This week, Al-Ahram Editor-in- Chief and Chairman of the Board Ibrahim Nafie, along with Vice Chairman and General Manager Ali Ghoneim, Managing Editors Sami Metwalli and Mohamed Basha and General Manager for Advertising Hassan Hamdi inaugurated an exhibition titled "Leading Figures of Al-Ahram" in the lobby of Al-Ahram's main building on Al-Galaa street downtown. The show, running through 20 January, showcases 80 portraits created by artist Mourtada Anis, a colleague at Al-Ahram. The portraits are of the leading figures who contributed to the success of the Al-Ahram organisation ever since its first issue appeared 127 years ago. Anis also painted portraits of Egyptian presidents Gamal Abdel-Nasser, Anwar El- Sadat and Hosni Mubarak. As I toured the show, I found myself bursting with pride, especially when I considered just how much had been achieved under Nafie. Besides the daily Arabic and international editions of Al-Ahram, some 17 monthly, weekly, quarterly and annual magazines and periodicals are now produced by the media giant. Al-Ahram has also doubled the number of highly qualified foreign correspondents and offices it has across the globe. Congratulations are certainly in order for Nafie, whose birthday also coincided with the exhibit's opening.
Last week, my dears, my colleague Reham El-Adawi and I had the pleasure to attend a thrilling discussion on "Cloning and Society" which took place at the Cairo Opera House's Small Hall. The seminar was moderated by the supervisor of the Small Hall's cultural activities, Mohamed Salem, and featured veteran scientist Ahmed Moustagir and Islamic thinker Mohamed Emara. Among the attendees were veteran Al-Ahram columnist Salah Montasser, as well as a large number of scientists and young people. During the discussion, Moustagir explained cloning in layman's terms and clarified some of the concept's most misunderstood points. He said the history of cloning goes all the way back to 1885. He also pointed out that people in the Arab world should try to more accurately understand cloning before deciding whether or not they were for or against it. At the same time, he himself warned against the consequences of human cloning, which he said would result in the emergence of many genetic diseases which are currently unknown to scientists. Emara tackled the issue from a religious and ethical perspective. He confirmed that Islam encouraged scientists and scientific research. However, he said, even though "there is no doubt about cloning being a scientific fact, its application should be controlled by the religious, traditional, cultural and ethical nature of each country."
I am so proud of my dear friend Mona Zaki, a professor of public relations at the Marketing Department of the School of Business Administration at the American University in Cairo (AUC), for she was unanimously elected to represent Egypt at the Council of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA), replacing Loula Zaklama, who has become an IPRA board member. This announcement was made at a recent meeting of the Arab Public Relations Society, which is headed by Mahmoud El- Gohary. Zaki's career in public relations has certainly been long and successful -- most recently, she was the university's public relations associate director, as well as its cultural programmes and special events officer, playing a leading role in boosting AUC's reputation as a beacon of culture and enlightenment.
There's great news in the air for lovers of classical Arabic music, my dears, for the Arabic Music Institute on Ramsis Street has just inaugurated its new season. On 11 January, pop singer Medhat Saleh was the headliner, accompanied by pianist Amr Selim and the Abdel-Halim Noweira Arabic Music Ensemble, conducted by Salah Ghoubashi. Saleh performed a selection of Arabic classics by Abdel-Halim Hafez, Fayza Ahmed, Nagat and Mohamed Qandil. Parts of the concert were televised live by local Egyptian channels as well as satellite networks like Orbit. Affiliated with the Cairo Opera House, the institute, according to Opera House Director Samir Farag, will be hosting a series of concerts this season featuring a bevy of Arab singers from Egypt and the region, including Mohamed Tharwat, Amal Maher, Iman El-Bahr Darwish, Moroccan singer Abdu Sherif, and Syrian singers Asalah and Safwan Bahlawan.
The Austrian Ambassador to Egypt Ferdinand Trauttmansdorff held a reception recently to award Gaballah Ali Gaballah, the former secretary- general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), the Austrian government's prestigious silver medal. Gaballah was honoured for his efforts towards reinforcing Egyptian-Austrian relations in the fields of antiquities and human heritage. The party was attended by prominent figures such as Mustafa El-Feki, former Egyptian ambassador to Austria and current head of parliament's foreign relations committee, archaeologist Ali Radwan, tourism expert Amr Badr and Gaballah's successor at the SCA, Zahi Hawass.
Following up on the smashing success of the two concerts performed by the Cairo Symphony Orchestra on Christmas Eve and New Year's Day (which were attended by some 2,000 guests), the orchestra, conducted by Ahmed El-Saedi, will be performing again on 18 January, at the Cairo Opera House's Main Hall. The show will feature soprano Gihan Fayed and Russian alto Irina Chistiakova performing Mahler's masterpiece The Resurrection. The A Cappella Choir, led by Maya Gvineria -- which became part of the Cairo Symphony Orchestra in 2000 -- will also be taking part.
