- 13/07/2010 - Tastes from Mediterranean Basin at the Italia Wave Festival in Livorno

At the Institutional Stand of the Province of Livorno, there will be a dedicated corner with the traditional handicraft products coming from the cities partner of the Programme.

- 28/05/2010 - Terra Futura - Traditional Product of Med Cooperation in Florence

Terra Futura is a fair-meeting organized in a exhibition area, getting bigger and more articulate every year, and in a very high level program of cultural initiatives, meetings, seminars, workshop; and also laboratories and shows.

Among the fundamental tasks of Terra Futura:
•  Experience and expansion of the “good practices” of social, economic and environmental sustainability already existing and experimented, to foster the virtuous change of the system.
•  Encourage new politics and programs, devise new models and projects, for lifestyles, government and enterprises more respectful of people and environment.
•  Encourage dialogue between institutions, ethically oriented enterprises, non profit organizations, researchers and citizens, so that sustainable development culture and spreading of good practices will act by good “contamination” at every level.
•  Stimulate creation of new networks and synergies, to promote and enforce exchanges between workers of the field and ethic consumers.
•  Awaken young generations, citizens and families to the items of sustainability and new lifestyles, to undertake more responsible behaviours.

Visit the photogallery to see the pictures.

- 15/05/2010 - Presentation of the Med Cooperation Programme at Medoliva Exhibition

15th of May at 12.30 a.m. - Centro Fiere e Congressi of Arezzo

Participants:

Ms. Maria Dina Tozzi - Tuscan Regional Authority
Mr. Andrea Merli - Med Cooperation Programme
Mr. Nihad Shaikha - Representative of the Municipality of Tulkarem
Mr Daniel Arama - Representative of the Municipality of  Akko

Visit the photogallery on this website to see the pictures of the event.

- 04/05/2010 - Med Oliva - From 14 to 17 of May 2010 - Arezzo

MedOliva embodies the perfect chance for those firms working in the Mediterranean basin to present themselves and the high quality of their products. They grow out of a small reality, which is, at the same time, rich in tradition, culture and passion. Each style is different, but the high quality is the same. This feature puts all these realities together in a sort of club, created right for this event and joined by Italy, Spain, Greece, France, Croatia, Palestine, Israel and many others.

More information: www.medoliva.it

- 25/01/2010 - Steering Committee meeting of the Med Cooperation network - Florence, Italy - 2010

On the 25th January 2010, political representarives from the Israeli (Haifa, Akko, Taybeh) and Palestinian (Nablus and Jericho) Municipalities partners of Med Cooperation Programme met their Tuscan partners in Florence at the Presidency of the Regional Authority. This meeting was the occasion to stress their commitment and their active participation to the network and their willingness to continue the path toward a lasting peace in the Middle East through the promotion of the common artistic cultural heritage and of the local productions, and in order to increase the Tourism Value in the country

- 05/04/2009 - "A possible journey". Presentation of the Med Cooperation tourist guides

New tourist guides have been officially released in Jerusalem on Sunday 5th April and Monday 6th in Nablus with the partecipation of the Mayor of Geriko and Mayor of Tulkarem. The guides are dedicated to 3 Palestinian municipalities (Geriko, Nablus and Tulkarem) and 3 Israeli municipalities (Akko, Haifa and Taybeh) in the framework of Med Cooperation network, in order to promote peace, dialogue and development in the Middle East

Structure of guides:
The guides consist of six booklets (one per city). They all come with a map to help the tourists find their way in the maze of streets and alleys of these cities.

The guides will be distributed in a jewel-box containing the six booklets to help the reader/traveller follow the trail of the “Northern Holy Land Cultural Heritage Way” and as separate booklets (one per city) thus helping the occasional traveller discover the beauty of this or that city. The guides have been written in Italian and have been translated and published into English.

The authors
Andrea Semplici is a journalist who wrote hundreds of pages about the history of the Holy Land in the period of the first Arab-Israeli war. He wrote other travel related books about challenging areas of the world.
Mario Boccia Is a photojournalist specialized in reportage work with a social and international current affairs focus

Themes:
The authors paid particular attention to the artistic, architectural and cultural heritage of the six cities as well as to the local and traditional productions in addition to the tourist facilities. The aim is to help the curious tourist in the Holy Land go off the beaten track in order to discover the hidden beauties of this special region.

- 04/12/2007 - Routes through colours and tastes of Middle Eastern land: Israel and Palestine. Middle East handicraft exhibition from Israel and Palestine. December 9-16 2007, S. Domenico Cloister, Corso Silvano Fedi, Pistoia.

