New Academy president PROFESSOR Mahmoud Hafez was elected president of the Arabic Language Academy following the passing away this year of Professor Shawqi Deif, the former president of the Academy. Professor Hafez was born on January 10, 1912. He graduated from Cairo University and obtained a BSc in Zoology in 1935. He pursued higher studies on the taxonomy, biology and ecology of flies, first in England (1937), then in Egypt, and obtained his MSc degree in 1938 and a PhD in entomology in 1940. He was a Research Fellow, Cambridge University (1946-1948). He is also a founding member of the African Association of Insect Sciences; member of the Network of African Scientific Organizations; member of the International Union of Biological Sciences; member of the International Organization for Biological Control; fellow of the Third World Academy of Sciences and President of the Egyptian Society for History of Science. The idea of establishing an Arabic language academy was first introduced late in the nineteenth century with the intent of ensuring that Arabic keeps up with concepts of modern civilization, particularly in relation to political terms used in the Egyptian press, to establish standardized equivalents for terms transliterated from other tongues and to further the dissemination of knowledge nationwide as well; hence, the resolution incepting it on December 1932, and the inauguration of the Cairo-based Academy on January 30, 1934. The Academy is international in the sense that it has both Arab and non-Arab Orientalists, as its members. The motto of the Academy is that knowledge and understanding among countries of the East and these of the West are above all. It has in addition to linguists and authors a membership of doctors, chemists, physicians, mathematicians, lawmakers and other specialists. Learning BBC English BBC LEARNING ENGLISH, a division of the international radio and online broadcaster BBC World Service, has forged an important new relationship with Egypt Radio & Television Union (ERTU) to co-produce a weekly radio programme for learners of English in Egypt. The landmark agreement signed last week, means for the first time in Egypt, listeners will be able to hear BBC programming via a partner on FM. The one-hour programme will be jointly branded BBC and Egypt Radio and broadcast on two national Egyptian channels: Middle East FM and the Youth & Sport FM, which between them reach over 21m listeners. In addition, it will be carried on the Educational channel. It will be bilingual, in Arabic and English; and bi-media, with content available online at as well as on the radio. Andrew Thompson, Head of BBC Learning English said: "We are very excited to be working with Egypt Radio. English is increasingly the language of international engagement and communication. Millions around the world want to learn it. Through this agreement we will ensure young Egyptians have an opportunity to learn through a programme specially tailored for their needs. We will also be giving our new listeners an opportunity to learn about the British way of life." The name of the new programme is still to be announced, but the magazine-style content will be produced by a dedicated team working in Cairo and the UK. At its heart is the concept of language as the key to personal and professional growth. It is designed to appeal to a youthful market, mainly students and young professionals who are looking for an interactive and entertaining way to improve and practice their English. It will explore a variety of themes including English for tourism, information technology (IT), sport, entertainment and cultural exchange. It will also feature drama, Arabic and Western music phone-ins and vocabulary-building and offer audiences lots of interactive opportunities through phone-ins, debates and competitions. Rediscovering Picasso FROM 28 SEPTEMBER 2005 to 9 January 2006 the Musée Picasso is celebrating its 20th birthday. For the occasion, visitors are invited to discover a selection taken from its collections and enriched with important pieces from the Musée Picasso in Barcelona. Situated in the heart of historic Paris, the Musée National Picasso hosts a collection of several thousand works of Pablo Picasso. The idea of dedicating a special museum to this most famous of the 20th century artists was inspired by the fact that many of Picasso's works went to the French state, following his death in 1973. To house the collection, the French state chose to use a seventeenth-century hotel, situated in the Marais. This is the Hôtel Salé that was built in 1656 for the general Aubert de Fontenay. Before housing the musée Picasso, the hotel was already well-known. It was leased to the ambassador of Venice, and it became the Central School of Art and Manufacture (and then the School of "métiers d'art"), and finally it was leased to the state in 1975. The restoration of the museum was completed in 1985. Today, there are 203 paintings, 191 sculptures, 85 ceramics, and over 3000 drawings, engravings, and manuscripts in the museum.
