 Pack of cards
By
Madame Sosostris
My first piece of news, dearies, has had me smiling all week. Who wouldn't be, after visiting the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square with a group of 200 very excited schoolchildren?
The Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), you see, has decided to reach out to the nation's children, in an attempt to get them more excited about their heritage.
I have my colleague Nevine El-Aref to thank for taking me to this wonderful excursion, which featured a gala inauguration of the first SCA-sponsored summer school.
First, we stood in the museum's beautiful garden listening to Culture Minister Farouk Hosni talk about how the summer school will teach children both the historical background of the objects on display, as well as the artistic elements that were involved in making them.
 The 200 children participating in the program are divided into two groups, according to age. For three hours each day, each group will explore a different part of the museum's vast holdings, admiring the artifacts, familiarising themselves with pharaonic styles, and learning more about fun stuff like the mysterious processes of mummification.
"By raising children's awareness of their heritage," explained my favourite archaeologist, Zahi Hawass, the secretary general of the SCA, "it enhances their identification with it."
Hawass told me that the children will be doing a lot of drawing and playing with clay, as they produce replicas of pharaonic jewelry and wooden usahbti statues. "The best piece of art." he said, "will be exhibited in the museum and the child who made it will be honoured."
I tell you, it's about time that our children were as excited about ancient Egypt as their compatriots abroad are -- and this programme should help get that process in motion.
A special programme for children with special needs will also be available, enabling them to touch the objects in order to feel their distinguishing features. And when the school year begins, the SCA, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, plans on inviting schools to conduct their history classes in the Egyptian, Islamic and Coptic museums.
My good friend Samir Gharib is a critic and a writer -- and he's now set to be the head of the Egyptian Academy of Arts in Rome. The prestigious position was recently bestowed on Gharib by Culture Minister Farouk Hosni, and from what I hear, Gharib has big plans to renovate the fabled academy.
Amongst the changes Gharib plans on pursuing: a facelift of the building itself, which will incorporate ancient Egyptian elements; renovations to the academy's artists' studios; the installation of a computer network; and the establishment of a web site featuring the academy's latest news.
That news will certainly include the academy's active schedule of cultural happenings: film screenings; theatrical productions; as well as Arab-themed musical nights and art exhibitions.
Gharib is an old pro at promoting culture, having previously served as an art advisor at the Ministry of Culture, the head of the Cultural Development Fund, and the chairman of Dar El Kuttub.
He is the author of 11 books on a wide variety of artistic topics.
Love is in the air right here at Al- Ahram Weekly, my dears, with the office practically buzzing with the news of the engagement of our two lovely colleagues, Youssef Rakha and Amina Elbendary. Youssef and Amina declared their intentions at an elegant party held for their families and friends last Friday night at Le Château, the superb Swiss restaurant in Giza with a stunning view of the Nile. I wouldn't have missed this party for the world, my sweets, and especially not the touching speeches proffered exclusively by both Youssef and Amina to the tables occupied by members of the Weekly family who were there to wish the couple well. Amongst them was our very own Chief Editor Hosny Guindy, as well as many of Youssef and Amina's colleagues from our esteemed Culture pages. My sincerest congratulations to the lucky couple, and many happy returns!
© It is certainly looking to be a long, hot summer, my sweets, but August -- thankfully -- is bringing us a bevy of musical events, as July did before it, to help abate the heat just a little bit. The best of all these events will certainly be that annual crowd pleaser, the Citadel Festival for Music and Song, which is set to be inaugurated by Culture Minister Farouk Hosni and Cairo Opera House Director Samir Farag on 10 August.
I have been told by my colleague Reham El-Adawi that this year's round -- the festival's 14th -- will feature troupes from Syria, Palestine, Sudan, Iraq and Jordan, as well as Uruguay. That sounds like a lot of fun, if you ask me, and since the festival's programme is being organised by tenor Hassan Kami -- who is the Opera House's artistic counselor -- you can certainly count on some pleasant surprises.
The venues for the events are three theatres within the Citadel of Salaheddin, as well as the Open-Air Theatre at the Cairo Opera House. The citadel's three theatres -- Al- Saha with Mohamed Ali Mosque in the background, Saryiat Al-Gabal and Al-Mahka -- will host some 60 concerts featuring Egyptian and Arabic folklore, and plenty of songs from around the globe as well.
Amongst the programme's highlights: the Ahmed El-Tawila troupe for sufi music; Sudanese singer Al-Fatih Hussein; Al-Risalah troupe from Alexandria; and Palestinian singer Abeer Sansour.
Concerts to be held at Al-Mahka theatre will feature pop stars Anoshka, Elham El- Madfa'i and Hani Shenouda.
And the best part of all? You can bring the whole family (including relatives thrice removed on both your parents' sides) because all the Citadel concerts are free.
The festival, which runs through 21 August, also plans to honour director of the Cairo Opera Ballet Company Abdel-Moneim Kamel, mezo soprano Awatef El-Sharqawi, soprano Iman Mustafa, maestro Zein El- Ashqar, set designer Abdallah El-Ayouti and percussionist Nesma Abdel-Aziz.
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