From December 9th to December 16th 2007, from 9am to 1pm and from 3pm to 7pm, an exhibition  of typical  handicraft products coming from Taybeh ( Israel) and Tulkarem ( Palestine) will take place in Pistoia.
The event is promoted by the Province of Pistoia and it is related to Medcooperation Programme.
The initiative is part of a project aiming at:
• Increase local community awareness about the potential of the traditional and historical heritage;
• Promote and enhance typical products and, through this sensitize public about Israel and Palestine situation;
• Make people know about the great value of those lands and current interventions to promote them;
• Support local economy through the exposition and sell of the traditional products.

Partners of this project are: Province of Pistoia, Medina Association, Co.opera Consortium (Cospe, Medina, Ucodep), Municipality of Taybeh, Municipality of Tulkarem, Jenin Governorship and Municipality of Ya’bad.

 

- 03/12/2007 - Mission of the Provincial Authority of Arezzo to the Middle East

From the 3rd to the 07th December 2007 the Province of Arezzo Executive Councillor for Agriculture, Fishing and Hunting Mr Roberto Vasai and the expert in local productions Ms Maria D’Errico were in the Middle East in order to ensure the continuity of the action aiming at the territorial surveying of the territories of the six partner municipalities started in June 2006.

After the training course held in Arezzo last May 2007 attended by four experts coming from Israel and Palestine, the visit of the Provincial Authority of Arezzo gave the possibility to further develop the work in the field of territorial marketing and promotion of local productions and confirmed the interest of the Province of Arezzo to continue the cooperation inside Med Cooperation network.

 

- 12/11/2007 - Participation to the World Travel Market of London

From the 12th to the 15h of November, 2007 representatives from Tuscan and Middle Eastern partners of Med Cooperation network will be attending the World Travel Market, one of the most important international fairs on tourism, held yearly in London, with a booth dedicated to the Northern Holy Land Cultural Heritage Way.

A video will show the main tourist sites as individuated by the two journalists who visited last summer Tulkarem, Taybeh, Nablus, Haifa, Akko and Jericho in order to write a tourist guide, and a brochure will explain the contents of the guide itself. The new logo restyled for tourist purposes will also appear for the first time.

The participation to seminars focused on tourism and its importance for the promotion of mutual understanding between civilizations, cultures and religions and on responsible tourism will facilitate the valorisation on the international scene of the route linking together the six cities partners of the programme and its potentialities.

The Mayor of Haifa and the Mayor of Jericho on the behalf of all the partners, together with the Tuscan Regional Councillor for International Cooperation Mr. Massimo Toschi will present the Med Cooperation programme and the Northern Holy Land Heritage Way during a Press Conference to be held on the 14th November, 2007 at 3pm at the Residence of the Italian Ambassador in London. An intervention by one of the journalists who are in charge of the guide is also foreseen in order to show the books that will soon be published.

- 01/08/2007 - Mission of the Regional Authority of Tuscany to the Middle East

From the 1st to the 9th of August, 2007 Andrea Cioncolini from the Regional Authority of Tuscany was in the Middle East where he met the Israeli and Palestinian partners. The purpose of his visit was the description of the activities under way of implementation, that is, the preparation of a tourist guide and the participation to the World Tourist Market, an international fair on tourism which will be held in London from the 12th to the 15th November 2007.

The contribution of each partner for the success of the guide and any suggestion for the setting up of the booth at the fair are more than welcome and the Regional Authority of Tuscany was there to strongly reaffirm the importance of being a network.

The partners too confirmed their willingness to reinforce the existing partnership and work together for the promotion and valorisation of the Northern Holy Land Cultural Heritage Way through the guide and the participation to international fairs.

- 25/07/2007 - Mission for the elaboration of a tourist guide of the Northern Holy Land Cultural Heritage Way

From the 31st of July to the 20th of September, 2007 one Italian journalist and one Italian photographer will be following the path of the Northern Holy Land Cultural Heritage Way in order to collect the material for the elaboration of a tourist guide of the 6 cities and their territories to be afterwards published in English.

Briefly, this is the programme of their stay:
- Tulkarem, from the 25th to the 31st of July. The scheduled visits consist of: City centre, Irtah, Barqawi castle, Kur, honey, pottery, pickles and yoghurt factories;
- Taybeh, from the 1st to the 6th of August. The scheduled visits consist of City centre, ottoman houses, mamluke tower, local productions, countryside, muslim shrines, wedding party;
- Nablus, from the 14th to the 21st of August. The scheduled visits consist of Old City, historic sites, country side;
- Haifa, from the 23rd to the 30th of August. The scheduled visits consist of Bahai gardens, German colony, Wadi Nis Nas, Wadi Saleeb, Carmelim;
- Akko, from the 1st to the 7th of September. The scheduled visits consist of Crusaders’ castle, old city, khans, harbors, Bahai gardens, new city and surrounding areas, market;
- Jericho, from the 9th to the 16th of September. The scheduled visits consist of Qasr Hisham, Deir quruntul, tell al Sultan, surrounding areas, dead sea, wadi qelt, botanic gardens.

