The 60th anniversary of UNICEF was celebrated at the Manasterly Palace with support from the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM), Ghada Abd El-Kader reports. "Together for a Better Future for Egypt's Children: Celebrating 60 Years of Partnership"; such was the banner under which the event was held. It featured the premiere of a documentary chronicling the work of UNICEF since its inception as a temporary relief agency in the aftermath of World War II -- narrated by screen diva Faten Hamama, with the English version narrated by UNICEF goodwill ambassador actor Roger Moore. The film reviewed, among many other efforts, immunisation campaigns against polio and tuberculosis, natural disaster relief work and support for girls' education. The winners of the inaugural NCCM/UNICEF awards for print and broadcast journalism were also announced: the Child Rights Award for Young Journalists went to Abeer Salaheddin from Sabah Al-Kheir magazine for her coverage of female genital mutilation (FGM); Samia Abdel-Salam from the daily Al-Ahram was decorated for her story about the son of a doorman who threatens to kill himself; while Emad Nassef from Al-Ahrar newspaper must have felt proud of his work on street children. The Children's Award for Broadcasting went to The Orchestra, an Egyptian Television cartoon produced by Shwikar Khalifa and directed by Attiya Khairi, while the Egyptian Radio was singled out for a programme titled Homeless, also about child labour. Child rights advocate Adel Azer and sociologist Marie Assad both received special awards for their contribution to child rights in Egypt. Present were, among others, actor Khaled Abul-Naga, WHO Regional Office Representative Ibrahim El-Kerdany, NCCM Secretary- General Mushira Khattab and UNICEF Egypt Representative, Erma Manoncourt. photo: Ayman Barayez Bahrain Ambassador Khalil Ibrahim Al-Zawadi celebrated Bahrain National Day at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in the presence of major press and media figures as well as diplomats, including Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, Minister of Higher Education Hani Helal, Minister of Local Development Abdel-Salam El-Mahgoub, Moroccan Ambassador Mohamed Faraj Al-Dokali, Omani Ambassador Abdel-Aziz Al-Hanaai and actress Nadia El-Guindi. The Embassy of Japan and El-Shehab Foundation for Comprehensive Development celebrated the completion of a project to connect 450 residential buildings to the government sewerage network in the Cairo neighbourhood of Zirzara, Ezbet Al-Haggana. The chargé d'affaires at the Embassy of Japan Juichi Takahara and Director of El-Shehab Foundation for Comprehensive Development Reda Shoukri were both present. The Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture organised a painting exhibition entitled "Heritage in Egyptian Eyes" by 11 artists from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Helwan University, in which artists express their thoughts and emotions about heritage in India and Egypt. The exhibition will fold today. Ibrahim El-Bahie, assistant editor-in-chief and deputy head of the diplomatic department at Al-Ahram obtained his PhD on the impact of media on local public opinion of Egyptian foreign policy from South Valley University. His examiners included Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit, head of the Journalism Department at the Akhbar Al-Yom Academy Fawzy Abdel-Ghani, Dean of the Supreme Institute of Media and Communication Arts Mervat El-Tarabishy and South Valley University media professor Mustafa El-Geziri. Children's books writer and editor Patricia Gauch gave a seminar on her work at the Mubarak Public Library, explaining to a group of publishers, authors and illustrators various aspects of writing for children and using her edition of Goha: The Wise Fool to illustrate her points. Much of the lecture was devoted to the technical side of the profession, but a good portion towards the end addressed the content and the philosophy behind successful children's books -- how to create multi-cultural and peace-loving community leaders -- stressing the authors' and illustrators' responsibility towards the future. The seminar was followed by a discussion that brought home many of Gauch 's ideas about the importance of the Other. The American University in Cairo (AUC) honoured alumni working in the media: veteran television anchor Laila Rustom; executive editor of the financial weekly Al-Alam Al-Yom Lamees El-Hadidi; host of Dream TV's popular talk show Mona El-Shazli; and Nihal Saad, the political correspondent and news anchor at Nile TV International. The ceremony took place at the Oriental Hall and the Fountain Area of the main campus, in the presence of AUC President David Arnold and professors and graduates of the Journalism and Mass Communication Department.
