♣ At the Diplomatic Club, with the River Nile for background, the Egypt-Latin America Friendship Association gave a luncheon in honour of Venezuelan Ambassador Victor Carazo, who will be departing after 12 years in Egypt. Egyptian Ambassador Fathi Youssef, executive chairman of the association, in the presence of assistant Foreign Minister of Egypt Taher Farahat, Ambassador Talaat Salem and his wife Nadia Gomaa as well as Latin American diplomats were present. Carazo remarked on the pivotal role played by the Friendship Association in the development of cooperation between Egypt and Latin American countries. ♣ The Italian Cultural Institute, directed by Arnaldo Dante Marianacci, held a signing for the book Egypt in the Greek and Roman Art by archaeologist and director of the Cultural Relations at the Egyptian Museum Ingy Fayed. Fayed highlights the glory of Egyptian architecture inspired by the Roman and Greek civilisations. Present were former minister of antiquities Zahi Hawass, political analyst Mustafa Al-Feki, caricaturist Amr Fahmi, Al-Ahram Managing Editor Mohamed Amin Al-Masri, actors Mahmoud Kabil and Sameh Al-Seriti and singer Mohamed Tharwat.
♥ The spouse of the Lebanese Ambassador to Egypt Hala Ziyada organised the monthly gathering of members of the International Club, who discussed the means to support projects for teaching girls in the Egyptian countryside. Among the attendees were Al-Ahram writer Afkar Al-Kharadli and society ladies Mona Kenouz and Yosriya Ragab.
♠ A signing for Al-Ahram writer Aisha Abdel-Ghaffar's first book, Ahmed Abdel-Ghaffar and his Role in the Egyptian Politics, took place at Al-Ain Publishing House. Present were Ambassador Abdel-Raouf Al-Ridi, political analyst Mustafa Al-Feki, head of the Egyptian Writers' Union Mohamed Salmawy, Al-Ahram columnist Makram Mohamed Ahmed, writer Sanaa Al-Beisi, former minister of state for family and population Mushira Khattab, Al-Ahram writers Gamal Zaida, Amal Bakir, Silvia Al-Nakadi, as well as veteran writers Laila Takla, Lotus Abdel-Kerim, the owner of Al-Ain Publishing House Fatma Al-Boudi and poet Ahmed Al-Shahawi.
¨ The American University in Cairo (AUC) celebrated the mid-year graduation commencement ceremonies for 662 master's and bachelor's degree candidates at the AUC's New Cairo Campus. The President of the AUC Lisa Anderson awarded 511 undergraduate degrees and 151 graduate degrees to candidates from each of AUC's schools, while keynote speakers were Managing Director of Intel Khaled Ismail and founder and chairman of the Alashanek Ya Balady Association for Sustainable Development Raghda Al-Ibrashi. Among the graduates were Sherif Kamel, dean of the school of business, who has been teaching at the AUC for 20 years, having now received his masters' Islamic art and architecture 19 years after earning his PhD, and Ahmed Ayman, the son of the former Minister of Information Kamal Abul-Magd, Tamima Abdallah Al-Kahal, the daughter of actress Raghda as well as Ali Ashraf Al-Banna and Karim Khafaga, the grandsons of former minister of local development Abdel-Salam Al-Mahgoub.
♣ Bab Sharqi (Eastern Door), the first feature film about the Syrian revolution, directed and produced by Ahmed Atef, is due to premiere at one of the oldest film festivals in Africa, FESPACO, or the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou, this month. The idea of the film came to Atef after a meeting with Syrian theatre twin actors Ahmed and Mohamed Mals, who sought refuge in Egypt following their arrest and torture at home and wrote the script with Atef.
♥ The Egyptian Animation Society (EAS), The Cultural Development Fund (CDF), and the Talaat Harb Cultural Centre organised “The Arabic Animation Forum” at Al Hanager Art Centre in the Cairo Opera House, Mai Samih reports. The event was held under the auspices of the Minister of Culture, Mohamed Saber Arab. It was attended by Chairman of the EAS professor Rashida Al-Shafei and Director of the CDF Mohamed Abu Seada. It is the first Arab forum to be held in Cairo despite being the sixth forum in a row. The event was attended by many Arab and Egyptian artists. It started by honouring the artists who participated in developing animations namely; Nawal Mahmoud, Abdel-Raouf Abdel-Hamid, Shewikar Khalifa, late artist Zeinab Ismail and popular comedian Mohamed Heneidi. Prizes were given to the winners of the Arabic Animation Forum contest. The first production prize went to the film Abarni Shokran directed by Farid Nagui (first prize) and Gebaz directed by Ahmed Thabet (second prize).The Animation Film prize went to Ambouba directed by Amr Shaalan (first prize) and Two directed by Mokhtar Talaat (second prize).The Serial prize went to Wa Aboub Masr Al-Taafil directed by Amr Adel (first prize) and Ashab Al-Ekhdoud directed by Mustafa Al-Faramawi (second). The Experimental Creativity prize went to Kheit Watar directed by Mansour Al-Sherief. The long film prize went to Resalet Malek directed by Khaled Abdel-Moneim. Best music went to Layla wa Al-Zeab by Ahmed Halim; best picture went to Kheit Watar by Mansour Al-Sherif; best motion picture went to Wa Aboub Masr Al-Taafil by Mohamed Badawi; best decoration went to Ashab Al-Ekhdoud created by Hani Abdel-Khalek. The ceremony was concluded by watching some of the winning films. “This festival is now a forum for all artists which is an opportunity for them to mingle with producers who will help them bring their work to life. It is an opportunity to discover new artists and their new approaches,” comments Al-Shafei. “This year is the first year in which many artists from Arab countries participate in the event such as Saudi Arabia, Emirates, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine. There are 78 films participating in this forum.”
♠ Last Saturday, the Alexandrian cultural community celebrated the signing of Ameera Fouad's first book of poems entitled Egypt's Twilight & Twinkles in Daylight. Fouad is Al-Ahram Weekly's freelance journalist and correspondent in Alexandria. Alexandrian prominent authors such as Dina Abdel-Salam, Mahmoud Mansi, Asser Mater, Rasha Adel and Rania Hamdi shared this unforgettable moment with Fouad. Diwan Bookstore located in Al-Shatby — in Bibliotheca Alexandrina plaza was the host of the event. Sparking a new beginning for young authors in Alexandria, the book was renowned by the English cultural community in Alexandria. The book, according to Diwan sales market, sold many copies in comparison to its first hits. After a thorough discussion conducted by Mansi, the author of A journey from Darkness to Light, the readers participated in reading parts and parcels of the poems. Conferring the political arena along with the artistic life in Egypt especially after the 25 January Revolution, the book mirrored youth passion, political conflicts and people's compassion. Authors also shared their precious comments, and many members of the Italian and Swedish community were present discussing the new book by the young Alexandrian author. ¨ The Cairo Opera House, directed by Ines Abdel-Dayeim, organised a concert by the singer Hani Shaker accompanied by the Abdel-Halim Noweira Arabic Music Ensemble to celebrate Valentine's Day at the Main Hall. Shaker mesmerised the audience with a number of his own as well as classic songs by such great composers as Sayed Mekkawi.
