♦ Abdel-Salam Ragab, the son of the late Hassan Ragab, the founder of the Pharaonic Village, established a museum carrying the name of his father. The venue was officially inaugurated by Lieutenant General Ahmed Abdel-Hadi in lieu of Minister of Defence Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi. Also present were the Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Song Aiguo, the Egyptian Ambassador to China Ahmed Rizk, the Executive Chief of the Egyptian Progressive Green Party Mohamed Awad, Ambassador Abdel-Raouf Al-Redi as well as Ragab's family members. The museum, located a few metres away from the Gamal Abdel-Nasser Museum within the village grounds, showcases Ragab's memorabilia, including 20 orders of merit, as well as some of his precious inventions such as a solar compass, a machine to restore papyrus and a hieroglyphic printing machine; this, in addition to a sword given to him by King Farouk. ♥ The First Digital Arts Festival in Egypt (Di-Egy Fest, 27 March-10 April) takes place with support from the Fine Arts Sector, the British Council, Pro Helvetia (Swiss Cultural Centre), the German University in Cairo and the American Embassy; it is organised by Out Of The Circle initiative. For 15 days, Cairo and Alexandria will witness digital art exhibitions, outdoor projections, open studios and academic seminars. People have the chance to participate in one of seven different workshops; and children can learn about digital arts through the Di-Egy children section. By exchanging experience with experts from many countries, young artists will gain awareness of how to digitalise their art practices, which medium to choose and why. The festival is a great opportunity for different audiences and artists to connect with participants from outside their circles and to build new platforms for the future. The official opening took place yesterday at Al-Gezira Arts Centre at 7pm and at the British Council at 8.30pm.
♣ The Nile City cinema saw the premiere of Al-Sheta Eli Fatt (Winter of Discontent) by Ibrahim Al-Batout, featuring Amr Waked, Farah Youssef and Salah Al-Hefni. Celebrities and political figures included actress Hanan Youssef, screenwriter Azza Shalabi, activist Ahmed Harara and businessman Ahmed Abu Hashima.
♠ The inauguration of the 46th Cairo International Fair took place last week in the presence of Prime Minister Hisham Qandil. At the ceremony, the Ambassador of Ecuador to Egypt Edwin Johnson expressed his country's interest in reinforcing its friendship with Egypt. “Our main target is to promote adequately our products to the new markets in Arab countries and this part of the world,” he said.
♦ The second Luxor African Film Festival opened at Luxor Cultural Centre with extensive celebrity presence. The President of the Festival Sayed Fouad gave a speech to welcome the guests and thank the people of Luxor for their hospitality, dedicating the round to the late filmmaker Atef Al-Tayeb. Actors Mahmoud Hemeida, Mamdouh Abdel-Alim, Hala Sedki, Elham Shahine, Fathi Abdel-Wahab, Dorra, Laila Elwi, Gihane Fadel, Sabri Fawaz, producer Mohamed Al-Adl and filmmaker Khaled Youssef were present at the opening, which featured the screening of the Canadian film War Witch directed by Kim Nguyen.
♠ The Catholic Centre for Egyptian Cinema, headed by Father Boutros Daniel, organised a celebration under the title “Day of Giving” to mark Mother's Day. Daniel honoured various public figures such as Minister of State for Scientific Research Nadia Zakhari, actors Ezzat Abu Ouf, Ragaa Al-Gedawi, Fadia Abdel-Ghani, Sabrine, media figure Soheir Shalabi, writer Mahfouz Abdel-Rahman and art critic Raouf Tawfik as well as the name of late journalist Al-Husseini Abu Deif. The celebration featured the screening of a film about those who were killed during the revolution.
♦ The American University in Cairo (AUC) organised a book signing for Al-Ahram Weekly's very own photographer Sherif Sonbol to celebrate the launch of The History and Religious Heritage of Old Cairo. Present were AUC Press Promotion Manager Nabila Akl, the Weekly's International Editor Gamal Nkrumah and Turkish Ambassador to Egypt Héseyin Avni Botsali. ♥ The Al-Shomou Cultural Salon, presided over by Lotus Abdel-Kerim, held a cultural evening in commemoration of the late diva Umm Kolthoum and the late musician Mohamed Abdel-Wahab. Present were former prime minister Yehia Al-Gammal, judge Fouad Riad, Major-General Magdi Diab and many Egyptian, Moroccan and Syrian intellectuals.
