Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and Minister of Tourism Zoheir Garrana inaugurated the seventh round of Cairo Mediterranean Travel Fair From 5-7 September 2006 at Cairo International Convention and Exhibition Centre (CICC). India participates for the fourth consecutive year in this fair. The Indian pavilion drew a large number of visitors. Among the visitors were Civil Aviation Minister Ahmed Shafiq, head of the Egyptian Tourism Authority Ahmed El-Khadem, Indian Ambassador A Gopinathan, Deputy Cultural Attaché of Qatar Mohamed Ali Al-Mansouri and the Director of the Indian Pavilion Jay Prakash Shaw. Minister of Education Youssri El-Gamal, Fayoum Governor Major-General Magdi Kobesi and the Director of the British Council in Cairo Paul Smith inaugurated the Training and Technological Development Centre in Fayoum. They inspected the training services offered for English language teachers to upgrade the educational performance of teachers. The USAID in Egypt held a dinner on Monday at the Helnan Shephard Hotel to honour Salah Sabri Sebeh, literacy programme officer at CARITAS Egypt. He was selected by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to take part in the White House Conference on Global Literacy in New York to be held later this month. Elizabeth Warfield, director of Education and Health sections of USAID Egypt; Hala El-Serafi, the education programme at the USAID; and Ghada Habashi from the press office of the American Embassy were among those in attendance. Italian Ambassador Antonio Badini and his wife Donia inaugurated the meeting of the Italian cultural attachés of the Mediterranean Basin nations in Egypt. Badini said that they played an important role in promoting Italian culture in the countries of the southern Mediterranean Basin. Italy is the special guest of honour to the International book Fair in Cairo next year. Among the attendees were general director for the Promotion and Cultural Cooperation, Minister-Plenipotentiary Gherardo La Francesca ; Egyptian novelist Alaa El-Aswani ; President of the General Book Organisation Nasser El-Ansari ; Assistant-Minister for Cultural Affairs in the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mona Khashaba ; Director of the Italian Cultural Centre Adela Rispoli and Director of Al-Hanager Art Centre Hoda Wasfi. photos: Ayman Barayez The Chairperson of the Association of Arab Women Investors Hoda Galal Yassa held a reception for the Greek Goodwill Ambassador Mero Kececioglu for her great contribution in supporting charity activities. Among the dignitaries were Minister of International Cooperation Fayza Abul-Naga, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Hani Helal, Governor of Beni Sweif Ahmed Abdeen, fashion designer Hani El-Beheiri, actress Menna Fadali and members of the Association of Arab Women Investors Nariman Soliman, Nehad El-Sherif and Madiha El-Ganzouri. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, president of the Arab Thought Foundation, announced the launch of the conference's official website, www.arabstrategies.org. The launch took place in Al-Faisal 's office in Riyadh, in the presence of Prince Bandar Bin-Khaled Al-Faisal, Chief Executive Officer of the Arab Thought Foundation Fifth Conference (Fikr 5) Hamad bin Abdullah Al-Ammari, and several other prominent personalities. The Arab Thought is an independent, non-governmental and international foundation with no political or sectarian ties. It is an initiative between intellectuals and businessmen to promote attachment to Arabs permanent principles, values and morals. The Arab Thought Foundation Fifth Conference (Fikr 5) will be held at Habtoor Grand Hotel in Beirut, on 2-3 December 2006. The theme of the conference is "Arab Strategies for the Global Era" -- a topic agreed upon in the recent meeting held by the Foundation Board of Trustees. "The conference will focus on energy, investment, media, technology and social responsibility," said Prince Bandar. The Cairo Opera House held a press conference to announce its hosting for the first time in Egypt the Ballet Nacional De Cuba (National Ballet of Cuba). My Colleague Ghada Abd El-Kader reports on one of the most prestigious international dance companies in the world. Among the speakers were the, Chargés d'Affaires of the Cuban Embassy in Cairo Vladimir Gouzàlez Quesada ; the General Director of Cairo Opera Ballet troupe Erminia Kamel and the head of the media office, Mohamed Hosni. Kamel said that the general director and prima ballerina of National Ballet of Cuba Alicia Alonso will grace the occasion with her presence. The National Ballet of Cuba will present a performance entitled "The Magic of the Dance" on 14 - 16 September at the Grand Theatre, Cairo Opera House and 17-18 September at Sayed Darwish Theatre of Alexandria Opera House. photos: Ghada Abd El-Kader Défilé D'Egypte Company held an exclusive fashion show for the Egyptian, Indian and Syrian Clothes. It was held at the Cairo International Convention and Exhibition Centre (CICC). The exhibition was a huge success as it hosted a large number of companies from all over the world specialising in the clothing and textile industries. Sampling the latest trends for winter 2006/2007, the show presented evening gowns, bridal wear, accessories, veils, abayas, and casual wear. The show also featured a lovely collection of men's wear. A galaxy of luminary figures including Managing Director Hossam Faydullah and President of the CICC Adel El-Masri were present. The American University in Cairo's Rare Books and Special Collections Library has received a grant of $127,450 from the United States National Endowment for the Humanities to preserve and improve access to the archives of Hassan Fathi and Ramses Wissa Wassef, two of Egypt's most prominent 20th century architects. The architectural drawings, photographs, publications, and correspondence contained in these collections are an important resource for studying the innovative buildings of Fathi and Wassef. Both architects incorporated styles and methods of traditional Egyptian and regional architecture such as domes, wooden mashrabiya screens, and mudbrick construction into their designs. Both of them were recognised internationally for their ideas and work, receiving numerous awards, among them the prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture. The grant awarded to the library will involve cleaning and repairing items in the Rare Books Library's conservation laboratory and transferring materials to archival storage containers to ensure that they are preserved for future generations. In addition, detailed descriptions will be created to promote awareness of the collections and to enhance researchers' ability to locate materials of interest.