With the support of the local partners, they are discovering Tulkarem, Taybeh, Nablus, Haifa, Akko and Jericho and their surroundings, paying particular attention to the artistic, architectonic and cultural heritage, to the local productions and to the tourist facilities. Thanks to the job done during their stay, a complete picture of the Northern Holy Land Cultural Heritage Way will be soon at the disposal of all tourists.

- 12/06/2007 - Training course on conservation and rehabilitation techniques

From the 3^rd to the 30^th June a training course on conservation and rehabilitation techniques will be held in the town of Arezzo. The six participants, coming from the six partner municipalities of Med Cooperation programme, are all experienced professionals working in the field of construction and conservation of historic buildings.

The course is jointly organized by Co.Opera and the “Scuola Europea dei Mestieri” (European School of Crafts) through funding of the Municipality of Arezzo, Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze Foundation, Coingas and the Regional Authority of Tuscany.

 

The aim of the course is to provide the participants with further knowledge, expertise and skills in the field of conservation so that they can reproduce in their cities the experience of Tuscany in this sector and contribute to improve their working environment by sharing the newly acquired competences.

 

The objectives of the training course are as follows:

 

o         Provide an overview of the social and cultural context that has shaped Italian historical and artistic heritage;

o         Deepen the concept of conservation and basic and necessary knowledge with regard to material and traditional techniques;

o         Raise awareness on modern methodologies, instruments and material for architectural and artistic conservation;

o         Use of some executive techniques, material and instruments both for construction of structural elements as well as conservation of surfaces.

 

The topics covered during the course will range from theoretical classes on history of art and architecture, to working sites management, to practical sessions on construction and conservation techniques. Visits to yards and historic cities in Tuscany and other regions of Italy are a significant component of the course.

 

Good luck to Basim, Haitham, Kaied, Rama, Waleed and Yossi!

Keep up with the good work!

 

- 28/05/2007 - Training course for consultants on traditional products

From the 28^th of May to the 1^st of June, 2007 a training course will be held in Arezzo for 4 participants coming from 4 out of the 6 partner municipalities of Med Cooperation network. The course, jointly organised by the Provincial Authority of Arezzo and Livorno, is focused on territorial marketing to be implemented through the valorisation and promotion of the local traditional products.

 

The classes will provide the participants with the proper tools to implement an area survey of the traditional Palestinian and Israeli local products. The topics covered during the lessons are the following: rural development, rural mobilization, establishment of consortia as natural step during the valorisation process of foodstuff and handcraft products, communication and promotion projects, definition of traditional product, link between product and territory, establishment of synergies with the other territorial components.

 

Beside this component, visits to farms and to one Consortium head offices are foreseen in order to make the participants see for themselves the results of the work they will carry on once back home, accordingly to the Tuscan experience and achievements.

- 14/04/2007 - Assessment mission in Israel and Palestine in preparation of a course on conservation techniques

From April 14-21, 2007 Riccardo Stolzuoli (architect) and Tommaso Sensini (conservationist) visited the three Israeli cities and the three Palestinian cities of the Medcooperation network.

The objectives of the mission of the Director and deputy Director of the “Scuola Europea dei Mestieri” (European School of crafts) were as follows:

-          to present the one-month training course on conservation techniques and methodologies sponsored by the municipality of Arezzo in the month of June;

-          to identify six participants to the course;

-          to introduce the Scuola Europea dei Mestieri to the six cities and assess possibilities of future collaboration;

-          to gain and improve the knowledge on conservation in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The mission was warmly received by the six partner cities which view with favour any type of future collaboration in the field of conservation.

During their visit Mr Stolzuoli and Mr Sensini visited monuments, artworks and historic buildings and gained a deeper knowledge on local conservation techniques and methodologies.

- 05/04/2007 - Exhibition of traditional products

On April 5-6 2007, Jericho organized an exhibition of local products, from the three Palestinian cites involved in the MedCooperation program--Jericho, Tulkarem, Nablus. The Exhibition opening was attended by the Governor of Jericho Sami Musallam, the Mayor of Jericho Hasan Abu Saleh, and Saeb Erekat of the Palestinian Authority Negotiations Unit.

