Viva Palestina L-r: Bock, Kamel and El-Wakil at the press conference "Palestine: Women and Children First" is a thrilling photo exhibition by John C Tordai currently on show at the Photographic Gallery at the American University in Cairo (AUC) New Campus. Tordai's pictures provide a glimpse into the lives of children and women in Palestine. During the occupation many hundreds of children have been killed or seriously injured. On the other hand, the conflict continues to interrupt normal schooling and the most basic activities of work and play. Tordai is currently working as a photojournalist for UN agencies in the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. He has worked as a freelance photojournalist throughout the Middle East, the Caucasus region, Russia and Europe. His photographs of Palestine have been published in two books: Into the Promised Land (1991) and A People Called Palestine (2001). Tordai's work has appeared in The Sunday Times magazine, Stern and many other publications. He has exhibited work on Palestine in France, the United Kingdom and Palestine. (see Listings p.5) During a press conference held last week at the Cairo Opera House, Director Abdel-Moneim Kamel, along with German Ambassador to Egypt Michael Bock announced that the Opera will host two concerts to feature Germany's Baden-Baden and Freiburg Symphony Orchestra, conducted by world-renowned maestro Sylvain Cambreling and accompanied by violinist Thomas Zehetmair at the Main Hall and Sayed Darwish Theatre, Alexandria. Baritone and head of the Art, Music and Ballet House at the Opera, Reda El-Wakil, as well as Egyptian pianist Ahmed Abu Zahra also attended the press conference with El-Wakil disclosing that an orchestra composed of 100 soloists from around Europe will play Béla Bartók's Violin and Orchestra Concerto as well as Schubert's Symphony No 8. (see Listings p.5�) L-r: Al-Ibrahimi, Heikal, El-Muallim, El-Baz, Maher and El-Qaed at the book release ceremony photo: Ayman Barayez Chairman of Al-Shorouq Publishing House and head of the Arab Publishers' Union Ibrahim El-Muallim hosted a prestigious ceremony at Al-Shorouq First Mall branch in Giza on the occasion of the release of the new book Glimpses from A Rich Life by Al-Ahram Weekly Deputy Editor-in-Chief Mona Anis about the life of late veteran Al-Ahram writer Mohamed Sid-Ahmed. The celebration was crowned by the presence of Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, People's Assembly Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Mustafa El-Feki, spouse of the late writer Mayssa, veteran writer Neam El-Baz, head of the Nile Culture Channel Gamal El-Shaer, internationally acclaimed political analyst Mohamed Hassanein Heikal, Nisf Al-Donia magazine Editor-in-Chief Afkar El-Kharadli, Algerian critic Al-Akhdar Al-Ibrahimi, novelist Youssef El-Qaed and former foreign minister Ahmed Maher. Congratulations! The American University in Cairo's International Model United Nations (CIMUN) team received its second Outstanding Delegation Award at the National Model United Nations in New York (NMUN). Eighteen AUC students representing the Egyptian delegation competed against nearly 200 other international universities throughout nine councils over matters of foreign policy. AUC is the only Arab delegation to win the Outstanding Delegation Award. "Winning this award makes me feel proud of the dedication and hard work the AUC delegation has put into NMUN this year," said Omar El-Nayal, CIMUN 2010 graduate adviser. Gifted Syrian actors Gamal Suleiman and Sulaf Fawakhergui were granted awards for their unique performances in Arab drama, presented by the Syrian-American Women Association (SAWA) located in Los Angeles. During their visit, Suleiman and Fawakhergui were accompanied by veteran media figure and head of the American-Levantine Media Association Laila El-Husseini. Suleiman also delivered a lecture at the University of Michigan under the title "Drama and History". Bakr receives the honorary shield Red Sea Governor Major General Magdi Qoubasi honoured Al-Ahram Weekly Environment Editor Mahmoud Bakr as well as head of the Health and Environment Department Sherif Eissa and communication counsellor Nabil Makram at the Egyptian Company for Mobile Services (Mobinil). The honour came due to their restless efforts in raising awareness of the safety issues attendant to mobile networks and the best means of disposing of electronic waste. The event coincided with a lecture organised by the Red Sea Association for Environmental Care, in cooperation with Mobinil, presided over by Mona Abu Bakr. The lecture discussed the impact of electronic waste on health and the environment. Actress and UN World Food Programme Ambassador Against Hunger Hind Sabri paid a recent visit to two girls' schools in Fayoum governorate. Sabri spent the day in Fayoum making sure that all schoolgirls there receive nutritious, balanced and healthy meals everyday. Indian folk dancer At the premises of the Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture (MACIC), a celebration took place last week to commemorate the birthday of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. The programme included recitation of Tagore's poems and a performance of Indian folk dances. At the end of the celebration, Indian Ambassador to Egypt R Swaminathan honoured members of the Bengali community in Egypt and pointed out that the local celebration of Tagore was mirrored by similar celebrations in India. He added that Tagore was a friend of the great Egyptian poet Ahmed Shawqi. A book exhibition, containing all of Tagore's books and poems, was organised on a sidelines of the celebration. The Maadi British Association (MBA) hosted recently a relaxing and casual Pimms party in the beautiful garden of a superb 1930s Swiss-style villa in Maadi belonging to Francine Loza. The witty and entertaining guest speaker was the one and only Samir Raafat, writer, historian, raconteur and author of two books on Cairo's historic buildings, including Maadi 1904-1962. It was a chance to bombard him with questions about the "good old days" when Maadi was a planned suburban paradise of exquisite villas and gardens abundant with exotic trees and plants, eccentric characters and royalty. More news on AUC! The Seventh Annual Forum on the Economic and Business History of Egypt and the Middle East, will be organised by AUC's Economic and Business History Research Centre and Middle East Studies Centre; Partners in Development for Research, Consulting and Training; the Supreme Council of Culture; and the National Centre for Translation. The forum will showcase research on industrialisation in Egypt; textiles industry crisis in Egypt; labour movements in Egypt; and Egyptian industry between the political economies of Nasser and Sadat. The four-day forum will last from 22-25 May. It will take place at the Oriental Hall, AUC Downtown, the Cairo Opera House, and the Egyptian Businessmen Association. In a spectacular celebration, the ART network channels represented by prominent ART presenter and actress Safaa Abul-Seoud along with actor Karim Koujak hosted its annual Oscars Awards at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, honouring a luminary of stars. Guests enjoyed a pleasant evening enlivened by the voices of a galaxy of singers who were also recognised. Among the honourees were actors Omar El-Hariri, Ezzat El-Alaili, Nour El-Sherif, Ahmed Rateb, Karim Abdel-Aziz, Sherif Mounir, Khaled El-Sawi, Khaled Abul-Naga, Ashraf Abdel-Baqi, Bassem El-Samra and actresses Youssra, Elham Shahine, Menna Shalabi, Nelly, Mona Zaki, Donia Samir Ghanem, Joumana Mourad, Rogina, Somia El-Khashab, Maye Nour El-Sherif and Sherin Adel and gorgeous Lebanese actress-cum-singer Serene Abdel-Nour, as well as sultry Lebanese singer Haifaa Wahbi, singers Mahmoud El-Esseili, Angham and Gannat, popular singers Hamada Hilal and Ahmed Adawia. Actress Maye Kassab, actor and head of the Egyptian Actors' Union Ashraf Zaki and actor Yasser Galal, retired belly dancer and actress Fifi Abdu and gifted singer Khaled Selim were also present.
