Pack of Cards
By Madame Sosostris
My first item this week, my dears, involves an art exhibition that my dear colleague, culture editor Mursi Saad El- Din, inaugurated at the Grant Gallery on 24 June. Titled "Moulid Ya Donia", the exhibition featured two artists. One of them, Hoda Mourad, has had eight local exhibitions, eight international ones, and 19 group shows. The other artist may be less experienced at painting, but he certainly stole the show, for he was none other than Abdel-Moneim Madbouli, the loveable, famous actor whose comic roles are adored by Egyptians of all ages.
It turns out Madbouli also has a passion for painting, and his work received quite a bit of attention at the Grant, much of which was generated by the bevy of actors and actresses who were there to experience first-hand the veteran superstar's talent in another cultural domain.
The show runs through 15 July.
For the third year in a row, the Orascom Construction Industries Foundation has awarded educational scholarships to six of Egypt's brightest students, enabling them to study at the world's leading universities.
The six students who were granted this year's prestigious "Onsi Sawiris Scholarships" are Mohamed Kamal El- Zohairy, who will be attending the University of Washington to study Computer Engineering, Ramy Darwish who will pursue a Bachelor's Degree in Economics there as well, Beshoy Guirguis, who will be attending the University of Pennsylvania in pursuit of a Bachelor's Degree in Biomedical Science, and Dina Hossam, who will be attending the same university's Wharton School to study Economics. Tarek Hosni will be attending Stanford University in pursuit of a Bachelor's Degree in Engineering and Mohamed Farid El-Hawary will be attending Cornell University for his Doctorate Degree in Computer Science.
Prominent businessman Onsi Sawiris himself presented the scholarship certificates to the winners, who were chosen on the basis of their academic and overall excellence. The scholarships have become a tradition that truly provides a beacon of hope for the country's future, and congratulations are in order for everyone involved.
Last week, my sweets, I was proud to be on hand for a ceremony that was held to commemorate the Federal Republic of Germany's granting of its Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit to Nader Riyad, who heads the famous Bavaria fire extinguisher company here in Egypt.
A mega celebration was held, during which Baron Paul Von Maltzahn, the German ambassador in Egypt, granted Riyad the award on behalf of Johannes Rau, president of the Federal Republic of Germany. Maltzahn's wife, Baroness Hannelore, was also on hand for the event, which was meant to show Germany's appreciation for Riyad's efforts towards reinforcing economic ties between Egypt and Germany, as well as his accomplishments towards the development of Egyptian society.
Riyad is a member of the National Democratic Party, a counselor at the People's Assembly's Industry and Energy Committee, a board member at Mubarak Public Library, and head of the Industrial Committee of the Arab-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
Among those in attendance to congratulate Riyad were Minister of Public Business Sector Moukhtar Khattab, Head of the Administrative Control Authority Hitler Tantawi, Head of the People's Assembly's Foreign Relations Committee Mustafa El-Feki, Giza Governor Mahmoud Abul-Leil, Chairman of the Board of the Mubarak Public Library Abdel- Raouf El-Ridi, former Minister of Environment Nadia Makram Ebeid, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass, and renowned businessman Mounir Ghabour.
Congratulations are in order for several other prominent personalities this week. First of all, my dear friend, the architect Hussein Ahmed Hussein, has been named the general manager of the Nubia Antiquities Fund. Hussein -- who was the Ministry of Culture's director of renovation projects for Islamic Cairo -- will replace Kamal Barakat at the post. Hussein has taken part in the renovation of both the Hanging Church and Amr Ibn Al-'As Mosque, as well as other mosques over the course of an illustrious career.
At the Biological Products and Vaccines Company, meanwhile, Mohamed El-Abaddi was recently elected chairman of board by the company's general assembly. Masri Suleiman El-Guindy, head of the company's financial sector, as well as Abdel-Gawwad Mahfouz of the accounting department, offered El-Abaddi their sincere congratulations on receiving this tremendous vote of confidence from the company's board.
The Four Seasons Hotel in Cairo recently held a welcome cocktail reception for its new general manager, Doug Housley, a veteran hotelier who has spent 23 of his 26 years in the hospitality industry with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. "I began my career in the hotel industry from ground level, taking the opportunity to learn each and every department over the years," said Housley. "I look forward to leading our wonderful employees here in Cairo and encouraging them as they grow through the ranks."
This was also a big week for NGOs my dears, as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) awarded six NGOs with grants worth $15,000 each, in order to carry out projects promoting human rights in Egyptian society. The grants are part of the third phase of a joint project between the UNDP and the Foreign Ministry, which will be overseen by a committee whose members include representatives of civil society, NGOs, the UNDP, the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Social Affairs.
Another UNDP and Foreign Ministry sponsored programme also concluded in Luxor recently. Titled Capacity Building in Human Rights, the programme was sponsored by the Danish Aid Fund and held under the auspices of Prosecutor- General Maher Abdel-Wahed. It involved the training of deputy prosecutor-generals in Upper Egypt, by bringing them up to speed on issues of law and human rights.
A recent workshop brought together about 60 young women from developing countries who are leaders in the field of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) to discuss topics like the gender dimension of the digital divide within Arab states, and the role of governments, private sector, civil society and the international community in empowering young women as key stakeholders in the Information Society.
The forum was organised by the Global Knowledge Partnership and its two member partners, the International Institute for Sustainable Development and Taking IT Global, in collaboration with Egypt's Regional Information Technology and Software Engineering Centre (RITSEC). The event was also held under the auspices of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.
A wonderful event also recently took place on the Blue Nile Boat to commemorate the opening of a new branch of The International School of Choueifat (ISC) in 6 October City's Dreamland. An enlightening presentation was given on the state of the art setting of the new ISC campus, which is a member of the Sabis School Network, an educational organisation that manages schools worldwide, currently educating some 24,000 students.
