Nevine Al-Aref reports on a official plans to honour A gathering of Egyptian, Arab and international cultural figures is being planned for 11 December, the date of birth of Nobel Literature laureate who died last week at age 95. The event is being sponsored by the Ministry of Culture along with the Egyptian Writers Union (EWU). During the ceremony, the Supreme Council of Culture will give its traditional Prize to the year's best writer in the Arab world. Also to be presented is the AUC Press Medallion, awarded to what is the best book published by AUC during the year. According to officials, the event, to be called "The Conference" is to be a permanent fixture on the calendar. They are hoping the event will attract regional and international attention. Culture Minister Farouk Hosni and EWU Chairman Mohamed Salmawi have discussed its details and expect that it goes beyond commemorating Mahfouz to the promotion of the nation's cultural activities. Following the meeting, Salmawi told Al-Ahram Weekly, "the conference aims not only at commemorating such a great novelist, intellectual, humanist and believer but also shedding more light on all what has been written about him in Egypt and abroad -- in newspapers, books, studies and theses." The three-day conference, Salmawi added, will provide an opportunity for a collective discussion of Mahfouz's cultural influence. In 2007, organisers suggest the conference will discuss the foreign perception of Mahfouz's works. "Next year it will be about Mahfouz in the eyes of foreign readers," Salmawi said. A cultural résumé of each annual event is expected to be compiled and printed by the Ministry of Culture and the EWU. "The loss of Mahfouz is a huge one. We had to find a way to commemorate this great man. A statue is not what he would have wanted. Literary discussions and cultural events are what he would have liked," Salmawi said. The Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) is also working on a plan to mark Mahfouz's achievements. Speaking to the Weekly, SCA Secretary-General Zahi Hawass said that for the next three years the SCA will organise an annual seminar to discuss the three novels that Mahfouz wrote on ancient Egyptian history -- Abath Al-Aqdar (The Absurdity of Fates, 1939), Radubis (Radubis, 1943) and Kifah Tibah (Thebes' Struggle, 1944). Hawass said the seminars will be attended by Egyptian writers, novelists, intellectuals, journalists, archaeologists, artists, movie directors and other prominent figures. Moreover, the SCA is planning to present a new prize for children bearing the name Mahfouz. The award is a small bronze statue featuring Mahfouz working on a literary piece. The prize will be awarded to the best three art works and craft objects produced by children participating in the two-month-long Children Golden Pharaoh Festival held annually in all the nation's museums. Speaking to reporters, Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni said the plans are only the beginning of what his ministry has in mind for honouring Mahfouz. "This is the least we can do," said Hosni. "Mahfouz contributed so much to the Arabic novel, and with his creativity, modesty and endearing personality he succeeded in impressing the entire world." The sense of loss felt across the Arab world, represented in the unending flow of messages of condolences being sent to the Ministry of Culture, Hosni stressed, was proof positive that much should be done to remember Mahfouz. (see P.15)
