Gadheemee Collection and the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI), in association with the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Heritage holds the opening ceremony of the ‘’Traditional Stone Carving Course’’

Gadheemee Collection and the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI), in association with the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Heritage held the opening ceremony of the ‘’Traditional Stone Carving Course’’ today at the National Museum.

The Minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage Hon. Yumna Maumoon, the Minister of Tourism Hon. Ali Waheed and the Secretary General of MATI Mr. Ahmed Nazeer attended and spoke at the event.

Other attendees included the Managing Director of MMPRC Mr. Thoyyib Mohamed, senior officials of the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Heritage, Ministry of Tourism, MMPRC, MATI, Mr. Mohamed Imran Ahmed of Gadheemee Collection (the trainer), the students of the course and other governmental bodies as well as media personnel.

The function included a presentation on traditional stone carving given by the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Heritage as well as a tour of the museum for the invitees.

The preservation and promotion of Maldivian Culture is a key area of focus for MATI. Furthermore, traditional stone carving was picked specifically as research suggested that this is a dying art with very few traditional stone masons/carvers operating in Maldives  

MATI also believes that the Tourism Industry is a viable platform that can assist in the revival and promotion traditional arts and crafts by providing artisans and craftsmen a platform to showcase their products and services and earn a living out of practicing traditional arts and crafts.

The course is a first of its kind, which will run for 2 months starting from the 20th of June 2019 and end on the 18th of August 2019. 10 applicants were selected during the application process and will be trained under sponsorship of MATI. MATI hopes to continue the course and take in more batches for the future.

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