Pack of cards

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photos: Ghada Abd El-Kader The ninth International Youth Gathering for Cultural Exchange (21-31 August), an Arab Scouts initiative, this year brings together a host of major organisations: UNESCO, the League of Arab States, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and the Organisation for Education, Science and Culture (ISESCO). Held at the Cairo International Scout Centre (CISC), the opening featured a coterie of high-profile speakers: the Scouts Regional Office Director Atef Abdel-Mageed, Arab League minister plenipotentiary Hani Mustafa and ISESCO representative Abdel-Elah Bin Arafa. According to Abdel-Mageed, the aim of the project is to strengthen intercultural bonds through the shared values of the scouts movement. The 400 scouts participating in the conference, hailing from all over the world, will visit tourist attractions in Cairo, Alexandria and Beheira.

Together with the Rural Woman Association, the Embassy of Japan celebrated the arrival, in the village of Hegaza Qebly, Qena, of sewerage removal truck -- a term of the $19,296 Japanese aid contract targeting the environmental conditions surrounding 750 local families. Preset were the Deputy Chief of the Japanese delegation in Egypt Juichi Takahara, Executive Director of the Rural Women Development Association Hoda El-Awari, member of People's Assembly Mohamed Fahmi El-Khabir, and Director of the Ministry of Social Solidarity in Qena Zakaria Mohamed Omar.

Al-Andalus, Khaled Youssef 's latest film, is a big budget production that will feature Hind Sabri, Omar Sherif, Mahmoud Hemida, Yehia El-Fakharani, Nour El-Sherif, Sherif Mounir, Ahmed Ezz, Hani Salama, Ahmed El-Saqqa, Youssra and Nabila Ebeid.

World famous religious star Sami Youssef gave a peace-oriented concert in solidarity with Lebanon and Palestine at the Alexandria Sporting Club this week, in which he performed more than 20 of his best loved songs, aired exclusively on Melody Channel.

For the benefit of over 200,000 refugees returning to their homes in Lebanon, UNICEF is, together with the National Demining Office, the Lebanese Army, the University of Balamand, the National steering committee for Mine Risk Education and World Rehabilitation, UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and UNDP, launching a public awareness campaign in Syria and Lebanon focussing on the menace of unexploded ordnance. Thousands of leaflets are being distributed; radio and television stations are broadcasting warnings; and UNMAS is reporting incidents -- including the death of a child in Tyre and eight civilian injuries from clustre munitions. In the meantime, as the focal point for mine risk education, UNICEF is undertaking comprehensive rehabilitation of landmine survivors, including psychological counselling.

The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) is accepting submissions for its new annual Arab Film Competition which, according to DIFF CEO Neil Stephenson, gives Arab filmmakers a chance for exposure, encourages production and promotes interculturalism. Structured to these ends, the competition accepts only films by Arab filmmakers set in the Arab world or among Arab diasporas. Entries must be produced in the period 1 January 2005-21 September 2006 (the deadline for submission); and they cannot be commercially released in the UAE before 17 December 2006. The selection committee will announce its decision by 15 November, while the awards ceremony will be held at the end of the festival (10-17 December).

The Contemporary Image Collective (CIC), the Townhouse Gallery of Contemporary Art and the Ebdaa Gallery have launched the "Li-Beirut" campaign of solidarity with Lebanon. Taking place at the CIC headquarters in the period 20-28 August, the event was accompanied by the launch of li-beirut.com -- hosted by the regional portal www.filbalad.com -- an on-going initiative to raise awareness and mobilise support. Initiated by CIC moderator Mohamed Yousri, CIC cultural coordinator Aleya Hamza and theatre director Laila Hassan Soliman, the campaign functions as both an awareness-raising programme of activities and, through collaboration with Lebanese NGOs, a funding stream -- with any revenues channelled into relief work. Concurrent activities include concerts, documentary and feature film screenings, an exhibition of donated art works by and a photo exhibit presented by Agence France Presse (AFP), as well as literary readings. "Most of the preparations have already been made, thanks to the volunteers who spared neither time nor effort to help this campaign come about," Hamza announced. A series of branded products carrying campaign logo will be sold during events and at various venues across the city -- mugs, T-shirts, bumper stickers, badges, postcards and bags.

In its first anniversary the Fine Art Bus invited its child participants to join forces with their Lebanese counterparts, as my ever diligent colleague Ghada Abd El-Kader saw for herself at the Cairo Opera House. According to Chairman of the General Organisation for Cultural Palaces Ahmed Nawwar, the celebration is the brainchild of architect Hisham Sadek ; this year it brings together 83 groups of children representing the same number of governorates. Boarding the buses set aside for the occasion, the children visited museums and exhibitions, joining in a nation-wide workshop entitled "Against Aggression: We Love Lebanon", in which they expressed, through creative and emotional drawings, their views on what has been happening in Lebanon. According to project coordinator Osama Afifi, the work will be collected before setting off on a tour of the country. Involved in the project are the head of the Plastic Arts Syndicate Mustafa Hussein, together with artists Ibrahim Abdel-Malak, Adel El-Siwi, Saleh El-Meligi, Abdel-Wahab Abdel-Mohsen, Ayman El-Samari, Shadi El-Noshokati and Hamdi Abdel-Ati as well as writer Neam El-Baz.