From top: Mubarak visits the Arts wax museum; receiving the Media City key; launching the first video-conferencing service; looking at a miniature model of soon to be completed facilities at Media City
photos: Borham El-Bagoury,
Ahmed Afifi
and Mohamed Abdel-Fattah
Riding the waves
By Nevine Khalil
It was a full day for President Hosni Mubarak on 17 June when he presided over Media Day festivities. He gave the go-ahead for two additional specialised satellite television channels dealing with health and education, launched the first Internet services to be conducted via Egypt's Nile Satellite (NileSat) and received a token key to Media City, scheduled to be completed next year.
While touring the sprawling media complex at 6th of October City, south-west of Cairo, accompanied by a large delegation of cabinet ministers and officials, Mubarak visited the Egyptian Arts Panorama, a wax museum of Egyptian cinema, which will open sometime within two years; he inaugurated part of the huge high-tech studio complex currently under construction at a cost of LE1.35 billion; he visited the regional headquarters of a number of non-Egyptian television stations; he watched a test for video-conferencing, a service that is being introduced for the first time; and he launched a new web-site to access radio broadcasts via the Internet, a service that is carried via the NileSat. A second Egyptian communications satellite will be launched soon.
Hundreds of people working in the industry gathered in what was promoted as "the nation's largest conference room," with a seating capacity of 1,500 people. Mubarak, who had a very busy schedule this week, toured Media City for only 75 minutes, skipping the informal question-and-answer session with media representatives, which had become an annual tradition.
In an address to the ceremony, Information Minister Safwat El-Sherif noted that Mubarak had "opened the door to freedom of expression," allowing people working in the industry to play their role in the service of society. El-Sherif said that Media City, billed "the Hollywood of the East," is a leader among media production cities across the world and a "sure indication that this nation will meet the challenge of being in the forefront." El-Sherif also said that "the aspirations of the media are a reflection of the ambitions of the people."
