The flag in the deep To promote and support ecotourism and related recreational sports such as scuba diving on the coast of the Red Sea, raising awareness of the unique marine life and exquisite coral reefs on Egypt's shores, the Scuba Diving Club at the American University in Cairo (AUC) placed an Egyptian flag measuring 25m by 2.5m underwater in Hurghada, making it the largest national flag to be placed underwater by scuba divers according to the Guinness Book of World Records. The photos show members of the AUC Scuba Diving team holding and saluting the flag underwater. They also show them at the New Cairo campus and at the Al-Gouna campus, where the event took place on the third anniversary of the 25 January Revolution. The Club, which is part of the Outreach Program of the AUC School of Sciences and Engineering, “runs rich programs that blend lifelong learning with recreational, citizen science and sustainability activities to promote awareness and appreciation of Earth's ecosystems and help preserve the unique coral reef and marine life in our shores on the Red Sea,” according to Alaa Ibrahim, director of the programme and one of the divers involved. The group of divers included undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty and staff from AUC. Yasmin Tawfik, a graduate student who spent much of her life in Geneva, Switzerland and took up scuba diving for the first time when she joined AUC, says “the experience gave us an immense feeling of pride and optimism.” Both Ramez Al-Gohari, a mechanical engineering senior, and Ahmed Hamdi, AUC staff, agree that, while they had saluted the Egyptian flag numerous times, have the chance to do so under the sea was “a unique experience.” ♠ Egyptian architect Jenan Azmi has won the inaugural arcVision Prize Egypt – Women and Architecture Award, founded by a Cairo cement company, reports Mai Samih. This is the first prize of its kind to be presented to female architects from Egypt. The announcement was made during the arcVision award ceremony held at Al-Hanager Arts Centre. Minister of State for Environmental Affairs Laila Iskandar and Minister of Housing Ibrahim Mehleb, together with First Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Cultural Relations at the Ministry of Culture Camelia Sobhi, were present. “Women have been important players in contemporary architecture for some time now. Their designs are particularly sensitive to the needs of citizens and the building's function. SCGC wants to back this trend and honour women in the world of design,” said the company CEO Bruno Carre. Azmi's entry, the Seil Design Hotel located just outside of Marsa Alam on the Red Sea, was designed to balance environmental awareness and luxury in direct contrast to the majority of seaside resorts across the governorate. ♥ The Salaheddin Citadel saw the celebrations of the Chinese Lunar New Year under the title “Peace from Egypt” at the Bir Youssef Theatre, an event organised jointly by the Egyptian Ministries of Culture and Tourism and the Chinese Embassy in Cairo and aiming at attracting more Chinese tourists to Egypt. The celebration featured traditional drum performances, Egyptian and Chinese folk dances as well as performances presented by the Cairo Ballet Company marking the year of the Horse. Present were Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Song Aiguo, Culture Consul of the Chinese Embassy in Cairo Chen Dongyun and a number of diplomats as well as artist Samir Sabri, Tunisian actress Dorra, Al-Ahram writer Mona Ragab, actor Samih Al-Seriti, TV presenter Dina Abdallah, the director of the Egyptian Catholic Centre for Cinema Father Boutros Daniel, actress Safaa Galal and society ladies Gihan Halawa, Soha Al-Qadi and Somaya Shawki. ♣ The Chinese community in Egypt celebrated the Spring Festival, as the new year is also called, at the Maadi Island Park in Cairo organised by the Chinese Cultural Centre and the Chinese Embassy in the presence of the Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Song Aiguo. Egyptians wore small stickers with Chinese characters reading “Fu (Happiness)” or “Fu Dao (Happiness is coming),” on the back of their hands or on their cheeks. At the main hall of the park, Chinese artists demonstrated calligraphy, tea making, pottery and traditional herbal treatment. Also present were Mongolian Ambassador to Egypt Odonjil Banzragch, Pakistani Ambassador to Egypt Manzoor Ul-Haq, Consul of Tourism Minister for Asian Affairs Nasser Abdel-Aal, Managing Editor of October magazine Ahmed Shahine and businessman Mohamed Abdel-Salam. ♠ Lebanese singer Samo Zein and Moroccan singer Gannat performed in the Valentine's Day concert held at the Semiramis Intercontinental Hotel in the presence of fans from different Arab countries. Gannat, who dazzled the audience, received red teddy bears and hearts while singing. ♥ Despite the cold weather, Lebanese singer Nicole Saba rocked the stage at the Moussa Coast in Ras Sedr, celebrating the mid-year vacation. She appeared in an elegant white dress with curly hair. ♥ As a media sponsor, Al-Ahram Weekly newspaper attended the opening ceremony of MECA Academy — a student activity that brings academia closer to the needs of the labour market at the Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University, with the participation of 300 candidates. MECA members and the main sponsors of this event share their successful experiments in the field of business, and how they give the opportunity to the new generations to present their thoughts and dreams for a better future. The celebration started with a speech delivered by the President of MECA Academy Fadi Nassif praising members and sponsors. Our colleague Nesmahar Sayed had the chance to give a brief speech about Al-Ahram Weekly as an entity built on the shoulders of young people, who were chosen by the late Hosny Guindy, the founding editor of the newspaper, starting on 28 February 1991, and they were given the chance to assume positions of responsibility. Our colleague Nader Habib wrote an article about MECA in the 14 November 2013 (Issue No.1172) of the Weekly. ♣ The jury of the 62nd edition of the Egyptian Catholic Centre Film Festival (28 February till 7 March) concluded its programme — featuring the films Farsh wa Ghata (Rags and Tatters), Villa 69, Harag wa Marag (Chaos, Disorder), Asham, Al-Shetta Eli Fatt (Winter of Discontent) — with the films selected in a private session. This year's jury, headed by filmmaker Magdi Ahmed Ali, includes actors Farouk Al-Fishawi, Laila Elwi, Nihal Anbar, screenwriter Sayed Fouad, musician Hani Mehanna, cinematographer Samir Farag and film critic Nader Adli — all of whom were honoured by director of the Catholic Centre for Cinema Father Boutros Daniel.
