By Madame Sosostris Stage poem At the Creativity Centre on the Opera House grounds, Helw Al-Kalam (Sweet Talk), a verse play directed by Khaled Galal, is currently on show until the end of the month: Sherif Sonbol took to the show with his camera. The Ambassador of the Republic of Korea Jong-kon Yoon gave a reception at his residence in Maadi to celebrate the National Day of South Korea. In his speech, Yoon said, "This year we witnessed a great historical event which started from Egypt and spread like wildfire all over the Middle East. Egypt's 25 January Revolution was the main source of inspiration for the Arab Spring which is now sweeping the whole Arab region." The reception was attended by South African Ambassador Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya, Major General Hassan El-Roueini, member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Cairo Governor Abdel-Qawi Khalifa and Yehia El-Gamal, former deputy prime minister, as well as members of several foreign missions in Cairo. More on Korea! The Korean Embassy in Cairo, in cooperation with the Egyptian Taekwondo Federation, organised the second Global Taekwondo Course at the Taekwondo Training Hall in Fayoum. Under the supervision of Korean instructors, some 100 trainees of all age groups have participated in this course, which aims to encourage young Egyptians to practise Taekwondo. At the end of the course, participants were awarded in the presence of Park Jae Yang, cultural and information counsellor who expressed his admiration for the advanced level of the participants. Yang said that his course, which is held annually, comes in the framework of the embassy's efforts to spread and strengthen Taekwondo in Egypt. Engineers, scientists, artists and entrepreneurs from across the world descended on the Terrace of the Artoc Athletic Centre at the American University in Cairo (AUC) New Cairo campus for Maker Faire Africa, an annual innovation fair celebrating ingenuity in science and technology through a series of professional workshops, social gatherings, project mash-ups, competitions and a public exhibit. This year's Maker Faire, the first to be held in Egypt, took place in 6-8 October. Local organisers are embracing the opportunity to rally AUC and Egyptian innovators to showcase their creativity and resourcefulness in an international setting. "Maker Faire Africa asks a simple question: What happens when you put the drivers of ingenious concepts from one African country with those from other countries, and add resources to the mix?" said Alaa Ibrahim, physics professor and co-organiser of the event. A number of AUC students participated in the fair with their unique projects. One group, led by Bassem El-Zamel, created a Human Powered Vehicle, a vehicle powered entirely by human pedaling. The vehicle is designed to reach a speed of 60 kilometres per hour and is distinguished by its aerodynamic shape. Mariam Ibyari, a junior architecture major, participated in the fair with a project on green furniture which she named "Crasts". "Crasts is all about spreading environmental awareness through innovation and creativity," said Ibyari. The Maker Faire began in California in 2006 and reached Africa for the first time in 2009. Maker Faire Africa is open to participants within the AUC community and across Egypt from all disciplines. AUC students, faculty, staff and alumni are joined by leading innovators from across Africa, the United States and Europe. The Ambassador of the Republic of Nigeria in Cairo Baba Gana Wakil celebrated the 51st Nigerian National Day in the presence of an array of African ambassadors. The Alexandria Opera House held the inauguration ceremony of the 27th Alexandria Film Festival for Mediterranean Countries, dedicating this round to martyrs of the 25 January Revolution. The ceremony opened with an operetta about the three Egyptian revolutions followed by a speech delivered by president of the festival Nader Adli to welcome his guests, including Culture Minister Emad Abu Ghazi, veteran actors Yehia El-Fakharani and Salah El-Saadani, filmmakers Magdi Ahmed Ali and Khaled Youssef, actors Ghada Abdel-Razek, Joumana Mourad, Gihan Fadel and Ghada Ibrahim, Khaled Saleh, Khaled El-Sawi and Hassan El-Raddad. The General Organisation of Cultural Palaces, headed by Saad Abdel-Rahman, celebrated the 38th anniversary of the 6 October victory, with Minister of Culture Emad Abu Ghazi visited accompanying Abdel-Rahman on a tour of the premises, seeing an exhibition of art, a book fair and folk performances. The head of the General Organisation for Culture Palaces Saad Abdel-Rahman held an event in honour of the late novelist Khairi Shalabi under the title "Khairi Shalabi: Story Teller of the Marginalised". The evening included speeches by Zein Khairi Shalabi and Abdel-Rahman himself, followed by a lecture entitled "New aspects in reading the creativity of Khairi Shalabi"; the lecture was conducted by Mohamed Badawi with attendance from a range of intellectuals and high-profile figures. The Swedish Ambassador to Egypt Malin K��rre launched the newly designed Arabic digital platform Sweden.se/ar, a website aimed at aspiring young Arabic speakers with information about Swedish society and culture, providing tips and opportunities to those interested in working, studying or visiting Sweden. The event featured the head of digital communications at the Swedish Institute in Cairo Frida Roberts as the keynote speaker: "We are very happy about the digital presence and look forward to an online dialogue with young Arabic-speaking people." The Egyptian writer Mohamed El-Dahshan received a prize at the Anna Lindh Mediterranean Journalist Award last week in the presence of Monaco Prince Albert II in Monaco. The event brought together media and civil society representatives from across the shores of the Mediterranean. El-Dahshan was among the winners of the 2011 edition for his exceptional writing on social change in Egypt, published in various international publications, which allowed the voice of young Egyptian activists to be heard all over the world. Among the winners were the Palestinian blogger Asmaa El-Ghoul, a writer from Gaza who was awarded the commitment of freedom of expression prize for her courage in facing repression. The jury committee this year was chaired by renowned sociologist Edgar Morin in the presence of the president of the Anna Lindh Foundation Andr�� Azoulay. El Sawy Culturewheel held a seminar on electronic waste and its effects on health and environment. The seminar was conducted by the head of the information and awareness department at the Environment Institute, Ain Shams University, Abdel-Masih Samaan and communication expert Hossam Khodeir. The newly opened art gallery ABC (Art Bridge Cairo), founded by Rasha Ragab, held a group exhibition of photography and video art inaugurated by Latin American diplomats in Cairo such as Mexican Ambassador Maria Carmen Onate Munoz and her Uruguayan counterpart Ines Ubici de Busso, as well as Egyptian figures like Mounir Neamatallah and Magdi El-Gohary and young Egyptian artists who participated in the 25 January Revolution. It features works by the likes of Alaa Taher, Al-Ahram's very own Bassam El-Zoghby, Ibrahim Saad, Joachim Eckl from Austria and the Mexican To��o Labra. (see Listings p.20) Actor Ahmed El-Saqqa commemorated the death of his father, stage director Salah El-Saqqa, a year ago at the Puppet Theatre. El-Saqqa, creator of the epoch operetta Al-Leila Al-Kebira (The Big Night) which was written by the poet Salah Jahine, accompanied by the genius music of Sayed Mekkawi and puppets by Nagi Shakir. During the ceremony, director of the Art House Mohamed Ali handed El-Saqqa a shield honouring the name of Salah El-Saqqa. Present were Nadia El-Saqqa, the spouse of the late director, and Fatma El-Saqqa, his daughter, as well as directors Essam El-Sayed and Ahmed Shafiq.
