First Arab Productive Families Fair

The first Arab Productive Families Fair “Bayt al-Arab”, will kick off on Thursday 5 January at the grounds of the Qubba Presidential Palace in Cairo, Egyptian Minister of Social Solidarity Nivine El-Kabbag announced.

The Fair, which runs till 11 January, is organised by the Egyptian Ministry of Social Solidarity in cooperation with the Arab League.

According to Ms Kabbag, 12 Arab States will participate in the exhibition which she described as an important opportunity to boost the sector of productive families, as well as Arab handicrafts and heritage industries.

The Fair will act as a good prospect for exchange of experiences between Arab countries in the field, to boost the exhibitors’ competitiveness in global markets.

The first edition of Bayt al-Arab Fair will feature Jordan as the guest of honour; Jordan is the head of the Executive Office of the Council of Arab Ministers of Social Affairs. Eight Ministers of Social Affairs of Arab countries will participate in the opening.

During a press conference held at the Ministry of Social Solidarity headquarters to announce the details of the Fair, Ms Kabbag said that the fair will spread over an area of 4000 metres, and that entry will be free of charge daily from 5 till 11 January from 10am to 10pm. She said that all information related to the fair is available on um.in.com.

Some 150 productive families will participate in the Fair, Ms Kabbag said; 70 families from Egypt and 80 families from the other participating Arab States. A number of Egyptian official entities will also take part in the Fair. These include the ministries of Trade and Industry; Sports and Youth; Culture; Tourism and Antiquities; Local Development; Business Sector; in addition to the Supreme Council for Women and the Red Crescent.

The Fair will feature activities including seminars and interactive workshops for children, and folkloric performances.

Ms Kabbag said that the products of the Egyptian productive families are part and parcel of Egyptian heritage and industry. She said that there are more than 400 centres for productive families centres in Egypt, with some 14,000 productive families as members. Ms Kabbag explained that the Ministry of Social Solidarity offers training and production tools to the productive families to boost their skills and qualifications, in addition to offering them soft loans through the Nasser Social Bank and the Fund for the Development of Rural and Environmental Industries.

Ms Kabbag explained that the Ministry launched the Productive Families Project in 1964 to help low-income families increase their income. The project aims to support these families and transform them from dependent families into productive families that contribute to economic and social development. In recent years, the project helps market the family-produced goods through the Diarna Fair which features goods produced by craftsmen and micro industries, also a few public sector companies that sell at discounted prices personal and home products in high demand by the public. Diarna now opens in various cities across the country at different times of the year, generating good revenue.