35,000 Artists in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad to Get Their Own Professional Association

The deputy for cultural heritage in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad announced the first election of the board of directors of the province's artists' professional association, saying this historic step is a significant move toward securing the long-standing demands of activists in the field and curbing the influence of brokers.

Almas Ghobadi, Deputy of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad, in an interview with the reporter of Aria Heritage, in explaining the latest measures and support programs of this deputy to handicrafts activists, announced: The process of establishing the first union organization of handicrafts artists of the province has entered a new stage and will be completed this fall.

Almas Ghobadi added: The initial call for the selection and identification of leading and outstanding artists has been sent to the offices of different cities of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad, and after a detailed review of the records and the introduction of qualified people by the city offices, a registration SMS link will be sent to them, which has already been sent to 2,000 of the qualified artists.

The Deputy of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad stated: After receiving the SMS, interested and qualified artists should upload the required documents in the system and after expert evaluations, the names of 12 people who will get the most points will be introduced as the final candidates, so that finally the official election of the board of directors will be held.

Ghobadi expressed his hope: with round-the-clock efforts, the process of holding the elections of the board of directors of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad handicrafts will be finalized by the end of this fall, and the artists of this region will be able to have an independent and legal trade union for the first time in the history of the province.

Pointing out that the formation of the Handicrafts Association was one of the long-standing demands of the artists of the province, he emphasized: After the creation and formalization of this trade union, many executive and specialized affairs such as management and participation in domestic and foreign specialized exhibitions will be left to the artists and civil organizations themselves, so that the supervisory and supportive role of the government is strengthened and the affairs are left in the hands of real professionals.

In another part of his speech, referring to the importance of holding training courses to improve the quality of products, Qobadi said: Since the beginning of this year, 855 students in different regions of this province have received specialized training in 13 different fields of handicrafts. Qobadi added: This year, planning to hold 40 training courses with the aim of creating sustainable employment, developing home businesses and generating income in the field of handicrafts in the urban and rural areas of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad is seriously on the agenda.

Pointing to the challenges of sales and marketing as one of the main concerns of artists, he stated: Unfortunately, many of the valuable products of the weavers and artisans of the province are bought by profit-seeking brokers and middlemen at a very low and low rate, and their real and fair wages do not turn into proper and sustainable economic profits.

Ghobadi stated: In order to solve marketing problems and facilitate the sales process in domestic markets and even develop exports to foreign countries, continuous consultations and follow-ups are being done with related institutions.

He stated: Optimum use of the capacity of virtual stores and new e-commerce networks is one of the basic and important solutions to completely eliminate dealers, shorten the middleman chain and significantly increase the income of artisans of the province.

Ghobadi stated: Comprehensive and practical training programs for how to use this digital platform are underway in cooperation with one of the famous and reputable virtual stores of the country, so that artists can deliver their products to end consumers without intermediaries.

According to Arya Heritage; Currently, 35,000 handicraft artists are working throughout Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad, and every year more than 218,000 square meters of original and unique handicraft products are produced and sent to the markets in this province.