Twenty three years on On 28 February 1991, this unique publication was born, Samir Sobhi remembers Al-Ahram Weekly, Egypt's first in-depth English-language weekly newspaper brought graceful design, local insight, and broad-based commentary into the country's rather staid media scene. This was a revolutionary year, the same year in which CNN brought the prototype of modern news televisions to homes around the world. It was also the year in which the region made international headlines, as the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait introduced another layer of malaise into the region. I still remember our pilot issues — a total of five of them — before we went to print. We used to work in a small room off Al-Ahram's main newsroom, which we dubbed Almaza, or The Diamond. Our first meeting was in January 1990, with Al-Ahram chief editor Ibrahim Nafie and leading journalists Ahmed Nafei, Salama Ahmed Salama, Hosny Guindy, Mohamed Eissa Al-Sharqawi, Ahmed Adel, Atef Al-Ghamri, Sameh Abdallah, Moushira Moussa, Hisham Mamdouh Taha and myself in attendance. One question that came up was: Who were our audience? The consensus was that we aimed to reach out to diplomats and businessmen as well as the general readership, foreign as well as local, as well as the Arab and Egyptian expatriates who find it easier to read in English than in Arabic. And as Hosny Guindy, our first chief editor, once pointed out, Al-Ahram Weekly is neither a government-run nor an opposition paper. It aims to represent the mainstream of this country, while giving voice to the grievances of those out of government and the concerns of those who are in positions of responsibility. On the first issue, we reported that the Egyptian troops have completed most of their mission in the liberation of Kuwait. Another report, about the Soviet Union, quoted Gorbachev warning of the perils of civil war. Since then, we have kept our readers abreast of unfolding events in this country and abroad, inviting their commentary, and reacting to their view —just as we promise to keep doing in the future. ♠ The family spirit among staff members at Al-Ahram Weekly was demonstrated in a celebration paying tribute to the newspaper's Deputy Editor-in-Chief Alaa Abdel-Ghani, who has reached the age of retirement. The highlight of the event was the home-made food, a banquet reminiscent of the Weekly's Ramadan Iftars. Abdel-Ghani joined the Weekly in 1998 and was officially appointed in 2001. He rose from sub-editor to deputy managing editor and then assistant to the chief editor before becoming deputy editor-in-chief in his final two years. He helped edit stories in several of the Weekly's sections, including the Sports and Home pages, Letters to the Editor and Digest. The inscription on the silver plaque handed to our dear colleague by way of a parting gift said it all: “We love you, Alaa.” ♠ Serbian Ambassador Dragon Bisenic gave a reception to celebrate the national day of his country, also at Marriott Hotel. In his speech he affirmed the deep historical relations between Egypt and Serbia, expressing his wishes for further cooperation between the two countries and hoping that the 30 June Revolution would bear fruits in the near future. German Ambassador to Egypt Michael Bock and his wife Dogmar along with Russian Ambassador to Egypt Serge V. Kirpichenko, and his Greek counterpart Chris Lazaris, Ambassador of Georgia to Egypt Archil Dzuliashvili, Chinese Ambassador Song Aiguo as well as General Richard Clark, chief of the Office of Military Cooperation and defence attaché in Cairo were all present. ♥ Actor Karim Abdel-Aziz spent a day with the children in the Abul-Reish Hospital and Al-Orman Centre for Girls with special needs. ♣ The International Biennale for Culture and Arts in its third edition was held at the Leadership Preparation Institute. It honoured actors Mahmoud Kabil, Dalia Al-Beheiri, Ahmed Shaker, poet Zein Alabeen Fouad, artists Hassan Abdel-Fattah, Mohamed Toson, Mahmoud Gadallah, Noha Barada and Eviline Aashamallah, director Kamel Al-Qalioubi, art critics Tarek Al-Shennawi, Salah Hashim and Salah Al-Souri, writers Ibrahim Abdel-Meguid and Howeida Atta. The independent biennale is organised by the Ministry of Youth and the Ministry of Tourism with the participation of 200 Egyptian and foreign artists from some 16 countries covering the fields of cinema, literature, poetry and visual art. ♠ The Diwan bookstore in Alexandria will be holding the book launch of Tadribat Ala Al-Qaswa (Exercises in Cruelty) by author Azza Sultan at 7:00pm. It will include a panel with the author and poet Abdel-Rehim Youssef conducted by the Editor-in-Chief of Amwaj newspaper Hossam Abdel-Qader. Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Shop 4 Al-Shatby Alexandria. Tel: 012 8500 2664 ♠ El-Sawy Culturewheel celebrated its 11th anniversary and the birth of the renowned author in whose name it was founded, Abdel-Moneim El-Sawy. The huge event brought together celebrities and intellectuals such as oud master Nasseer Shamma, musician and Al-Masriyin band member Hani Shenouda, economist and political thinker Galal Amin, actor Ashraf Abdel-Ghafour, poet Ahmed Bekheit, singer Amir Salaheddin, writer Ibrahim Abdel-Meguid, artists Farid Fadel, Ahmed Toughan and Mohamed Al-Segini. The ceremony commenced with a speech delivered by the director of El-Sawy Culturewheel Mohamed El-Sawy followed by a play, Apple in a Cracked Plate, the adaptation of novels by Abdel-Moneim El-Sawy. At the end the winners of the Abdel-Moneim El-Sawy competition for short stories were announced. The first award went to author Mahmoud Abdel-Raouf, the second to Ahmed Mahmoud Ahmed, and the third to Youssef Nabil and Mohamed Abdel-Halim. ♥ The winner of this year's Cairo International Book Fair best book award, Mohamed Younis's book Tajdid Al-Khitab Al-Islamy Min Al-Menbar Ila Al-Internet (Renewing Islamic Discourse: From the Minbar to the Internet) advocates changing the structure of Islamic discourse and its priorities as well as renewing its techniques and developing the potential of preachers. It also tackles the means through which they can cope with the digital revolution. ♣ At the Marriott Hotel, the Embassy of the Republic of Cameroon organised a celebration entitled “From Reunification to Integration: 50 Years of Nation Building” to mark the 50th anniversary of the reunification of the country. Ambassador Mohamadou Labarang said that throughout Cameroon, celebrating reunification was prioritised over every other task, such is its importance for the citizenry.
