Library celebrated
Dina Ezzat joins the festivities marking the fifth year of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina
This week in the once cosmopolitan port of Alexandria, Ismail Serageddin, director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, hosted President Hosni Mubarak and Mrs Suzanne Mubarak and a cache of prominent Egyptian and world dignitaries and intellectuals to celebrate the fifth anniversary of this cultural beacon built in memory of the legendary Alexandria library of 16 centuries ago. Attendees renewed their commitment to the mission of today's library: promoting knowledge and tolerance.
The two-hour ceremony that was held at the Bibliotheca Tuesday evening was marked by musical performances that attempted to reflect on the collective nature of human heritage, combining Western and Eastern classics, including Sayed Darwish, an Alexandrian music legend. The event also offered occasion for long recitations from prominent world and Arab philosophers, writers and poets, all musing on the love of knowledge, the want of peace and dreams of freedom.
The celebration was launched Tuesday evening by a speech of President Mubarak who seized the opportunity to think beyond the cultural to the political. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Mubarak said, stands as "a symbol of Egypt's celebration of a glorious past and its commitment to make a better present and bring about a more glorious future." In his speech, Mubarak reflected on the role of the Bibliotheca as a focal point for political dialogue. "This library proved to be a venue for a continuous dialogue on many issues of national concern, including those related to reform and development," he said.
"It was exactly in this place that I shared a vision for reform both in Egypt and across in the Arab world... and it was here that I stressed the need for this reform to be compatible with our values and inspired by our own priorities," Mubarak stated. The Egyptian president meanwhile renewed his commitment to political, economic and social reform. "We will stay the course and never regress," he promised while comparing the state of liberty and economic standards in Egypt today with that in the late 1970s on the eve of his taking office.
"In fairness, how would anybody compare the unprecedented freedoms that we have today to those of the 1970s? What about the freedom of opinion, expression and press? How was it then and how has it evolved today?" the president asked. Mubarak added: "Liberties entail much responsibility... the freedom of opinion, expression and the press should be no pretext for the exercise of slander."
Moreover, responding to a wave of criticism regarding Egypt's declining international status, Mubarak reaffirmed his commitment to regional engagement. "Our efforts to address national concerns are indeed matched by an equal endeavour to address matters of concern for our region," Mubarak said. He added, "we are fully aware of the unavoidable link between our own national security and the security of the entire region... and we are doing our utmost to preserve the cultural identity and interests of this region."
Mrs Mubarak, in her capacity as chairperson of the Bibliotheca's board of trustees, added Euclid's The Elements to the collection, which now extends to 555,555 volumes. Printed in Germany in the 16th century, according to Serageddin, "it is another addition to the rapidly growing acquisition of rarities by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina."
For the past five years, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina aimed to contribute positively to cross-cultural engagement and cooperation. With seminars, exhibitions and workshops, it addressed issues that ranged from the traditional to the progressive, and even the controversial. Among its most prominent events is the annual conference on reform in Egypt and the Arab world that adopted the Alexandria Declaration for Reform in 2004.
Yesterday, as part of the scheduled two-day long festivities, Mrs Mubarak hosted a group of Nobel peace prize women candidates from around the world to share their experiences on women's contribution to peace and stability in their own societies and beyond.
Also as part of the fifth anniversary celebrations, the Bibliotheca launched its Arabic version of the Women in an Insecure World -- Violence Against Women that was originally published by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces. Upon the inauguration of its Peace Studies Institute last year, the Bibliotheca launched the original text of this cry against gender-based discrimination.
The Bibliotheca Alexandrina, according to Serageddin, is also planning a series of seminars and lectures to address the history of women's political role in ancient civilisations and across the ages.
The Bibliotheca was closed to the public as it hosted the festivities. It reopens today.
Recommend
Comment
Printer-friendly
