16 - 22 August 2001
Issue No.547
|
Al-Ahram Weekly Online 16 - 22 August 2001 Issue No.547 |
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Pack of Cards* These days, my dears, Cairo seems alive with festivals galore, the latest organised by the Tourism Ministry. The Shopping and Tourism Festival and the Seventh Cairo International Song Festival will take place from 20 to 28 August at the Cairo International Conference centre (CICC). Our Minister of Tourism Mamdouh El-Beltagui joined forces with UNESCO affiliate FIDOF (International Federation of Festival Organisation), which is headed by Armando Morino -- also a jury member in this year's contest. On 20 August, the opening ceremony, to be held at the CICC's Khufu Hall, will be attended by ambassador Salah Selim, festival director and chairman of the executive board of the CICC, and festival secretary-general Mohamed Nouh. |
 The opening ceremony will honour singers Sabah, Warda, Fayda Kamel and Mohamed Tharwat, as well as pianist and composer Omar Khayrat. It will also present posthumous awards to singer Karem Mahmoud and lyricist Abdel-Salam Amin. The guests will also be treated to a show titled What is the Secret? written by Kamal Farid, directed by Mohamed Nouh and featuring singers Maryam Nouh, Azza Balbaa and Yasser Shabaan. The exciting programme will include yet more: a performance by the Indian artist Shiamak Davar and his troupe of 20 dancers. The event will be concluded with a song by Nadia Mustafa, Riham Abdel-Hakem, Maye Farouk and Ahmed El-Sonbati, accompanied by maestro Reda Ragab. This year, 27 participants will represent 10 countries including Moldovia, France, Romania, Argentina and Ireland, while the Arab competition will comprise 47 participants from 10 Arab countries including Iraq, Morocco, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Tunisia and Egypt. The jury committees of Arab and foreign contests will feature Serag Omar, Sami Nosseir, Ratiba El-Hefni, Helmi Bakr, Mario Moreno, Shay Hennessey, Hani Shenouda and Manar Abu Heif among others. The grand prize is LE20,000 for Arab competitors and $10,000 for the foreign participants. |
* Once again, the younger members of our society are using all available means to change the world for the better. Two students, Sherifa Emad Helmi and Yasser Mohamed Naguib, just returned from a youth conference in Sweden, conceived with the goal of allowing young people to take an active role in increasing our common security. The conference was held from 6 to 14 July, and was organised by Life Link. Established in 1987, this organisation, centred around the natural and social sciences, bases its activities on three main tenets: Care for Myself, Care for Others and Care for Nature. Schools and youth from over 50 countries have joined its programme.
At this year's conference, there were 82 delegates -- 46 pupils and 36 teachers and educators -- representing 21 countries. During the conference, the students were expected to give presentations on the issues being discussed, and propose various solutions. While Sherifa gave an enlightening presentation about light pollution, Yasser proposed effective solutions for the problem of landmines. The students also participated in various workshops, including one representing the United Nations General Assembly in the Model United Nations (MUN). Sherifa and Yasser are students at Manor House school in Doqqi, which was chosen by Aida Hussein, the Life Link coordinator in Egypt. They were accompanied on their trip by my dear friend Nevert Henry, the deputy head-mistress at Manor House. The two students themselves were chosen by the school based upon their outstanding academic achievements and their deep interest in serving their society. Their good work attracted the organisers' attention to the potential of Egyptian youths, who are often extremely aware of global issues. Life Link is now thinking of holding next year's conference in Cairo. Now wouldn't be nice if Minister of Education Dr Hussein Bahaaeddin invited these students to meet him and receive his congratulations on a job well done? This would no doubt encourage many others to participate actively in making the world a better place. |
* Last Friday, darlings, our talented Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni inaugurated the Citadel Festival for Music and Song. And what a charming opening ceremony: while one of my favourite conductors, Sherif Mohieddin, directed the orchestra, Nesma Abdel-Aziz and Manal Mohieddin gave delightful performances -- after we were treated to some of the best songs in the world, literally, by three voices from heaven, Dalia Farouk, Amira Salem and Tamer Tawfik, that is. After the break, there was Abdel-Moneim Said, too. What happiness to watch as certificates of distinction were presented to the stars of our own thriving opera. Honoured were Violet Maqar, Nabila Eryan, Ghalia Rashed, Rougina Youssef, Gaber El-Beltagui, Alfi Milad, Claude Ratl, Youssef Sabbagh and Hassan Kami, no less. The event can only be described as phenomenal. Pooling the efforts of several subdivisions of the ministry, and taking place in five theatres in the Citadel area at once, the summer festivities provide for folk and popular as well as classical music. As part of the Opera House's attempt to reach as wide an audience base as possible, the Citadel Festival is, according to my friend Samir Farag, director of the Opera, "the embodiment of an initiative by the Ministry of Culture to present the public with various forms of high art free of charge."
|
* I wonder if you have heard of the community service caravans and are aware of the important role Cairo University is playing in the development of Egyptian villages by sending a number of its students to work in various rural spots during the summer. The caravans' role is regulated by a cooperation protocol between Giza governorate and Cairo University. The university provides the students, clothes and materials, while the governorate is in charge of the facilities (garbage collection, tree-planting, payment of students' fees), besides providing computers and living and working quarters for the students (usually at one of the schools) .
Under the supervision of Cairo University President Naguib El-Helali Gohar, Deputy of the Faculty of Education Mona El-Marzouqi and Deputy of the Faculty of Economics and Political Science Mustafa Elwi, this year's caravan settled two weeks ago -- and will remain until 16 August -- in the district of Al-Omraniya. Divided into 10 groups, 175 students are presently carrying out various tasks according to their field of expertise. Reading to the village children and developing their artistic skills is the task of the arts graduates, while computer courses are organised by the Faculty of Engineering students. In addition, the students are collecting data for a survey that aims to pinpoint the unfulfilled needs of every household in the community. Handicrafts classes are in progress, garbage is being collected, the school walls are being decorated and sidewalks are receiving a fresh coat of paint. Two hundred trees have been planted in the neighbourhood. The caravan is also responsible for providing medical care as well as free medicine to the inhabitants of Al-Omraniya. Other services include veterinary care, so even the community's animals are happy. On Sunday, a ceremony is to be held at Cairo University to congratulate those who have participated in such a worthy effort. |
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||
| ARCHIVES Letter from the Editor Editorial Board Subscription Advertise! |
WEEKLY ONLINE: www.ahram.org.eg/weekly Updated every Saturday at 11.00 GMT, 2pm local time weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg |
 Al-Ahram Organisation |
Recommend this page