This week, my sweets, former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali officially launched the Egyptian Chapter of the New York-based Federation of Associations of Former International Civil Servants (AFICS- Egypt). AFICS-Egypt is the brainchild of Soheir Kansouh-Habib, a former senior member of Cairo's UNDP office. Amongst its honourary members are Boutros Ghali himself, as well as Ahmed Fawzi, who currently heads the UNIC in Paris. Said El-Naggar, Laila Takla and Hisham El-Sherif are also amongst the chapter's founding members.
The ceremony was held at downtown's Diplomatic Club, and reflected Kansouh-Habib's elegant touch. To name but a few of the luminaries I mingled with -- Minister of Agriculture Youssef Wali, National Council for Motherhood and Childhood Head Moushira Khattab, National Council for Women Secretary-General Farkhonda Hassan, and Antonio Vigilante, resident representative of the UNDP office in Cairo. After the appropriate speeches were made, everyone settled down to listen to the wonderful music of harpist Manal Mohieddin.
To commemorate Egypt's participation in the worldwide celebrations of International Heritage Day, the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) organised a cultural and artistic festival in the garden of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir last week. More than 300 intellectuals and archaeologists from Egypt and the world participated in the event, which included a seminar by SCA Secretary-General Zahi Hawass. First undersecretary for foreign relations at the Ministry of Culture Cherif El- Choubashi, author and Editor-in-Chief of Al- AhramHebdoMohamed Salmawy, Executive Director of the new Grand Egyptian Museum Mohamed Ghoneim and Antiquities Sector Head Sabri Abdel-Aziz also participated in the festivities, which also included a recital of Ancient Egyptian poetry written during the reign of Akhenaten, by actor Nour El-Sherif and actress Raghda, accompanied by a ravishing performance of Inas Abdel-Dayem on the flute.
Congratulations, my dear, are in order for Mahmoud Mabrouk, who was recently named supervisor of the museums sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA). Mabrouk, who is a professor of sculpture at Helwan University's Faculty of Artistic Education, participated in restoring the Sphinx and establishing the Suzanne Mubarak Museum for Children. Mabrouk plans to increase the revenue-generating potential of Egypt's museums via the sale of books and souvenirs. He also aims to establish new, specialised museums for coins and mosaics in Alexandria.
Pack of Cards
This week, my sweets, former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali officially launched the Egyptian Chapter of the New York-based Federation of Associations of Former International Civil Servants (AFICS- Egypt). AFICS-Egypt is the brainchild of Soheir Kansouh-Habib, a former senior member of Cairo's UNDP office. Amongst its honourary members are Boutros Ghali himself, as well as Ahmed Fawzi, who currently heads the UNIC in Paris. Said El-Naggar, Laila Takla and Hisham El-Sherif are also amongst the chapter's founding members.
The ceremony was held at downtown's Diplomatic Club, and reflected Kansouh-Habib's elegant touch. To name but a few of the luminaries I mingled with -- Minister of Agriculture Youssef Wali, National Council for Motherhood and Childhood Head Moushira Khattab, National Council for Women Secretary-General Farkhonda Hassan, and Antonio Vigilante, resident representative of the UNDP office in Cairo. After the appropriate speeches were made, everyone settled down to listen to the wonderful music of harpist Manal Mohieddin.
Congratulations, my dear, are in order for Mahmoud Mabrouk, who was recently named supervisor of the museums sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA). Mabrouk, who is a professor of sculpture at Helwan University's Faculty of Artistic Education, participated in restoring the Sphinx and establishing the Suzanne Mubarak Museum for Children. Mabrouk plans to increase the revenue-generating potential of Egypt's museums via the sale of books and souvenirs. He also aims to establish new, specialised museums for coins and mosaics in Alexandria.
