Dostoevsky in motion For two consecutive days, the Cairo Opera House's Main Hall hosted The Karamazovs ballet. Sherif Sonbol was ready at the performance with his camera. On 21 March, the British Council will welcome Steve Bell, the acclaimed British satirical cartoonist from The Guardian newspaper, to open the "Lighting Lamps" exhibition of cartoons at the Press Syndicate, Downtown Cairo. This will be followed by a seminar with Bell talking about the power and impact of cartoons and assistant to the managing editor of Al-Akhbar newspaper Mustafa Abdallah speaking about the role of cartoons in intercultural dialogue. The seminar will be moderated by Egyptian cartoonist Gomaa Farahat of Al-Ahram newspaper. The exhibition was hosted by the Guardian newsroom in London last summer and is now touring Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan and Egypt. It represents the talents of some of the leading cartoonists in the Arab world, who through their drawings are able to raise, silently and critically, the major social issues of the day, crossing linguistic and cultural barriers. It features the work of prominent Arab cartoonists such as Mustafa Hussein from Egypt, Ali Ferzat from Syria, Emad Hajjaj and Jalal Rifai from Jordan, Amer Shomali from Palestine as well as Bell. The exhibition will be also shown in Cairo at Al-Sawy Cultural Wheel, Zamalek and the British Council in Agouza. ( see Listings p.6 ) Under the auspices of Culture Minister Farouk Hosni, the closing ceremony of the 19th Cairo International Film Festival for Children (CIFFC) took place at the Cairo Opera House's Main Hall. Under the slogan "What Do Children Want?" the ceremony included an operetta choreographed by Walid Aouni along with a group of children. A sum of 315 films participated in this year's round from all over the world. Out of these, 54 are Egyptian, with eight collecting prizes. A galaxy of actors, among whom some were child stars whilst others have contributed to children's cinema in one way or another, were honoured, including veteran singer-cum-actor Samir Sabri, Khaled Abul-Naga, veiled actress Sabrine, veiled TV presenter and actress Inas Abdallah, Maye Nour El-Sherif and actor Karim Abdel-Aziz. The top prize went to The Rock Battle from Holland while the Korean film The Friends was awarded the second prize, and Morision, also from the Netherlands, came third. Last Monday at the Marriott Hotel in Zamalek, the German University in Cairo (GUC), presided over by professor Mahmoud Abdel-Qader, granted an honorary Order of Merit to German professor and world renowned industry expert Berthold Leibinger. He is currently the chairman of the board of a large German company. Born in 1930 in Stuttgart, he received his Bachelor of Arts in mechanical engineering from Stuttgart Technical University and throughout his career has received numerous prestigious awards and occupied several crucial positions in banks worldwide and large companies. photos: Ayman Barayez Khaira Al-Fassi, wife of the Moroccan ambassador to Egypt, held a prestigious charity celebration at her residence. The revenues of the celebration were dedicated to charity projects led by the Tahsin Al-Siha Association, presided over by Sawsan Attia. Moroccan singers Abdu Sherif, Janat, Murad Asmar and Asmaa Al-Monawar enlivened the event. Jehan El-Sadat was present at the event along with the wife of head of the Shura Council Safwat El-Sherif, wife of Minister of Social Solidarity Ali Meselhi, wife of Minister of Finance Youssef Boutros Ghali, wife of Omani Ambassador to Egypt Mariam Al-Hanaai, Al-Ahram back page editor Mona Ragab, head of Garden City Lions Club Awatef Serageddin, and Nisf Al-Donia magazine Editor-in- Chief Afkar El-Kharadli. photos: Abdel-Hamid Eid A lavish press conference was held at the Four Seasons Hotel for the signing of veteran Algerian singer Warda 's contract for her new album with Rotana after a long absence. The press conference was crowned by the presence of Algerian Ambassador to Egypt Abdel-Hafiz Al-Herqam and Director of Rotana Salem El-Hendi, as well as a galaxy of celebrities among them were actors Elham Shahine, Mahmoud Yassin, the gorgeous Nabila Ebeid, music composer Helmi Bakr and media figure Wagdi El-Hakim. They all joined in to celebrate the special occasion with Warda. The conference was chaired by media figure Joumana Abu Eid. The Sheikh Zayed Book Award is