♣ The Nile Lions Club, headed by artist Samir Sabri, organised a ceremony marking Mother's Day at a Nile boat. Sabri honoured a number of mothers on the occasion, including judge Tahani Al-Gebali, novelist Lotus Abdel-Kerim, actress Samah Anwar and society lady Roqaya Al-Sadat, the daughter of the late Egyptian president Anwar Al-Sadat. Present were actor Mohamed Ramadan, actress-cum-producer Isaad Younis and Oriental dancer Nagwa Fouad.
♠ The Third Cairo International Forum for Arab Poetry concluded its activities at the Cairo Opera House Small Hall in the presence of the Minister of Culture Saber Arab. Jordanian poet Abdel-Aziz Al-Makaleh is this year's winner.
♥ The Ministry of Education and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) celebrated the improvement of 400 Egyptian schools with new education technologies, reports Nesmahar Sayed. “The contributions of undersecretaries and department directors around the country have been instrumental to the success of these schools and to the expansion of the programme to others in their governorates,” said John Beed, deputy mission director of USAID. The programme funded by USAID is known as Technology for Improved Learning Outcomes (TILO). Beed also acknowledged many private companies like Exxon Mobil, Intel and HSBC Bank which have worked with USAID to invest in greater technology in Egypt's classrooms. Nehad Shelbaya of Exxon Mobil delivered a speech in this respect. TILO has managed to impact over 25,000 students and 21,000 teachers from nine governorates in Egypt. Eighteen schools and 234 educators from the Greater Cairo region were honoured at the event by Lisa Franchette, head of education sector USAID Egypt mission. The programme was designed to improve the efficiency of education in Egypt, according to Soheir Ghali, manager of TILO. For his part, the Chairman of the International Cooperation Department at the Egyptian Ministry of Education Sayed Salem said that while teaching is a process, learning is a product.
♦ Tomorrow at the Palm Hills Club House in 6 October city the Breast Cancer Foundation of Egypt's (BCFE) first event of the year, “Pink Friday for the Cure”, will take place. The day starts with a 3km “Walk for the Cure” in cooperation with Curves Palm Hills. Prizes will be given to the first three winners as well as goody bags for all participants including BCFE's educational brochures on breast health. The family day activities at the Club House will commence after the Friday prayers. The activities will include many attractive and interesting activities for both adults and children. There will be a live cooking demonstration for healthy recipes to help boost immunity. Children will have the chance to enjoy a fun mascot show and have pictures of them taken with their favourite cartoon characters. The day also includes an art workshop for children and adults. Activities will end with a talk with a number of specialists, artists and breast cancer survivors. “The Pink Friday for the Cure” aims to raise awareness of breast cancer and encourage people to join the fight against it in Egypt.
♥ The American University in Cairo (AUC) launched a new book entitled Egypt's Tahrir Revolution. The book, by Lynne Rienner Publishers, is a wide-ranging and timely analysis of Egypt's revolutionary upheaval, written by past and present members of the Department of Political Science at AUC. Edited by Dan Tschirgi, Walid Kazziha and Sean McMahon of the political science department, the book attempts to explain the 25 January Revolution by locating the events of January-February 2011 historically and spatially. “These events have an intriguing history that should be known and implications not only for Egyptians but also regionally and globally,” said McMahon. The book challenges the use of the term Arab Spring, describing it as “a phrase connoting that Arabs can be lumped together into largely undifferentiated experiences and phenomena.” ♣ The Counsellor for Press and Cultural Affairs at the American Embassy Patricia Kabra held a reception party at her residence in Dokki in honour of American jazz with the KJ Denhert band and Arch Stanton Quartet. The bands participated in the Fifth Cairo International Jazz Festival held at Al-Azhar Park and Darb 1718. Among the attendees who enjoyed the jazz performance were tourism expert Amr Badr, Manal Rizkallah and Yasmine Al-Dafrawi at the American Embassy media office.
