My dear readers, I am proud to announce the award bestowed on the veteran writer and intellectual Mohamed Ouda, this week. What a joy it was to experience the elating celebrations of Journalist Day first hand by the Journalists Syndicate. Ouda was granted the syndicate's prestigious award of recognition for 2005. I was extremely elated because Ouda received the official recognition he merited. He has contributed a great deal to journalism and his work has long been upheld as exemplary by the younger generation of aspiring journalists. The event was celebrated at the Journalists Syndicate, that architectural gem with its impressive Pharaonic façade. Meanwhile, the medal of press freedom went to professor of law Noureddin Farahat. Certificates of recognition and financial prizes were distributed among 27 journalists from various national, partisan and independent newspapers. I was also thrilled my sweeties to witness the honouring at the Journalists Syndicate of two dear colleagues of mine at Al-Ahram Weekly -- Mahmoud Bakr, our environment editor, and Khaled Dawoud, Al-Ahram, Washington bureau correspondent. I was delighted to learn that Bakr was given the award for obtaining his masters degree in the new field of environmental media. Well done Bakr. And, my dear friends, a couple of days ago, the Ambassador of Bangladesh Mahmoud Hassan and his gorgeous wife Sayeda hosted a farewell reception at their residence. A coterie of distinguished characters attended the reception. Among the esteemed personalities present were the former foreign minister Ahmed Maher and his lovely wife Hoda, as well as our very own culture page columnist Mursi Saad El-Din. And, guess what: Who else can succeed to become the sole agent for Paul and Shark, a sportswear brand and a lifestyle beloved from men, women and kids all over the world, other than Felopateer Palace company. Last Sunday, the company held a press conference at the Four Seasons Hotel in Giza announcing the thrilling news. In the presence of the company's Chairman of the Board Ihab Shenouda and Nadia Colombo, the managing director of Dama company, the sole agent for Paul and Shark worldwide. Following the press conference, Shenoudaand Colombo, accompanied by a group of reporters, inaugurated the brand's luxuriously-designed Cairo boutique located at the First Mall in Four Seasons Hotel, Giza. My dears, it was a grand occasion indeed. I am looking forward to do some serious shopping there, sweethearts. A charity exhibition was organised by the beautiful wife of the Senegalese Ambassador at her residence in Heliopolis. Along with a number of other wives of African diplomats and ambassadors in dazzling African attire, the Senegalese ambassador's wife staged the exhibition for the good cause of the charity associations in Egypt and the new pediatric ward of the newly born at Abul-Reish Hospital. Earlier this week, at another colourful African event the Embassy of Kenya in Cairo, in association with Kenya Airways showcased a wide range of Kenyan products.