currently preparing for its third round ceremony to be held at the Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi. The event is considered the largest cultural event in Abu Dhabi, according to secretary-general of the award Rashed Al-Oraimi. It is due to host a number of literati, among them veteran Egyptian novelist Gamal El-Ghitani, Bahraini professor Baqer Al-Najjar and Algerian academic Youcef Oughlici. Mexican Ambassador to Egypt Jaime Nualart inaugurated Mexican food week at the Semiramis InterContinental Hotel. Head of the Egyptian and Arab writers unions Mohamed Salmawi, Nisf Al-Donia magazine Editor-in-Chief Afkar El-Kharadli, Editor-in-Chief of Al-Ahram's Al-Beit magazine Silvia El-Naqadi, spouse of the former Foreign Minister Hoda Maher and a variety of high-profile figures and ambassadors were present and enjoyed the ceremony, which featured Mexican folkloric dancing. The book signing of Al-Ahram Weekly's own assistant Features editor Amira El-Noshokaty took place a couple of days ago. The book, titled Bel Tafseel (In Detail) is a compilation of short stories set in the ancient neighbourhood of Abbasiya, where the writer grew up. Bel Tafseel is the first of El-Noshokaty 's literary works and is currently being adapted into a feature film by screenwriter and director Ahmed Haddad, the author's husband. The ceremony was held in Diwan bookstore's newest branch in Mohandessin district, and was the first book signing to be held there. Among those who attended from the Weekly's staff were Entertainment editor Rania Khallaf, Nashwa Abdel-Tawab from the sports page, and Features editor Dena Rashed. From amongst El-Noshokaty 's celebrity family members attending were her husband, artist Haddad, her mother Tahani Zakaria Ahmed, her aunt, lawyer and human rights activist Mona Zulfiqar, father-in-law and poet Amin Haddad and music composer Hazem Shahine. Among the friends attending were director Dina Hamza, actresses Doaa Hamza, Basma Yasser, singer Ahmed Ali Al-Haggar and music composer Ahmed El-Mougy. After a decade of dedication and continuous giving, the American University in Cairo's student club Hand in Hand (HIH) recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. HIH has been active in supporting elders both financially and psychologically in various ways, including visits to the homes of the elderly, micro-projects in Qalioubiya, charity concerts, and recently Omra (lesser pilgrimage). "Throughout the past 10 years, HIH was also able to recruit more members from the AUC student body, which enabled it to expand its activities," says Community Service Programme Manager Ramza Sedky. She explained that HIH organises an annual Iftar in Ramadan for the elderly on AUC premises, prepares tamween (supplies) packages to be distributed for the elderly, holds lectures encouraging AUC students to engage in community service work, organises Mother's Day activities on the AUC campus and collects donations to build homes for the elderly in Qalioubiya governorate. In a dazzling traditional Indian costume, India's Shahnaz Husain inaugurated the three-day annual Cosmetic Expo 2009 at the elite Ramses Hilton Ballroom in Cairo amidst a huge gathering of media figures and more than 40 prominent Indian and Egyptian manufacturers and exporters of cosmetics and toiletries, Reham El-Adawi reports. In an inspiring address to the gathering, Husain spoke about her struggles to establish her herbal beauty care empire that has now expanded globally. She said that the secrets of Ayurvedic healing -- the ancient Indian art of treating the body with extracts from plants and herbs -- are fast capturing the world's imagination. Husain, who pioneered the philosophy 35 years ago, has now become a global brand. "Just when there was a worldwide 'back-to-nature' trend, I recaptured an ancient herbal system and made it relevant to modern demands. I adopted the principle of Ayurveda, offering a totally new concept of beauty care, based on an integrated system of clinical treatments and product ranges," she said. Today, she heads the largest organisation of its kind in the world, with more than 400 franchise salons worldwide and ranges of Ayurvedic formulations for skin, hair and body care. The Cosmetic Expo 2009 was organised by the Basic Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics Export Promotion Council (CHEMEXCIL) of the Ministry of Commerce, India.
