Aswan revisited The Ideal Miss Arab World 2015 contest was organised as part of the 8th Arab Tourism Festival headed by Hanan Nasr in collaboration with the Arab Foundation for Culture, Trade Exchange and International Relations presided over by Al-Omrani Youssef Al-Ansari. The event featured performances and torus as well as the opening of the Arab Culture Week in the presence of former prime minister Essam Sharaf and General Manager at the Egyptian Tourism Activation Authority Azza Khalil. The ideal Arab women from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Emirates and other Arab countries who participated in the contest seized the opportunity and visited the High Dam, Nasser Lake, Geziret Al-Nabatat as well as Edfu and Kom Ombo Temples and other monuments in Luxor. Kazakhstan Ambassador Berik Aryne gave a reception celebrating Kazakhstani National Day, mentioning the Suez Canal project in his welcome speech. Present were Minister of Health and Population Adel Adawi, Assistant to the Minister of Interior for Asian Affairs Yasser Murad, Head of the Arab Union of Human Rights Organisations Mohamed Abdel-Moneim, Russian Ambassador Serge Kirpichenko, Moroccan Ambassador Mohamed Al-Alaami, Uzbekistani Ambassador Oybek Usmanov Arifbekovich, Georgian Ambassador Archil Dzuliashvili, Tajikistani Ambassador Khusrav Noziri, Afghanistan Ambassador Fadl Al-Rahman Fadel, Mongolian Ambassador Odonjil Banzragch and Vietnamese Ambassador Dao Thanh Chang. The 10th Sawiris Foundation for Social Development awards were handed out to the winning writers at the Cairo Opera House Small Hall in the presence of businessmen Naguib and Samih Sawiris as well as directors Dawoud Abdel-Sayed and Magdi Ahmed Ali, actors Ezzat Al-Alaili, Mohamed Sobhi, Youssra, Laila Elwi, writer Helmi Al-Namnam, literary critic Sherif Al-Gayyar. The winners were Mona Al-Shimi, Yasser Abdel-Hafez, Dina Kamal, Hussein Al-Badri, Sohaila Hassan (best novel), Mekkawi Said, Montaser Al-Qaffash (best collection of short stories), Khaled Abdel-Fattah Al-Ashri (best film script), Hassan Abul-Seoud and Lenin Al-Ramli (best play). The Contemporary Image Collective (CIC) celebrates its 10th anniversary with a series of events including a public portfolio review, with events dedicated to specific questions regarding representation, visual culture and the circulation of images. Throughout the year the CIC will be announcing further events in the same context. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Goodwill Ambassador against Hunger Hend Sabry launched a campaign to raise money for the UN Food Agency targetting the most vulnerable people in the Arab world. To this end, Sabry is auctioning a traditional Bedouin dress that she wore in Al Gezira 1, to go to the person who makes the greatest donation through the website. At the end of the video announcing the “challenge”, Sabry urges action star Ahmed Al-Saqqa to follow suit. The Emirati film From A to B, which opened the eighth Abu Dhabi Film Festival and was screened at the 36th Cairo International Film Festival, premiered at Nile City Cinema in the presence of the cast: Egyptian actors Youssra Al-Louzi, Khaled Abul Naga, Maha Abu Ouf and Shadi Alfons (who made his name on Bassem Youssef's Al-Bernameg), Saudi stand-up comedian Fahd Albutairi and Syrian actors Fadi Rifaai and Samer Al-Masri. Written and produced by Mohamed Hefzi and directed by Ali Mustafa, From A to B brings together Saudi filmmaker Ahd, South Korean comedian Wonho Chung, American actress Madeline Zima, Palestinian actors Ali Suliman (Paradise Now) and Leem Lubany (Omar). A press conference was organised last Thursday at the Art Creativity Centre on the Opera House grounds to announce the final preparations of the 20th Aswan International Sculpture Symposium (18 January-8 March), Reham El-Adawi reports. Present were Commissar Adam Henein, Head of the Cultural Development Fund Mohamed Abu-Saada, Advisor to the Minister of Tourism Amr Al-Ezabi and symposium committee member Nagui Farid. This is the 20th anniversary round of the event and, as well as being local rather than international, it features Henein, the event's founder, as a participant. His seven-part work will be executed by his students Essam Darwish, Sherif Abdel-Badie and Hani Faisal. This year the symposium features a workshop with all of 16 participants and the opening of the Open-Air Museum holding the work of previous rounds, with a closing ceremony choreographed by Walid Aouni. The weekly magazine Al-Ahram Al-Arabi, edited by Alaa Al-Attar, published a memorial issue on the Lebanese diva Fayrouz that included a free best-of CD and a large poster. The next issue, dedicated to the question, “Why are Egypt's youth angry?” has a remarkable cover by Anas Al-Deeb featuring pages from the late young protester Mina Daniel's own notebook in his own hand.
