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Al-Ahram Weekly 22 - 28 June 2000 Issue No. 487 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 22 - 28 June 2000 Issue No. 487
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Focus Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Celebrating the word
INAUGURATING the Reading for All festival's 10th year, Mrs Suzanne Mubarak on Sunday visited the Khaled Ibn Al-Walid Library in Imbaba and placed the cornerstone for the new Maadi General Library.Mrs Mubarak said that this year, for the first time, the Reading for All festival will no longer run during the summer months only, but will be held throughout the entire year. She said the renovation and additional services introduced at the Khaled Ibn Al-Walid Library allow it to cater to the needs of the entire family.
The library, built in 1991 and located in Giza's underprivileged neighbourhood of Kit Kat, occupies a 600 square metre plot of land and is surrounded by a 2,000 square metre garden. Mrs Mubarak toured the two-floor library, which comprise a children's reading room, an arts room and an activity room that houses an innovative Science Club corner. A gift from the Giza governorate, the Science Club corner is a venue in which children are trained in various areas by experts from the National Research Centre. The library has separate reading rooms for children and adults, alongside rooms designated for seminars, periodicals and computers -- including the Internet.
"All of these cultural services extended to the Egyptian family are offered free of charge by the Integrated Care Society," Mrs Mubarak said. "This points to the importance of individual volunteer efforts and donations from businessmen and contracting companies -- such as the Arab Contractors in our case -- in offering such wonderful services to society."
From top: Mrs Mubarak, flanked by ministers and officials, on a tour of the Khaled Ibn Al-Walid Library and placing the cornerstone of the new Maadi General Library
Mrs Mubarak said a working group is being set up to initiate other cultural projects, of which the new Maadi General Library is the first. The idea for this new library, she said, arose from the genuine need of families in the neighbourhood, after the children's library built 10 years ago in the area had fallen short of meeting the increasing demand on its services. The library is due to open its doors in the summer of 2001 on the occasion of the 11th anniversary of the Reading for All festival. Mrs Mubarak is head of the board of directors of the Integrated Care Society, a non-profit organisation established in 1977 with the primary objective of providing social, cultural and health care services to children. The Reading for All programme is one of the society's most successful initiatives. This programme, which is the brainchild of Mrs Mubarak, has received international acclaim.
At the start of the festival each year, working sessions are convened to assess the needs of all libraries, Mrs Mubarak said. "With the experience we have acquired, we can now add a service or upgrade another so that all libraries offer exceptional services," she said.
