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Al-Ahram Weekly 28 Oct. - 3 Nov. 1999 Issue No. 453 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 28 Oct. - 3 Nov. 1999 Issue No. 453
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Clockwise from top: Salah Jahin among children in 1962, Auntie Lulu, and Ammu Fouad
photo: Fathi Hussein and photo: Mohamed El-Qi'i
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Profile Study Special Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Egypt's budding youth
By Youssef Rakha
Tonight sees the opening of the second round of the Nile Festival for Children's Songs, held annually under the auspices of Mrs Suzanne Mubarak, at the Cairo Conference Hall in Nasr City. An all-round event celebrating the constant endeavour, by various classes of adults, to contribute to a healthy and vibrant childhood scene, the Nile Festival is part of an ongoing campaign which, though being impressively active and involved, still has a long way to go. But the success of the first round, if anything, points to an increasingly operative acceptance of the importance and value of such a campaign.
With 20 participating countries, as opposed to last year's eight, Egyptian children can look forward to numerous mind-boggling performances from the four corners of the earth, all conceived and carried out in a genuinely altruistic spirit and out of the respective artists' and intellectuals' loving commitment to the young. Major-General Mounir Thabet, head of the festival, announced recently that the tickets to five concerts, to be held on the fringe of the festival, will be distributed to state school children free of charge. Another positive development in this year's round, he said, comprises two large-scale charity concerts to be staged simultaneously tomorrow in the Cairo Opera House and the Alf Leila wa Leila Hall in Hurghada. The proceeds of both will go directly to handicapped children. The popular singer, Latifa will participate in the former for free.
But this is not to mention the most interesting aspect of this year's round, the four artistic figures whose contribution to children's art will be celebrated. Actress Lubna Abdel-Aziz's radio show "Auntie Lulu", broadcast in English -- which went on from 1950 to 1966 -- has recently been resurrected after an interruption of over 30 years, its force field having drawn in millions of children who, as adults, are now delighted to hear their own children participating in the plays, songs and discussions initiated by Auntie Lulu once again this year. The veteran actor and comedian Fouad El-Mohandess, too, has captured the hearts and minds of children through his immensely popular television programme "Ammou Fouad", which was broadcast in Ramadan for many years and introduced children to various educational subjects through thrilling adventure dramas ending with a riddle to be solved. Needless to say both shows are equally appreciated by adults, who follow them just as closely as their children.
The most impressive figure to be honoured, however, poet and caricaturist Salah Jahin, is now deceased. Jahin's memory has invariably been one of joy, and the joy he gave to children in his ground-breaking puppet show, Al-Leila Al-Kebira, is alone worth a thousand honours. Yet it is only fitting that today's children should be given the opportunity to appreciate the great poet's extraordinary contribution.
The fourth figure to be honoured this year, the Italian Cino Turotulla, has held the most successful children's programme in Europe for many years.
American actor Mickey Rooney, present as guest of honour at this year's festival, will give Egyptian children much food for thought as the festival will be screening the children's films he made between 1938 and 1981.
