Pack of Cards
By Madame Sosostris
It was our day in the sun, my sweets, at the Press Syndicate headquarters last week, where Journalists Day was being celebrated with passion. Information Minister Safwat El- Sherif, Arab Journalists Union head and Al-Ahram Board Chairman Ibrahim Nafie, along with the newly elected head of the syndicate Galal Aref, presided over the event, which for the first time honoured former Press Syndicate heads -- namely, Ibrahim Nafie, Kamel Zoheiri and Makram Mohamed Ahmed, for their achievements on both the syndicate and professional levels. The syndicate's prestigious gold pyramid award, meanwhile, was donned on veteran Al-Akhbar columnist Said Sonbol. 41 journalists also received certificates of honour in recognition of excellence in journalism.
Fourty-nine certificates of recognition were also granted to the families of late journalists. Although yours truly along with the entire Al-Ahram Weekly staff are still grieving over the loss of our beloved Editor-in-Chief Hosny Guindy, it was heartwarming and uplifting to watch Hosny's daughter Yasmine accept his award during the ceremony. The award commemorated Guindy for his role in defending press freedoms and celebrated both his contributions to the field as well as his unique professionalism.
I must say I am also proud, my sweets, of my diligent colleague Mahmoud Bakr, who received a LE3,000 prize for best layout for his design of Watani newspaper's English section.
India and Egypt are having a cross-cultural encounter of musical proportions, my dears, tomorrow night at the Sound and Light Theatre at the foot of the Sphinx and the Great Pyramids of Giza, where an Indo- Egyptian classical music concert will take place.
India's santoor (a musical instrument similar to qanoun) maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma and noted Egyptian oud maestro George Kazazian will weave the two ancient civilisations together into a concert that has been appropriately named "Neel-Prayag", after the river Nile, the immortal symbol of Egypt's ancient civilisation, and Prayag, the meeting point of the three rivers that have been witness to India's timeless civilisation -- Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati.
The concert is being held under the auspices of the Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture, whose Director and Cultural Counsellor Kanchan Gupta told my dear colleague Reham El-Adawi -- who was dressed in a unique Indian outfit at a press conference held last Thursday for the occasion -- that the show will move to Alexandria's Centre of Arts on 27 September.
Imagine my delight, my dears, to see Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher wearing a traditional Mexican "charro" hat, in a stylistic diplomatic nod meant to celebrate Mexico's 193rd independence anniversary. More than 40 ambassadors including 17 from Latin America and others from Europe, Africa and Asia joined Maher in marking the occasion with Mexican Ambassador Miguel Orozco, his ravishing wife Maria and their daughter Daniela. 450 guests enjoyed this fabulous dance party featuring Mexican music, delicious food and plenty of friendly Mexican drinks.
Nehad Abdel-Latif, the assistant foreign minister for international economic relations, was granted the Italian first class medal of recognition by Italian Ambassador to Cairo Antonio Padini at a prestigious ceremony attended by Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher, Secretary-General of the Arab League Amr Moussa, Head of the Foreign Relations Committee at the People's Assembly Mustafa El-Fiqi and former Arab League Secretary-General Essmat Abdel-Meguid. Abdel- Latif was being honoured for her relentless efforts towards reinforcing Egyptian-Italian relations.
Cairo Opera House is gearing up for its new cultural season, which will begin with the opening of the 2003 German Festival. Scheduled to take place from 2-23 October, the festival begins with a ballet by the world famous Stuttgart Ballet Troupe, accompanied by the Cairo Opera Orchestra, conducted by James Tuggle. That will take place at the Main Hall, on 2 and 3 October. The global meeting of cultures continues at the Small Hall, on 1 October, where famous Japanese violinist Tomoko Kawada, accompanied by pianist Maki Tanaka will do a show. On the same day, Gumhouriya Theatre features the Italian dance theatre group Kataklo, who will perform -- in conjunction with the start of the Egyptian-Italian Cultural Year -- a show titled, The Rebellion With No Order, choreographed by Giulia Staccioli.
Although Mercedes Menafra de Battle, Uruguay's First Lady, was on an unofficial visit to Egypt, she made a point of acquainting herself with the efforts undertaken by the Egyptian government to empower women's role in society. De Battle toured the National Council for Women's (NCW) information centre and library, as well as the council's ombudsman centre.
She met NCW Secretary- General Farkhonda Hassan, who said that the Council is planning a comprehensive upgrade of women's status in society. De Battle pointed out that "Mrs Mubarak, head of the NCW, has exerted great effort in establishing the council." She said that she hoped to establish a similarly well-organised organisation in Uruguay.
Cairo University's prestigious Faculty of Economics and Political Science will be holding its third International Model European Union (IMEU) from 11- 15 October, my dears. The IMEU -- the sole European Union simulation in Egypt -- is a unique activity whereby college students get a chance to enhance their diplomatic skills and prepare for a career in global politics. The organisers began preparing for the event from the semester's first day, setting up a recruitment booth where around 300 students from several universities in Cairo expressed their interest in participating. Only the best 50 applicants will be chosen as official committee members.
