Tivaouane, May 10 (APS) – The towns of Tivaouane and Vigone in Italy have signed an agreement affecting several sectors, including the training of talibé children, from the Senegalese religious city, in the professions of agriculture and craftsmanship.
The mayor of the city of Vigone, Fabio Cerato and his counterpart from Tivaouane Demba Diop Sy signed a convention on Wednesday, which should make it possible to train talibés from Tivaouane in agriculture.
A first group of 20 young people will be introduced to the Italian language before following the training.
According to the mayor of Vigone, the partnership between the two cities concerns the training of young people, education and civil status.
He believes that it is a new start that can lead to other sectors, depending on the results that are obtained.
This partnership is part of a package of projects initiated by the European Union to combat irregular emigration.
Vigone, a town specializing in corn cultivation and crafts, has economic activities similar to that of Tivaouane, Demba Diop Sy said.
According to him, training all the talibés of Tivaouane in the cultivation of corn, a cereal which is used in the manufacture of livestock feed, coupled with the installation of processing units, will offer them a job.
He noted the relevance of this partnership which will also deal with crafts of which Ngaye, located not far from Tivaouane, is the “stronghold” in Senegal.
The partners also plan to electrify the mosques of Tivaouane with solar energy, an action which, according to Diop Sy, joins a municipal program aimed at equipping mosques, daaras and schools with photovoltaic installations.
The prefect of the department of Tivaouane, Mamadou Guèye welcomed the decentralized cooperation linking the Italian town of Vigone to the Senegalese town of Tivaouane, and did not fail to mention the “significant efforts” made by the State in the sectors targeted by this partnership.
He added that this convention is in line with the vision of President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, one of whose first acts he took in this area consisted of creating a directorate at the Presidency, responsible for religious and which takes particular care of daaras and the integration of graduates in Arabic.
MKB/ADI/ABB/ASB
