The fifth edition of the Carthage Puppetry Arts Days (JAMC), to be held from February 3 to 10, will feature international troupes with more than a hundred puppeteers and 55 shows. Italy will be the guest of honour at this year's event, whose theme is "Puppetry, Art and Life". Nine Tunisian shows and three Italian shows are planned, as well as 10 workshops on the art of puppetry, an exhibition and a puppet market.' The JAMC are organised by the Centre National des Arts de la Marionnette and the Etablissement National pour la Promotion des Festivals et des Manifestations Culturelles et Artistiques (ENPFMCA). The programme for this 2024 edition was unveiled on Thursday at a press conference at the Cité de la Culture in the presence of the president of the festival's steering committee, Monia Messaadi, and the festival's artistic director, Chekra Rameh. The participating puppeteers represent the following countries Austria, Brazil, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Iraq, Italy, Kuwait, Poland, th e Netherlands, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. The 2024 edition will be dedicated to the artists LassaSd Mehouachi (1960-2023) and Moncef El Kateb. Palestine will be at the heart of this festival dedicated to the art of puppetry. The poster shows a puppet in the likeness of Youssef, the Palestinian child martyred in the Gaza war. The annual children's puppetry competition offers cash prizes of around 6,000 dinars, including a first prize of 3,000 dinars. The second and third prizes are worth 2,000 and 1,000 dinars respectively. In addition to the City of Culture, the festival will take place at the Salle du 4ème art in Tunis, Dar al-Masrahi in Bardo and the S.O.S Children's Village in Gammarth, as well as other venues outside the capital. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse Dr Philip A. Bannor, Registrar of the Health Facilities Regulatory Agency (HeFRA), has been recognised with the Excellence Leadership in Health Facility Regulation award. He was awarded by the African Public Service Optimum (APSO) on December 15, 2023 in Accra. A statement issued by the Agency said under Dr Bannor's leadership, 36 new Assessment Standards were drafted and adopted for the first time. It said the Agency developed and adopted 18 new Accreditation standards, also being the first time. The statement said 500 facilities were assessed for COVID-19 readiness and their compliance to infection prevention and control standards. It said a digital platform referred to as Mobile Online Information System (MOIS) had been developed and adopted to enhance regulatory processes of registration, inspection, and licensing of health facilities. Thus, within the first three years, a total of 5,000 health facilities have registered through the MOIS platform, the statement said. The statement said a Memorandu m of Understanding between HeFRA and the Pharmacy Council Ghana had been signed to improve and consolidate inter-agency collaboration with Pharmacy Council Ghana to enhance efficiency in health facility regulation. In his acceptance speech at the event, Dr Bannor thanked the Board, Management and staff of HeFRA as well as stakeholders who made the achievement possible through their collaboration and support. Source: Ghana News Agency