Ambassador of the Netherlands Gerard Steeghs gave a reception at his residence in Dokki to celebrate the King's Day. Steeghs delivered a speech highlighting the relation between the two countries, saying, “The goals of the Egyptian government are ambitious and the Netherlands support this ambition and remain a very proud partner of Egypt in its economic journey.” Present were Iraqi Ambassador Diaa Al-Dabbas, Moroccan Ambassador Mohamed Al-Alaami, Algerian Ambassador Nazir Al-Arabawi, Palestinian Ambassador Gamal Al-Shobaki, British Ambassador John Casson, Singaporean Ambassador Premjith Sadasivan, Belgian Ambassador Gilles Heyvaert, Swiss Ambassador Markus Leitner, Romanian Ambassador Cornel Alecse, Finnish Ambassador Tuula Yrjölä, Serbian Ambassador Dragon Bisenic and his Armenian counterpart Armen Melkonianwas and Magda Barsoum from Al-Ahram Hebdo. Syrian journalist and free speech activist Mazen Darwish, currently imprisoned, is the winner of the 2015 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize. He received worldwide recognition in the Latvian capital Riga on Sunday when his wife Yara Bader was presented with UNESCO's World Press Freedom Prize in a ceremony at the Latvian National Library. The award, made by UNESCO director general Irina Bokova and in the presence of Latvian President Andris Berzins, honours Darwish's brave stand for freedom of expression: a stand that has already cost him torture and three years in jail with no end in sight after dozens of court postponements. “I'm sure Mazen will be released one day,” Bader asserted. German Ambassador Hansjörg Haber and his French counterpart André Parant opened the 30th Cairo Climate Talks, “2°C: Paris Negotiations for an Urgent Halt to Global Warming” at the Youth/Civic Education Centre in Zamalek, Nesmahar Sayed reports. They were joined by Khaled Fahmi, minister of environment, Mariam Allam, a climate change activist from the Arab Youth Climate Movement, Stéphane Gompertz, French ambassador for Climate Change for Africa and the Indian Ocean, Mahmoud Samir Sami, deputy assistant foreign minister for environment and sustainable development and Camilla Bausch, director of the Ecological Institute in Berlin. The Rare Books and Special Collections Library (RBSCL) at the American University in Cairo (AUC) has acquired a collection of over 13,000 books in several languages from Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former secretary-general of the United Nations (1992-1997). The collection provides a mosaic of Boutros-Ghali's diplomatic life. Highlights are on display in an exhibition at the RBSCL in AUC's Main Library. Algerian singer, songwriter and guitarist Souad Massi rocked the stage at the Uptown Cairo residential district in Moqattam. She also performed at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Massi's music displays Western musical style influences such as rock, country or the Portuguese fado but sometimes incorporates oriental musical influences and oriental instruments like the oud as well as African musical stylings. Marking the 21st anniversary of the independence day of South Africa, ambassadress Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya gave a reception at Sofitel Al-Gezira Hotel. Present were Hlengiwe Mkhize, deputy minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services of South Africa, Sabri Magdi, assistant foreign minister of African affairs, Hoda Yassa, president of the Arab Female Investors Union as well as Tajikistan Ambassador Khusrav Noziri, Hungarian Ambassador Peter Kveck and Russian Ambassador Serge V. Kirpichenko. The Cairo University Grand Celebrations Hall saw the monthly concert of the Egypt Children's Choir oragnised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports. Some 70 children from different orphanages sang along with singer Hani Shaker in the presence of Minister of Youth and Sports Khaled Abdel-Aziz. The concert was conducted by Selim Sahab. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Egypt and South Korea, Korean Ambassador to Egypt Chung Kwang-Kyun, Director of the Korean Cultural Centre in Cairo Park Jae Yang and Head of the Fine Arts Sector Salwa Al-Sherbini inaugurated the Korean exhibition “Show Me the Beauty of Korea”. Curated by the Korean Cultural Centre's Lee Yoo, and held at the Karemet Ibn Hanie Cultural Centre, Ahmed Shawki Museum, the exhibition featured 30 Korean folk paintings in the style of Minhwa (a late Joseon Dynasty, 17th-19th century form) by 27 artists. Ambassador Chung said that the paintings unveil the spirit and traditions of the Korean people. Korean artist Kim Kyong hee expressed her happiness to visit Egypt for the first time to participate in the exhibition and give Minhwa workshops. Armenian fashion designer Nuria (Nara Telpian) presented her first production line of wedding and soireé gowns for the first time in Egypt at the Russian Cultural Centre on 29 of April, reports Mai Samih. “I'm very happy to express all my feelings in dresses,” she said. “I wish I could see all women dressed like this. I was researching the culture of Egypt before I started... I wish I could take part in bigger events in the future.” Telpain started designing in 2007 and her designs were chosen as the best designs in Armenia. She came to live in Egypt in 2010 after marrying an Armenian-Egyptian.
