♣ The cultural and information counsellor at the Embassy of Korea in Egypt, Park Jae Yang, honoured the winners of the seventh Competition for Korean Language Conversation held last Thursday at the Faculty of Al-Alson, Ain Shams University. In his speech at the opening of the competition, Park said that Egypt and South Korea have managed to strengthen their bilateral relations in all fields, whether political, economic or cultural. “This competition does not aim only to promote the Korean language in Egypt, but also to introduce Korean culture to the Egyptian people, including Taekwondo and Korean modern song (K-POP) which I am pleased today to see being performed by the Korean language department students,” he added. Since its opening in 2005, the Korean Language Department has witnessed continuous progress, opening a section for post-graduate studies in 2009. Park expressed his hope that graduates of the Korean language department will play the role of catalyst in promoting exchanges and mutual understanding between the peoples of the two countries. Nine students participated in the competition, which concentrates on the Korean language, Hanguel, as well as Korean culture. Over 400 people attended the event, organised in cooperation with Korea Foundation.
♥ Celebrating Finland's National Day, the Finnish Ambassador to Egypt Roberto Tanzi-Albi gave a prestigious reception at his residence in Giza, which was attended by many diplomats and society figures such as the US Ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson and her Turkish counterpart Héseyin Avni Botsali.
♠ Masakazu Takahashi, the director of the Japan Foundation Cairo Office, Kamilia Sobhi, First undersecretary for foreign relations at the Ministry of Culture, together with the Director of the Information and Culture Centre Hideaki Yamamoto inaugurated the Japanese exhibition “Japanese Design Today 100” after giving short speeches at an opening reception. Popular aquarelle painter Mohamed Al-Tarrawi, professors Qassem Saad and Andreas Sickelinger from the German University in Cairo (GUC), Faculty of Applied Science and Arts as well as engineer Medhat Al-Arabi, president of the Strategic Planning of Al-ARABI group, were all present. The exhibition is running through 22 December at Al-Rahman Al-Rahim Mosque, Marwa Hall. On the fringe of the exhibition, a lecture on modern Japanese design is to be delivered by professor of history of modern design at Musashino Art University, Tokyo, Hiroshi Kashiwagi. (see Listings p.26) ¨ The Royal Thai Embassy in Cairo held a lavish reception in celebration of the 85th anniversary of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and the National Day of Thailand. The Thai Ambassador to Egypt Challet Mayentikol at the Akhenaton Hall, Police Club Gezira, welcomed government representatives, businessmen, media figures and diplomats including the US Ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson, the European Union Ambassador to Egypt James Moran, the Lebanese Ambassador to Egypt Khaled Ziyada and his Kuwaiti counterpart Rashid Al-Hamad as well as the head of Garden City Lions Club Awatef Serageddin.
♣ Under the auspices of Culture Minister Saber Arab and head of the Afro-Asian Peoples' Solidarity Organisation Helmi Al-Hadidi, the sixth International Conference of the Afro-Asian Writers' Union took place at the Cairo Opera House. Present were President of the Writers' Union of Egypt and Secretary-General of the General Union of Arab Writers Mohamed Salmawy, head of the Writers Union of Iraq Fadel Tamer, Head of the Writers Union of Algeria Youssef Shakra, head of the Writers Union of Sudan Amr Kadour, writer Mohamed Al-Sayed, director Mohamed Fadel and his wife actress Fardous Abdel-Hamid. ♥ Alaa Karkouti, the film analyst and director of MAD Solutions company, is participating in the activities of the ninth Dubai International Film Festival (9-16 December), moderating a training workshop for professional filmmakers. Karkouti started his contribution through a training workshop held by the festival in cooperation with Torino Film Lab and EAVE for the directors and producers of eight Arab film projects. Karkouti will explain to this group in a closed session the conditions of film production and finance in the Arab world. “Discussion panels and training workshops for filmmakers in Arab festivals represent an opportunity for developing relations among Arab filmmakers as well as building a rich knowledge base from which the promising film industry in the region can benefit. They also provide an opportunity for those filmmakers to express their convictions and ideas without being restricted to the subjects of their films,” Karkouti pointed out. In addition to Karkouti, MAD Solutions is represented by co-founder and creative director Maher Diab and account manager Ahmed Sobki. MAD Solutions has a strong presence this year at the Dubai International Film Festival, represented through a number of its clients such as WIKA Film Production and Distribution which participates with Harag Wa Marag in the official competition and Film Clinic, one of the producers of My Brother the Devil which is being screened in Arabian Nights. Film Clinic will also present an award in the Dubai Film Connection worth $10,000. In addition, young Saudi director and actress Ahd, another client of the company, will be participating in the Arab Muhr Competition at the Dubai International Film Festival with Wadjda, where she plays a supporting role in a film directed by Haifaa Mansour.
♠ PeaceMidan, a non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting innovative and sustainable development in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, launches its first global online competition eliciting ideas intended to make a positive contribution to resolving the region's challenges. Multicultural and multilingual, 320Reality provides a positive online venue for social entrepreneurs around the world, allowing them to hear about each other's ideas directly through videos, interact with one another, vote on the best ideas and support one another in efforts towards peace and development. Spokesperson Aaida Mamuji says, “320Reality is similar to an online pitch-fest. Its intention is to generate innovative and practical ideas to meet the Middle East's challenges. It's also designed to bring social entrepreneurs together, whether it's a shopkeeper in Istanbul or a 16-year-old in Iowa.” To this end, 320Reality will be in three languages — English, Arabic and Turkish — and provide subtitles to videos submitted. 320Reality is a year-long competition that will culminate in PeaceMidan's conference in Long Beach, California in September 2013. The six finalists will pitch their ideas at the conference in 20-minute presentations and the final three winners will receive financial and professional support to turn their ideas into reality. “We believe that the solutions of the area's challenges will come from the people,” says Mamuji, “an international grassroots movement of people who are willing to work hard, be innovative, and support one another.” PeaceMidan is a non-profit organisation dedicated to support the development of the Middle East, Turkey and North Africa by implementing unique, innovative and sustainable initiatives. PeaceMidan's initial programmes include 320Reality, an online pitch-fest where people from around the globe can submit their innovative ideas with the potential to gain financial and professional support to turn these ideas into reality. PeaceMidan's first international, interactive conference will be held in Long Beach in September 2013.
¨ The Swiss Club, located in the Imbaba neighbourhood of Kitkat, held an annual charitable bazaar for the benefit of people with special needs and orphans. The bazaar showcased wood products and traditional costumes from Sinai as well as a Japanese band playing music by Sayed Darwish, the acknowledged father of Egyptian music.
