This Forum and exhibition showcase the diverse products of Mediterranean handicrafts. This diversity
transmits history and tradition, while being a powerful means of expression of the cultural heritage. This two days event will be pivotal in addressing how cultural heritage, arts and crafts are tools to job creation and economic sustainability. The forum will be concluded by the formal signing of Cairo Declaration, particularly dedicated to build economic development tools as well as survey and documentation of craft skills, and to preserve traditional skills for their transmission as crucial components of living heritage.
This exhibit showcases the exceptional arts and crafts reflecting the countries’ cultural heritage and their 
strong potential in the international market. A special section serves as a venue for participating countries to showcase their arts and crafts demonstrations. Four thematic workshops will provide an opportunity for participants to share knowledge and best practices. Arts and crafts experts, noted designers, artists, artisans and foreign buyers from around the world join as speakers and panelists.
- To promote and to bring about greater awareness of the importance of arts and crafts to a country’s cultural roots and economic development;
- To provide marketing opportunities for artists, crafts people and producers;
- To develop an international network for dialogue and information exchange on issues relevant to arts and crafts production, marketing, preservation and best practices;
- To nurture a spirit of cooperation and sharing between artists, crafts people and producers; and their counterparts in other part of the world.
Who Should Attend?
Forum participants are institutions and individuals either practicing their crafts or who are interested in the 
development of the arts and crafts industry.
• Politicians
• Government Officials
• Academic Institutions
• Financial Institutions
• Business Organizations
• Crafts Institutions
• Curators of Collections
• Documentation Centres
• Donor Organizations
• Retailers and Buyers
• Designers and Artists
• Producers and Traders
• Media Representatives
• Entrepreneurs
• Consultants
• Scholars
Participate in drafting and signing the Cairo Document
The Cairo Forum includes a series of debates, bringing together several hundred participants for an inaugural conference, followed by two sessions. The first will be dedicated to “Craft trades for a living heritage”, while the second one addresses the theme of “Craft products as leverage for economic development”. Along with these plenary sessions, four workshops will be held with the following themes:
1) Creation and design,
2) Intellectual and artistic property,
3) Tools and leverage for financing heritage handicrafts,
4) Territorial promotion and the implementation of a University of Mediterranean Crafts, coordinated by the Scientific Commission of the UN’s ART-KIP initiative (Knowledge, Innovation and Policies for Human Development) The forum will conclude by the signing of the Cairo Document outlining a road map for serious actions for the utilising of cultural heritage for economic sustainable development.
