of fishing nets. In some regions of Tunisia, there are women who perform coastal fishing, from the shore (e.g. as gleaners or
clam collectors) or on boats, sometimes with their husbands and other times on their own.There are also examples of women taking over for their husbands to perform vessel-based fishing activities in case their husbands fall ill or are
no longer able to fish.
“Also in Tunisia, women commonly work as manual workers in the processing
of tuna and sardines and many women work in fisheries related research and fisheries monitoring roles.”
“In Tunisia, in recent years, more and more women are taking on prominent positions as regional managers and fisheries wardens, or at research institutes,” the study points out.
the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean estimates the number of artisanal fishermen in Tunisia at 35,450, accounting for around 70% of the workforce in the fishing sector. Updated statistics on the number of women in the sector are still lacking.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse
The weather on Sunday night is sometime very cloudy with scattered and temporarily stormy rains expected in the north.
The wind is blowing west relatively strong near coasts, on heights and in the south, light to moderate elsewhere.
Highs range between 7°C and 11°C in the north and on heights and between 13°C and 18°C elsewhere.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse
2024 will be the first day of the month of Ramadan in the year 1445 of the Hegira, the Mufti of the Republic, Sheikh Hichem Ben Mahmoud, announced in a TV address on Watania 1 channel on Sunday evening.
On this occasion, the high religious authority sent his best wishes to the President of the Republic and to all Tunisians and Muslims throughout the world for the start of the holy month.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse
Ramadan should not be an opportunity for monopolies and price hikes,” stressed President Kais Saied as he addressed the Tunisian people on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan in a speech delivered on Sunday evening from the Zitouna mosque.
The President called for a reduction in prices, a boycott of those who seek to speculate and monopolise, and help for the needy.
He recalled the importance of fasting during the month of Ramadan, when the Holy Quran was revealed, noting that fasting is not only abstaining from food and drink, but also adhering to the goals of Islam by ensuring that behaviour and good deeds are upright.
“He who does not forbid speaking and doing falsely, God has no need to forbid his eating and drinking,” he said, adding, “O you who have believed, it is decreed for you to fast, as it was decreed for those before you, that you may become righteous. (Verse 183 of Surat Al-Baqarah).
The essence of Islam is based on the concept of righteousness, “and righteousness has many meanings, in
cluding refraining from sins, suspicions and excessive appetites,” he said.
The President quoted the words of God Almighty: “But whoever fears the position of his Lord and forbids the soul from indulgence, Paradise is the abode of the soul” (al-Nazu’at 40/41).
He quoted the words of Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As when he was asked about Jihad and he replied, “Begin with yourself and strive for it, and begin with yourself and conquer it,” for this month, glorified by Allah, is the month of self-struggle and self-purification.
He concluded by praying “to Allah to accept our fasting and prayers and pray to the Almighty to grant our brothers in Palestine and us and them victory against the usurping Zionists until the liberation of all of Palestine and the establishment of their independent state with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, the first of the two Qiblahs and the third of the Two Holy Mosques, and for the whole nation to unite around a common word to put an end to this crime and the war of annihilation and
starvation.»
He added: “Only on Saturday, dozens died of hunger and thirst in front of the eyes of the world, along with those who were martyred or injured by the barbaric shelling everywhere. God, O Lord, give them a clear victory, and if God gives you victory, there will be no victor for you”.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Migration and Tunisians Abroad on Sunday called on the Canadian authorities to “act with the necessary speed and within the framework of respect for human rights and the law to establish responsibility for the death of Tunisian citizen Marwan Chouk at the hands of two Canadian policemen last Sunday, March 3, 2024,” describing the incident as “tragic”.
According to a statement by the ministry, Marwan Chouk died at the hands of two Canadian policemen in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, and initial unconfirmed information indicates that he was not in a dangerous position to be shot seven times by the two policemen.
The Ministry expressed its condolences to the family of the deceased and reiterated its commitment to continue working to establish the truth and defend the rights of the deceased, noting that efforts are underway to repatriate his body as soon as possible.
According to the Ministry, its central services are in constant contact with the diplomatic and consular missions in
Canada and the Canadian Embassy in Tunis in order to follow this incident closely and to intensify contacts with the Canadian Foreign Ministry, the authorities of the province of Ontario and the Oakville police in order to quickly establish all the circumstances, uncover all the relevant facts and assign administrative and penal responsibilities swiftly and without delay.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse
President Kais Saied and the Presidents of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, and the Arab Republic of Egypt, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, held phone calls on Sunday evening during which they exchanged congratulations on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, the Presidency of the Republic announced in separate statements.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse
Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti has challenged women to seek elective posts instead of waiting to be nominated by political parties.
Wavinya said women should not shy away from politics and must present themselves to be elected and fight it out with their male counterparts in general elections.
‘Women should not fear to present themselves for elective positions, they should not expect anything to be given to them on a silver platter,’ Governor Wavinya said.
She noted that although Kenya’s political scene is marred by misogyny and insults, women should develop a thick skin for them to be elected as leaders.
‘When seeking political seats women face a lot of challenges including threats, insults, and sometimes violence but these should not discourage us,’ added Wavinya.
She observed that the electorate’s confidence in women’s leadership has increased over the last ten years due to their transformative agenda.
‘With the advent of devolution in 2013 no woman governor was elected, however in 2017 three women
were elected and the number increased to seven in the 2022 General Election an indication that the electorate is embracing women leaders,’ added the governor.
She noted that Kenya was lagging behind in terms of women’s leadership in East Africa and underscored the need to bridge the gender gap.
She spoke at Mavoko subcounty headquarters Saturday when she handed bursary cheques to women nominated Members of the County Assembly (MCAs).
Source: Kenya News Agency