Pack of Cards

By Madame Sosostris

For some time now, the Cairo Opera House has been actively trying to raise schoolchildren's awareness of different types of music. As part of this initiative, Opera House Director Samir Farag recently decided to allow school children to attend the dress rehearsals of every performance at the opera, including ballets, orchestral concerts and operas. Along with the Vienna Opera, the Cairo Opera House is only the second major opera in the world to take this unique step. In fact, 750 schoolchildren recently enjoyed the dress rehearsal of the gala concert celebrating the Cairo Opera House's 15th anniversary. That particular show featured the Cairo Opera Orchestra, conducted by Nader Abbassi, and soloists from the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, along with the renowned pianist Ramzi Yassa. The repertoire included international classics like Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet, Bernstein's West Side Story as well as works by Beethoven and Abbassi.

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I must start my pack, my sweets, with news of Ramadan-related events. For a change, I'll tell you all about some of the goings on in Alexandria, at that city's Centre of Arts on Al-Horreya Street. Beginning today, and running until 20 November, the centre will be hosting a series of concerts by the likes of Mohsen Farouk's Asatizat Al-Tarab troupe, Raouf El-Ganayny's Latin-inspired band, Iraqi oud maestro Nassir Shamma, the Reflection Group (in cooperation with the Turkish Consulate), and Fathi Salama's Sharkiat. For those whose passion runs more towards poetry and literature, the centre is also organising a series of poetry evenings featuring emerging Alexandrian voices like Gaber Bassiouni, Hamdi Khalaf and Mohamed Mekkawi.

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My heart leaps, my dears, when I hear of initiatives like the one recently begun by the American University in Cairo's (AUC) Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action (EOAA), in cooperation with the Office of Student Development (OSD). The two groups are celebrating the inauguration of a new student organisation called The Move. According to EOAA Director Iman El-Kaffass, The Move is the first university-based student organisation dealing with the many facets of girls' development, including health, education, awareness, and training. A bevy of distinguished guests -- including businesswoman Audette Iskander and media veteran Dorreya Sharafeddin -- attended the inauguration. According to The Move's director, May El-Zalaky, the group was inspired by Mrs Suzanne Mubarak's declaration that 2003 is the year of the Egyptian girl. The Move aims to raise awareness amongst girls regarding things like early marriage, illiteracy and female circumcision, via a series of seminars that will be held over the course of the year. Renowned actor and UNDP Goodwill Ambassador Hussein Fahmi, who was also there, added that men should also play a large part in the promotion of women's development.

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I have another important piece of news from the AUC, my loves: a special tribute to Edward Said, the late, great professor of English and comparative literature and a regular contributor to the pages of Al-Ahram Weekly, will be held on 1 November at the Ewart Memorial Hall. The tribute will be accompanied by a recital by oud maestro Nassir Shamma.

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Last week, a cooperation agreement was signed between 6 October University and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to grant scholarships to five refugees. It was also agreed that the university, in cooperation with the UNHCR's Cairo office, would organise training courses for refugees at reasonable prices. The agreement was signed during a celebration held at the university's headquarters in the presence of its president Mohamed Ismail Hamed, UNHCR regional envoy Ana Liria Franch, the commissioner's Goodwill Ambassador Adel Imam (who is also, my dears, our biggest superstar actor), and others.

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During a recent trip to Cairo, Randa Berri, the wife of Lebanese Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri, visited a centre for the rehabilitation and employment of children with special needs. Magda Moussa, who heads the Misr Languages Schools, accompanied Berri. The Egyptian-Lebanese Friendship Association also held a party honouring Berri that was attended by National Council for Childhood and Motherhood Secretary-General Moushira Khattab, as well as the wives of the ministers of information, petroleum, education and scientific research, and economy.

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This month, Hiroyasu Kobayash, minister and deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Cairo, and Nada Alfy Thabet, chairperson of the Village of Hope Association in Borg Al-Arab near Alexandria, signed a contract that will facilitate the Japanese Embassy's $28,500 grant to provide a mini-bus for the village's mentally challenged youth.

Established in 2000, the Village of Hope Association's main objective is to train and rehabilitate mentally challenged youth, focussing on day-to-day skills as well as income generating jobs. The new mini-bus will help ensure a comfortable and safe means of transportation for them.

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Congratulations are in order, my sweets, for my dear colleague Mahmoud Bakr, the Weekly's environment reporter who has just received his Masters degree from Ain Shams University's Environmental Studies and Research Institute. Bakr's thesis was on "Rectifying the environmental content in women's pages in some Egyptian governmental newspapers within the framework of environmental education." The thesis was supervised by none other than Mamdouh Riyad, the minister of state for the environment, as well as professors Abdel-Masih Samaan, Yousri Afifi and Suzanne El-Qelini.

All in all it was a wonderful week for Bakr, since the day before he got the masters, he became the proud father of a baby boy named Ziyad. Mabrouk to Mahmoud -- we're all looking forward to your PhD!