photo: Ayman Barayez President of the National Council for Human Rights Boutros Boutros-Ghali inaugurated an exhibition of 22 portraits of Naguib Mahfouz in his last years by artist Nevine Guindy at Al-Hanager Arts Centre. Among those present were Al-Akhbar journalist Nawal Mustafa, veteran writer and journalist Neam El-Baz, Al-Hanager Director Hoda Wasfi, Al-Ahram Weekly's very own cartoonist George Bahgory, Editor-in-Chief of Nisf Al-Donia magazine Afkar El-Kharadli and Chairman of the Investment Authority Ziad Bahaaeddin. The Zamalek Inner Wheel Club, headed by Iman Abdel-Latif, hosted the legendary French house Givenchy in collaboration with the Ramses Hilton, with hotel General Manager Mounir Sami at the helm. The two-day event was coordinated by the director of International Events for the Inner Wheel Clubs Onsi Barakat and the Abu Ghaleb Charity Association, with the revenues going to club projects. Italian Ambassador Antonio Badini and his wife Donia were among some 1,000 officials and celebrities who attended. Few days ago Al-Azhar Park hosted Nabila El-Hakim Samaha 's fashion show, comprising 75 gowns for winter 2007, Ghada Abdel-Kader reports. Organised by Inner Wheel Cairo South Club, presided over by Effat Abu Guindya, the show was dedicated to cancer patients; revenues went towards new equipment for Qasr Al-Aini Hospital's National Tumour Institute. Present were members of the Inner Wheel Clubs and the Diplomats' Wives Association. Showing morning, wedding and cocktail dresses made from Egyptian fabric, Samaha said, "this year's fashionable colours are brown, oil-green, red and gold." Ahli Club goalkeeper Adel Heikal, a footballing icon in the 1960s, went to the Pharaonic Village to inspect the final preparations for the inauguration of a museum dedicated to the late legendary footballer and head of the club Saleh Selim, which will include film stills -- Selim was also an actor -- as well as multimedia presentation covering the range of his life and work. Worth mentioning is Selim 's brother-in-law Sherif Lotfi, who played a central role in the project. To mark 600 years since the death of Ibn Khaldun, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, in partnership with the Supreme Council of Culture (SCC) and the Cultural Palaces Authority, held an international conference on the great Arab historian and philosopher, a precursor of modern-day sociologists. Among the speakers were SCC Chairman Gaber Asfour and Bibliotheca Director Ismail Serageldin, as well as Alexandria University professor Gamal Hagar standing in for university president Hassan Khairallah. Participants included 32 Egyptian and 22 Arab scholars as well as one from Russia and another from Spain. In Asfour 's words, "Ibn Khaldun was one of the most profound and creative thinkers who ever dealt with human society and civilisation. He dedicated the first part of his long life to active engagement in the tumultuous political and diplomatic affairs of his time, turning to an intense and prodigiously productive life of the intellect only later, producing penetrating analyses of philosophy, history and, in particular, the rise and fall of civilisations and states." The Wikalat Al-Ghouri Artists Association held its 26th exhibition at Al-Ahram's new building gallery. Inaugurated by Chairman of the Board of the Wikala Abdel-Qader Mukhtar, Al-Ahram Organisation and Printing Department General Manager Mohamed Taymour Abdel-Hassib and head of the Plastic Arts Syndicate Mustafa Hussein, the exhibition showcases works by 150 artists in the fields of photography, sculpture, graphics, batik, pottery and painting. It is running through 20 December. Look out for, among many others, Mustafa El-Feki, Nagwa El-Ashri, Wagdi Habashi and Ibrahim Abdel-Malak. photo: Sherif Sonbol The talented jazz musician Daryl John Kennedy gave a beautiful concert at Al-Sawy Culture Wheel, reports Amira El-Naqeeb. He provided a rich variety of pieces from all around the world and was accompanied by many local talents including the famous drummer Ahmed Rabie and the budding 13-year-old percussionist Said, showing humour as well as musical prowess. At the Nile Hilton the Rotary District 2450, which includes Bahrain, Cyprus, Jordan, Lebanon, Sudan, UAE-Dubai, Georgia and Armenia as well as Egypt, held a press conference to celebrate recent achievements like medical caravans sent to Sudan and potable water projects undertaken locally. Present were, among others, chairperson of the Public Relations Committee, District 2450 Mayan Raslan, Governor of the Rotary District Abbas Helmi, District Trainer Mohamed Delawar and the next governor Zakaria El-Shafei. Rotary International is an organisation comprising various clubs spread all over the world, which cater to elite businessmen, women and skilled professionals united to provide humanitarian services, encourage ethical standards and help build goodwill, understanding and peace.