 

Many organizations from Jericho took part in the Exhibition, where they displayed a range of products, including agricultural produce, silver handicrafts, paintings, embroidered ethnic dresses, mosaic works and homemade foods.

The exhibition attracted the local population and the attention of national media.

- 08/03/2007 - Final workshop in Nablus

On the 8^th of March the participants and teachers of the training courses as well as the local coordinators from the three Palestinian cities convened in Nablus for the final workshop that marked the end of the training courses and the final event of the EU component of the Medcooperation project.

The final workshop proved to be an important and fruitful moment as the participants were able to meet one another and thus they discussed and shared the knowledge and experiences acquired on the topics dealt with during the courses (local products, promotion of tourism, tourism infrastructures and service). Each one of the three cities had prepared a presentation on their accomplishments and many ideas and proposals were provided on improvement of production and tourism services.

A debate followed and many contributed suggestions for future stages of the project, in particular the participants asked for more technical courses on the topics of conservation and identification of local products.

The day ended with the ceremony of distribution of the certificates of attendance for the cities of Tulkarem and Nablus.

 

- 06/02/2007 - Conclusion of the training course in Jericho

- 30/01/2007 - Opening of the International Conference in Eilat on Tourism, International Relations and Peace Initiatives

- 15/01/2007 - Steering Committee meeting of Med Cooperation network

- 01/01/2007 - Seminars for young people in Jericho January

20 young men and women took part during the months of January and February in seminars on different topics ranging from mosaic techniques to local products and to environmental tourism. The participants met with local producers and association, visited historic sites such as Hisham Palace and Tulul Abu Alayq and went on an information tour to Wadi Qelt with, Wildlife Palestine, a Palestinian association that promotes ecotourism. 

The young participants provided useful suggestions to improve the state of tourism in the city of Jericho and its surrounding areas.

- 19/12/2006 - Special Akko Food & Craft Fair in the Old City of Akko

The Fair took place from the 17th to the 19th December, 2006 and was composed of four elements: exhibition and sale of local products, workshops, tours and competitions. The city of Taibeh joined Akko in exhibiting at the Fair.

 

Most of the products were displayed in specially renovated and adapted spaces within the Old City Turkish Bazaar.

 

Artisans were there to provide explanations and demonstrations of the renewed traditional crafts, including artistic copper hammering, glass blowing, ceramic making, leather working, basket weaving, artistic embroidery and beading. Besides, workshops on belly-dance, theatre for children and young and story-telling were given three times a day.

 

“In the Footsteps of Napoleon”, “Jewish Akko” and “In the Footsteps of Daher Al Umar” were the new routes developed by the participants to the tourism courses organised in the framework of Med Cooperation programme that the visitors could enjoy together with the classical archaeological tours of the area.

 

Three competitions stimulated visitors to capture the spirit of the Fair utilising three different means: photography - for adults; short-stories - for teen-agers; and drawing - for children.

 

Participants from Akko, who took part in the different activities of Tuscany-led Med Cooperation programme, played an active role in the Fair. Among them a couple of Jewish-Arab students who spent 10 days in a camp in Tuscany made a special, uniquely personal presentation of their city.

This Fair surely represented one of the culminant moments of the programme.
Some photographic documentation can be found at the following address: www.medcooperation.org/photogallery22.html

- 23/11/2006 - Conclusion of the Summer Camps in Tuscany

On November the 23rd, the 19 Israeli and Palestinian students and the 3 tutors who participated to the Summer Camps held in Tuscany in the framework of the Med Cooperation programme came back to their own cities, in tears, but willing to keep in contact with the rest of the group and, why not, meet it again once back home.

A united and cohesive group was formed since the beginning, also thanks to the activities of socialization linked to the ludic sphere implemented during the first days, aiming at facilitating the reciprocal exchange among the different protagonists of this adventure.

The meeting with students in the same age coming from three different Italian schools, artistic workshops, visits to olive mills, farms and to the monuments of the main cities that hosted them are only some of the most characterizing moments of this initiative that was able to join together topics such as peace and dialogue with subjects like the valorisation of the artistic and cultural heritage and the promotion of the local productions.

A forum will soon be implemented in order to create a “virtual place” where they can exchange ideas and suggestions or simply keep in touch, in order not to forget the pleasant time they spent all together in Tuscany.

On November the 23rd the students left Tuscany, but this experience will continue in their countries, especially as a consequence of the strong determination they showed during their stay.

- 13/11/2006 - Opening of the Summer Camps in Tuscany

Today was held in Arezzo the opening of the Summer Camps foreseen by Med Cooperation programme. The opening was attended by the mayor of Arezzo - Mr. Fanfani, the minister of EC policies of the municipality of Arezzo - Mr. Caporali, Ms. Ceccarelli representing the Provincial Authority of Arezzo, Mr. Cioncolini representing the Regional Authority of Tuscany and Mr. Tricoli representing the Municpality of Siena.

