Issue No. 613
People
Previous issue
Site map
|
|
21 - 27 November 2002 Issue No. 613 People |
Current issue Previous issue Site map | |
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | |||
|
Pack of Cards
Ramadan is always such a lovely time of year, my dears, and this year, I was ecstatic to attend the inauguration -- at the Sayeda Zeinab cultural garden -- of a brand new artistic festival called Layali Al-Mahrousa (Egyptian Evenings). Opened by Culture Minister Farouk Hosni and Anas El-Fiqi, who heads the Organisation of Cultural Palaces (OCP), the festival aims to provide families with a bevy of cultural and entertaining events throughout the holy month, and at reasonable prices to boot.
Several venues are involved, including the Zakariya Al-Hagawi theatre where the Egyptian troupe for Arabic Music performed a repertoire of classic by Umm Kulthoum and Mohamed Qandil. Shows will also be featured at Al-Rihani Theatre, the Naguib Mahfouz Café, Al-Asabgui Corner and the Poets Oasis. The main action, however, will take place on the Zakariya Al-Hagawi stage, with nightly performances by the OCP's folk and Arabic music groups plus religious recitals by Al- Inshad Al-Dini troupe.
Hosni also inaugurated a book fair featuring the various cultural publications produced by the General Book Organisation, the Supreme Council of Culture, the Cultural Development Fund and the OCP. A Ramadan tent displaying traditional folkloric handicrafts and carpets is also on offer.
As if that weren't enough, a series of seminars featuring prominent literati and intellectuals discussing issues such as Egypt's democratic experiment, the future of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the development of culture, ways and means of activating the Arab League, and the growing role of NGOs, are sure to provide plenty of food for thought.
The Cairo Opera House, meanwhile, is also offering its own hearty artistic programme, as I was told by my diligent colleague Reham El-Adawi. Supervised by Mohamed Salem, the fun takes place at the Opera's Main and Small Halls, as well as its Open-Air theatres. A whopping 28 concerts are planned, in addition to religious seminars featuring the likes of Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, the grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Islamic thinkers like Mohamed Emara and Zaghloul El-Naggar, as well as Minister of Religious Endowments Hamdi Zaqzouq.
The concerts will feature classical Arabic music, as well as sufi performances by the renowned Sheikh Yassin El- Tohami and Mohamed El-Helbawi from Egypt. They will be joined by troupes from Tunisia, Lebanon, Syria and Sudan. And who would want to miss an evening of recitations of the popular folk epic Al- Sira Al-Hilaliya narrated by poet Mohamed El-Yamani.
Also on the agenda are a group of concerts called Ramadaniyat featuring the Sharara Sextet, guitarist Yehia Ghannam and his band, the Nagham Masri and Cairo Heritage (led by Esmat Abbas) troupes, Hossam Shaker's Rahala band, Sharkiat featuring Fathi Salama, Iraqi oud master Nassir Shamma and Nesma Abdel-Aziz on percussion.
But wait, my sweets, there's more: at Beit Zeinab Khatoun, a Sufi-inspired photography exhibition entitled Ya Hadret Mawlay (Oh Blessed Master) by photographer Amr Fekri will be on display until 2 December. Describing the vision behind the photos, Fekri says, "Along the sufi path, I realised the harmonious unity of all existence, inner refinement as well as a widening of a deeper perception and vision. In meditation much was unveiled to me, which compelled me to search for the complimentary aspects of the vision. This exhibition may be the first step along the path." Inspiring words, to be sure.