Pack of Cards
This week, Al-Ahram Editor-in- Chief and Chairman of the Board Ibrahim Nafie, along with Vice Chairman and General Manager Ali Ghoneim, Managing Editors Sami Metwalli and Mohamed Basha and General Manager for Advertising Hassan Hamdi inaugurated an exhibition titled "Leading Figures of Al-Ahram" in the lobby of Al-Ahram's main building on Al-Galaa street downtown. The show, running through 20 January, showcases 80 portraits created by artist Mourtada Anis, a colleague at Al-Ahram. The portraits are of the leading figures who contributed to the success of the Al-Ahram organisation ever since its first issue appeared 127 years ago. Anis also painted portraits of Egyptian presidents Gamal Abdel-Nasser, Anwar El- Sadat and Hosni Mubarak. As I toured the show, I found myself bursting with pride, especially when I considered just how much had been achieved under Nafie. Besides the daily Arabic and international editions of Al-Ahram, some 17 monthly, weekly, quarterly and annual magazines and periodicals are now produced by the media giant. Al-Ahram has also doubled the number of highly qualified foreign correspondents and offices it has across the globe. Congratulations are certainly in order for Nafie, whose birthday also coincided with the exhibit's opening.
Last week, my dears, my colleague Reham El-Adawi and I had the pleasure to attend a thrilling discussion on "Cloning and Society" which took place at the Cairo Opera House's Small Hall. The seminar was moderated by the supervisor of the Small Hall's cultural activities, Mohamed Salem, and featured veteran scientist Ahmed Moustagir and Islamic thinker Mohamed Emara. Among the attendees were veteran Al-Ahram columnist Salah Montasser, as well as a large number of scientists and young people. During the discussion, Moustagir explained cloning in layman's terms and clarified some of the concept's most misunderstood points. He said the history of cloning goes all the way back to 1885. He also pointed out that people in the Arab world should try to more accurately understand cloning before deciding whether or not they were for or against it. At the same time, he himself warned against the consequences of human cloning, which he said would result in the emergence of many genetic diseases which are currently unknown to scientists. Emara tackled the issue from a religious and ethical perspective. He confirmed that Islam encouraged scientists and scientific research. However, he said, even though "there is no doubt about cloning being a scientific fact, its application should be controlled by the religious, traditional, cultural and ethical nature of each country."
I am so proud of my dear friend Mona Zaki, a professor of public relations at the Marketing Department of the School of Business Administration at the American University in Cairo (AUC), for she was unanimously elected to represent Egypt at the Council of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA), replacing Loula Zaklama, who has become an IPRA board member. This announcement was made at a recent meeting of the Arab Public Relations Society, which is headed by Mahmoud El- Gohary. Zaki's career in public relations has certainly been long and successful -- most recently, she was the university's public relations associate director, as well as its cultural programmes and special events officer, playing a leading role in boosting AUC's reputation as a beacon of culture and enlightenment.
There's great news in the air for lovers of classical Arabic music, my dears, for the Arabic Music Institute on Ramsis Street has just inaugurated its new season. On 11 January, pop singer Medhat Saleh was the headliner, accompanied by pianist Amr Selim and the Abdel-Halim Noweira Arabic Music Ensemble, conducted by Salah Ghoubashi. Saleh performed a selection of Arabic classics by Abdel-Halim Hafez, Fayza Ahmed, Nagat and Mohamed Qandil. Parts of the concert were televised live by local Egyptian channels as well as satellite networks like Orbit. Affiliated with the Cairo Opera House, the institute, according to Opera House Director Samir Farag, will be hosting a series of concerts this season featuring a bevy of Arab singers from Egypt and the region, including Mohamed Tharwat, Amal Maher, Iman El-Bahr Darwish, Moroccan singer Abdu Sherif, and Syrian singers Asalah and Safwan Bahlawan.
The Austrian Ambassador to Egypt Ferdinand Trauttmansdorff held a reception recently to award Gaballah Ali Gaballah, the former secretary- general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), the Austrian government's prestigious silver medal. Gaballah was honoured for his efforts towards reinforcing Egyptian-Austrian relations in the fields of antiquities and human heritage. The party was attended by prominent figures such as Mustafa El-Feki, former Egyptian ambassador to Austria and current head of parliament's foreign relations committee, archaeologist Ali Radwan, tourism expert Amr Badr and Gaballah's successor at the SCA, Zahi Hawass.
Following up on the smashing success of the two concerts performed by the Cairo Symphony Orchestra on Christmas Eve and New Year's Day (which were attended by some 2,000 guests), the orchestra, conducted by Ahmed El-Saedi, will be performing again on 18 January, at the Cairo Opera House's Main Hall. The show will feature soprano Gihan Fayed and Russian alto Irina Chistiakova performing Mahler's masterpiece The Resurrection. The A Cappella Choir, led by Maya Gvineria -- which became part of the Cairo Symphony Orchestra in 2000 -- will also be taking part.
