Inaugural Edition Launched in 2024
The inaugural edition was launched in 2024, a year after the island of Djerba was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The "Djerba: Cultural Landscape, Testimony to a Mode of Occupying an Insular Territory" file is a serial property consisting of seven areas of the island and twenty-four monuments. It was officially inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list on September 18, 2023, at the 45th extended session of the World Heritage Committee, held from September 10 to 25, 2023, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Djerba World Heritage Days
"Djerba World Heritage Days" is an event created at the initiative of the Zomita collective in partnership with the Association for the Preservation of the Island of Djerba and several other partners.
Objectives and Programming
The head of communication for Djerba World Heritage Days, Azza HadjHassan, stated that this second edition aims to achieve the objectives for which this event was created, namely to celebrate the island's world heritage and contribute to a better awareness of the importance of this millennial heritage among the island's inhabitants. In a statement to the TAP correspondent in Djerba, Azza Haj Hassan announced a program consisting of educational, artistic, and cultural activities and events in different spaces on the island.
Events and Activities
According to the program published on its Facebook page, the "Djerba World Heritage Days" event includes:
- Two artistic and cultural exhibitions: "Stories of Light, Djerba in View" and "Vernacular Architecture of Djerba"
- Creative workshops in clay, songwriting, sensitive cartography, music, basketry, and traditional jewelry making
- "Stories of Light, Djerba in View" is a collective exhibition of young Tunisian and international photographers exploring the island's world heritage through a selection of works from a photographic residency titled "Stories of Light". This exhibition proposes a mobile gallery that will be organized at the Guellala Museum, Medina Centre Midoun, and the Hadjhassen Café.
- "Vernacular Architecture of Djerba", hosted by the Dengri Café, is an exhibition aimed at raising awareness about the degradation of Djerba's architectural heritage. The organizers plan to screen a film shot in Tataouine titled "Building in Earth Transmission" about ancestral methods for restoring heritage.
Reflection and Preservation
Meetings with experts will provide an opportunity to discuss ways to preserve and protect the island's heritage, which covers an area of 514 km2 and occupies one of the most strategic positions in the heart of the Mediterranean. Guided tours of monuments and sites listed on the World Heritage list are also on the agenda.