Last week, an iftar was organised by the Cairo Club and Master Foods Egypt company, one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of food and confectioneries in the Middle East and North African region, for the mentally disabled children at Al- Orman Orphanage. Following a nutritious meal, the children were treated to a programme of live entertainment featuring clowns, Disney characters, and a magician. According to Amira Shabrawi, the external affairs manager for Master Foods, the company "is honoured to have had this chance to bring some joy to Cairo's mentally disabled children... These beautiful children are in need of some extra love and care and it gives us great pleasure to help them in Ramadan." Al- Orman Orphanage has been caring for mentally disabled orphans since 1996. As the only orphanage in Egypt with such a specialisation, relentless efforts are undertaken to provide proper healthcare, nutrition and training for the children. In a similar vein, the Cairo Club has also been providing athletic training for these special children, via the sponsorship of training camps that have helped them become champions for the past 12 years.
Al-Salam Theatre was the venue recently for an event that made my mind drift to distant, exotic lands. 73 Egyptian children between the ages of 6 and 16 from Cairo, Giza, 6 October, Port-Said and Alexandria, were awarded prizes for paintings submitted to this year's "Glimpses of India" art competition organised by Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture, the cultural wing of the Indian Embassy. Each award-winning child was given a medal, a certificate and a bag full of prizes by Khaled Bebo, Al-Ahli club's star footballer. Shri SP Mann, chargé d'affaires at the Indian Embassy, was on hand to oversee the event, which is held annually to commemorate the birth anniversaries of three great Indian leaders: Mahatma Gandhi, Maulana Azad and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. 2,279 children participated in this year's round, which was held, for the first time ever, in the open air at Giza's Al-Orman Garden. I must say, my dears, that it was truly a celebration of the long-lasting friendship between the people of India and Egypt, helping to further strengthen ties between these two ancient civilisations.
Also this week, and in the company of my colleague Mustafa El- Minshawi, I had the pleasure of attending an exhibition at Al- Hanagar Arts Centre featuring the winning entries from the Cairo International Biennial for Arab Children's Arts. Entitled "The Dream of the Arab Child in the Third Millennium", the show runs through 24 December at the National Museum of Children's Arts (NMCA). 18 Arab countries participated, including Egypt, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman. My dear friend Ishaq Azmi, president of the biennial, said that this year's event was organised to show solidarity with Iraqi children. Azmi's words were clearly demonstrated in several paintings, one of which shows a child standing behind a barbed wire with a look of sadness and despair on his face. The jury was headed by Mona Abul-Nasr, the woman responsible for that very popular Ramadan children's cartoon, Bakkar. Latifa Youssef from Palestine, Mounir Al- Sha'arani of Syria, and Soa'd Mirdem from Lebanon are among the members of the esteemed jury. The event is sponsored by the NMCA along with the Arab League and the Supreme Council for Culture (SCC).
All this music and art, my sweets, had me hungry for a different sort of mental nourishment by week's end, so it was with great anticipation that I headed for the Canadian Embassy to attend a lecture by that nation's former Secretary of State for External Affairs Flora MacDonald, entitled "Apathy: the greatest threat to democracy" -- one of a series of talks the embassy is offering the general public.
Since retiring from politics more than a decade ago, MacDonald has been busy volunteering for NGOs working around the world, an experience she said opened her eyes in a profound way to the political challenges faced by people across the globe -- quite an admission, I must admit, by a former top diplomat!
Against the tide of declining voter turnout in Western countries, MacDonald, based on the lessons of her volunteer work, advocated NGOs as one means through which people can strive to strengthen democracy in their own countries.
Canada's Ambassador to Egypt Michel de Salaberry said he had first met MacDonald decades ago at Queen's University, where she taught Political Science and he was an MA candidate. The Weekly, too, has a Queen's connection. Our very own Willa Thayer grew up in the shadow of the institution, cutting her political teeth there at public lectures and by auditing courses when she was a teenager.
When MacDonald mentioned an initiative by two NGOs to rid the world of "bloody diamonds", I must say that for a moment I feared I would be pressed to give up my baubles and bangles. Those fears were put to rest, however, when the former politician explained that the project by Partnership Africa Canada (on whose board she is vice-president) would "fingerprint" diamonds with the aim of preventing precious stones that are fuelling conflicts from making it to the international market.
|
| |||||||||||||||||||