19 Middle Eastern students and 3 tutors coming from the municipalities of Akko, Haifa, Taybeh, Nablus and Jericho will be hosted in Tuscany until 23 November to implement activities in the towns of Arezzo, Fiesole, Pistoia, Siena and Florence.

Activities will be divided in different components to reach the goals forseen by the Programme. In particular the following subjects will be treated: i) Team Building; ii) Problem Solving; iii) Conflict resolution; iv) Valorisation and promotion of Cultural Heritage and local traditional productions. The component related to "team building" and "conflict resolution" will be realised in cooperation with the University of Florence - Centre for study on civil defense.

After the end of the Summer Camps, Middle Eastern students will act in their towns to build a network linking their realities with those met in Tuscany.

- 16/10/2006 - Exhibition of local and traditional products in Tulkarem and Nablus

The city of Tulkarem on 9-11 October 2006 and the city of Nablus on 12-14 October staged an exhibition of local products from the three Palestinian cities involved in the MedCooperation programme (Nablus, Tulkarem and Jericho).  The exhibitions, made available thanks to the funding of the Italian Foundation “Monte dei Paschi di Siena”, are the continuation of a process of identification and enhancement of local productions to support the promotion and marketing of the territories admionistrated by the municipalities involved in the programme.

The opening in Tulkarem was on 9 of October in the hall of the orphanage of the Municipality at the presence of the Major, the Governor, some members of the Council and all the producers involved in the Exhibition.

The majority of the goods were from Tulkarem (embroidery, traditional food,pottery, olive oil and honey bee products) whereas the other two cities exposed some samples. From Nablus traditional sweets, spices, embroideries and carved wood, olive oil soap and from Jerico sweets with dates, embroideries, silver goods and jewellery, mosaics. The products are not exported and are only marketed and sold within the Palestinian territories.

The opening in Nablus was on the 12 of October in the ancient building of Dar Arafat house at the presence of a member of the Municipal Council and all the producers involved in the Exhibition.

The majority of the goods were from Nablus while the other two cities exposed some samples. The traditional goods from Nablus were: embroidery, productions from the women beneficiaries of the activities of the Multipurpose Resources Center of  Nablus (MCRC), carved wood, production of training courses organized by MCRC, spices from the Break spices shop, Old City, cakes from a shop in the Old City. The town of Tulkarem displayed pottery whereas Jericho presented sweets with dates, embroideries, silver goods and mosaics.

Both exhibitions, held during the month of Ramadan, attracted a good number of visitors.

- 19/08/2006 - Training course in Tulkarem on the valorization and promotion of cultural heritage and local traditional products

From 12 to 19 August 2006 a training course has been held in Tulkarem on the valorization and promotion of cultural heritage and local traditional products.

The training course organised in Tulkarem, with the participation of 20 trainees, covered various subjects, ranging from lectures on historical background of Palestine, preservation of local cultural heritage, theories of restoration of architectural sites and recognition and promotion of local products. The course took place over a week for an amount of six hours daily. The theoretical lectures, spread in four days, were followed by three days of field visits to architectural sites and production sites of local goods (honey, pottery) in the Tulkarem area. Two of the current trainers had attended the April courses in Italy and transmitted some of the knowledge and expertise acquired in Tuscany whereas the other two trainers are acknowledged Palestinian experts (archeologist and architect). The trainees were mainly students of architecture and civil engineering or employees of public and private sectors working in the field of architecture, urban planning and education.

Three more field visits will be organized on different days in Tulkarem, Nablus and Jericho.

- 02/05/2006 - Med Cooperation attends the Florence Artisan Craftworks' Exhibition

The Artisan and Cratworks’ Exhibition in Florence is the biggest Exhibition held annually in Tuscany and one of the most famous in Italy. The participation of Med Cooperation Network to the exhibition represented a very important step to test how the promotion of the Northern Holy Land Cultural Heritage Way can be done outside Middle East.

Med Cooperation stand has been one of the 700 stands installed within the Exhibition. It is estimated that more than 170.000 people visited the Exhibition. Med Cooperation Stand achieved the following results:

- around 100 bottles of wine from Haifa sold
- around 4 kilograms of Spices from AKKO sold
- around 20 litres of Olive Oil from Palestine sold
- more than 200 kunafa sweets given for free tasting to visitors.
- many contacts with local authorities, associations and single visitors wishing to support the programme have been established.
- Articles published on the regional newspapers gave the right visibility to the stand.