PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC STRESSES THAT CULTURAL FESTIVALS MUST HELP BUILD A NATIONAL CULTURE

Tunis, July 1 (TAP) - President Kais Saied met on Monday at the Carthage Palace with Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Moncef Bouktair, who is also the acting Minister of Culture, and stressed that cultural festivals should help build a national culture, as they were created to improve public taste.

"For example, the stages of the Carthage and Hammamet theatres were only open to high-quality cultural works, and many people from abroad dreamed of performing on these two stages, seeing it as recognition of their artistic value and the culmination of their careers.

This is different from what happens nowadays in the two festivals mentioned or in a number of other festivals," he added, according to a statement issued by the Presidency of the Republic.

The President of the Republic also stressed that the promotion of culture is part of the national liberation movement that Tunisia is experiencing today. «Indeed, there is no future for any country without the active contribution of its creators and intellectuals, whose only concern is creativity based on free thought and a firm awareness of their role in the intellectual development of their societies.»