YTPME

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My dears, April fool's day did not bring with it the practical jokes I am accustomed to. Instead, I attended the third American Congress Model and listened in on debates about the reconstruction of Iraq, US-Egyptian relations, and weapons of mass destruction in Iran and North Korea. Staged by the Faculty of Economics and Political Science at Cairo University and held under the auspices of the faculty's Dean Kamal El-Menofi, the model was inaugurated by the People's Assembly Head of the Foreign Relations Committee Mustafa El-Fiqi. This year the American Congress Model simulated the Senate with its 100 members and four committees: Foreign Relations and Appropriation Committees, the Committee on Armed Services, and the Sub-Committee on Middle-Eastern Affairs.

I spent a delightful evening at the Mahmoud Mokhtar Museum last week, for the inauguration of the exhibit "The Red City", by the Spanish artist Miquel Navarro. The event was attended by Spanish Ambassador to Egypt Pedro Lopez, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Spanish Embassy Manuel Gomez de Valenzuela, Director of Cervantes Institute (The Spanish Cultural Centre in Cairo and Alexandria) Luis Moratinos, as well as Head of the Plastic Arts Sector Ahmed Nawwar. Also there was my dear colleague Editor-in-Chief of Al- Ahram Hebdo Mohamed Salmawi and his beautiful wife, gifted painter Nazli Madkour. Through his "Red City" (which runs through 24 April) Navarro tries to prove that earth is the origin of man. Something not to be missed.

Last week, artist Adel Thabet opened his annual art exhibition at the premises of his art gallery Shadicor in Heliopolis. The annual event exhibits paintings of Thabet 's 12 students, including the work of Doaa Kamoura, whom he describes as "a very promising and talented young artist". Now in its sixth year, Thabet 's exhibit has often been the scouting ground for the next generation of local artists.

My dears, the press has been a hot topic in recent months. As part of the national debate, I attended a five-day workshop on legal protection for journalists entitled "For a free and responsible press", which was held recently at the Palestine Helnan Hotel in Alexandria. The workshop was organised by United Group, Al-Ahram Regional Press Institute, and financed by the Dutch Embassy. Around 50 lawyers and journalists participated in the seminar aiming at emphasising the role of journalists in protecting the principles and values of human rights. Lecturers included Negad El-Borai, former secretary-general of the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR) and general manager of the Group for Democratic Development, head of Al- Ahram Regional Press Institute Osama Saraya, and lawyer Ihab Salam. The 16 sessions of the seminar dealt with freedom of expression in international law, the mechanisms of national and international protection for journalists, the psychological effects of libel cases, restricting press freedom in Egyptian law, copyright crimes and the press codes of ethics. It was certainly a most stimulating event, my delights.