photo: Amira El-Nakeeb My diligent colleague Amira El-Nakeeb attended last week a press conference held at the French Centre For Culture and Cooperation (CFCC) to introduce the activities of the French pavilion participating in the 38th Cairo International Book Fair (17-29 January 2006). Director of the CFCC Denis Louche, along with the French Cultural Attaché Bernard Huguenot, were keen on giving a brief introduction about the guests who are due to participate in the French programme this year. Supervisor of Books and Translation Department at the (CFCC) Dounia Abou Rachid spoke of celebrating the most successful Arabic books translated into French, which, my darlings, was all I needed to hear to know that the French pavilion will be in full swing this year. photo: Ghada Abd El-Kader Last Wednesday, my colleague Ghada Abd El-Kader was invited to attend a seminar with the intriguing title of "Art and Politics" held at Beit Al-Umma Museum (House of the People). Among the speakers in the seminar were Head of the General Organisation for Cultural Palaces Ahmed Nawwar, who introduced veteran actor Mahmoud Yassin as "one of Egypt's best- known actors, with over 150 films, 25 theatre productions and hundreds of television and radio shows to his name". Yassin elaborated on the topic of the seminar, explaining the interrelation between politics and arts as creating the humanitarian system by which people live. In his capacity as UN Goodwill Ambassador, Yassin relayed his visit to the camps in Nyala, South Darfur, where tens of thousands live in the harsh conditions following their displacement from their villages since early 2003. At the end of the evening, Yassin was granted the Saad Zaghloul statue for his contribution in both spheres of arts and politics. photos: Ayman Barayez Under the auspices of Mrs Suzanne Mubarak, the Danish Embassy in Cairo will introduce the Royal Danish Ballet on their first visit to Egypt arranged in collaboration with the Culture Ministry and the Cairo Opera House. The Royal Danish Ballet will give three performances of August Bournonville 's La Sylphide on 15, 16 and 17 January at the Cairo Opera House's Main Hall. AP Moller-Maersk Group is the sole Danish sponsor of the tour to Egypt; it is represented in Egypt by Maersk Egypt SAE, established in 1997, and the Egyptian Drilling Company (EDC) among others. Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni was the guest of Al-Ahram's Nisf Al-Donia magazine last week. Hosni was interviewed by the editorial team to talk about his long-standing personal, cultural and artistic achievements. Al-Ahram Chairman of the Board Salah El-Ghamri welcomed Hosni upon his arrival along with Nisf Al-Donia Editor-in- Chief Afkar El-Kharadli. Holidays are around the corner and fun is definitely in the air my fruitcakes. At the Nile City Cinema, for one, a galaxy of stars attended the movie premiere Damm Al-Ghazal (Gazelle Blood) last week. Among the attendees were cast and crew members: actress Yousra, actor Nour El-Sherif, writer and producer Wahid Hamed, and the film's director Mohamed Yassin. Former Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher, budding actor Amr Waked, actor Khaled El-Sawy, as well as producer Essam Imam and his wife were also present. The movie deals with the struggle between terrorism and thuggery in the Egyptian street, among other topics. Seems like an interesting movie darlings, I better hurry for my ticket. As Muslims head to Saudi Arabia for the Eid, CNN will be presenting -- for the ninth consecutive year -- live, in-depth coverage of the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage that sees approximately two million Muslims make the spiritual journey to the holy city of Mecca. Despite my occasional differences with CNN, truth be told dears, it is the only international TV news network to provide such comprehensive coverage of this important Islamic event. On a more literary note, I see in my deck that the Egyptian Culture Ministry and Saudi Arabia have dedicated a collection of books to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. The inscription given by the Ministry of Culture was a collection of books by international authors about the art of theatre, and it was collected on the occasion of the last Cairo International Experimental Theatre Festival. The Foreign Relations and Cultural Sector at the Culture Ministry has also inscribed a collection of books dealing with Islamic Architecture in Egypt. As for our dear friends at the Agency of Monuments and Museums in the Saudi Ministry of Education, they dedicated a collection of books concerned with Saudi history and relics. Last but certainly not least, the Ministry of Pilgrimage ( Hajj) has provided the library with elaborate brochures about the procedures of the pilgrimage. Egyptian singer Amr Diab, who had recently been tested for kidney pains, is back in good health to resume his previously scheduled activities. Diab is embarking upon the filming of a video clip for his new album Kammel Kalamak (Finish Your Talk) following its great success, choosing Paris as the location. American director Cameron Casey, who had previously directed Diab 's Leyli Nahari (My Night is Day) has been recontracted to direct the clip. Lebanese singer Fadl Shaker will be participating in the Seventh Annual Doha Festival -- for the fourth time -- confirming his reputation as the singer with the highest participation record at the festival since its inception. Shaker is in the process of finalising the recordings of the songs for his upcoming album scheduled for release in the very near future.
