It was such a thrill to see our favourite surgeon Professor Raafat Guindy Habib, the prominent ear, nose and throat specialist and elder brother of our late beloved founding editor-in-chief Hosny Guindy on the pages of Rose El-Youssef weekly magazine (Issue 4014, 20 May 2005). Guindy was selected to receive the prestigious Wessam Al-Ehteram (Shield of Honour) column which features eminent Egyptian figures with significant contributions to the society. Since his graduation from medical school in 1957 to his early years in medical practice in Britain where he acquired his Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS), he gained a reputation as a gifted healer who was totally committed to his patients. He remained solely focussed on his professional life -- he shied away from cameras and media lights. "For this and more, we present him the Shield of Honour," the column concluded. My dear friend, Nazih Guirgis, renowned children's writer, book publisher and chairman of the US Mid-East Music and Fine Arts Council was awarded Mrs Suzanne Mubarak 's First Prize for Publishing. Mrs Mubarak granted Guirgis the award during the 2004 Children's Literature Festival. Congratulations! Emir Talal bin Abdul-Aziz, president of the Arab Council for Childhood and Development, has named Ayman Abu Laban of Jordan as secretary- general of the council starting last month. Weddings transpire always and often in Egypt. But my memories of them are as fleeting as the blink of a bride's eye as she and her groom wave goodbye to embark upon their honeymoon. But the wedding I attended last Friday remains everclear: Hafez Afifi and Nancy Farid celebrated their marriage at the house of the bridegroom's father in Mansouria. Hafez is the son of Hassan Afifi, a leading businessman and the grandson of Hafez Afifi, Egypt's first ambassador to the United Kingdom. Hafez 's mother is ambassador Nermine Ali Murad, now assistant to the minister of foreign affairs. The nighttime wedding was held on a sprawling lawn, aglow with bright lights that adorned every tree. Nancy and Hafez made a handsome couple as they danced the evening away with their young colleagues. Culture Minister Farouk Hosni laid the foundation stone of Ain Helwan Cultural Palace a few days ago along with Cairo Governor Abdel- Azim Wazir and head of the General Organisation of Cultural Palaces Mustafa Elwie. "The Building Crafts of Cairo: A Living Tradition" is quite an interesting exhibition produced by Agnieszka Dobrowolska, an architect who has worked together with the craftspeople of Cairo on conservation projects in the city for 10 years. At the beautifully designed Beit Al- Seheimi nestled in the historic city, the lovely old house is now in use by the Ministry of Culture as a venue for cultural events. It was opened by the Netherlands Ambassador Tjeerd de Zwaan and Director of the Netherlands- Flemish Institute in Cairo Gert Borg. The exhibition, running through 15 June, presents traditional crafts related to the building industry in Cairo. It is an event marking various aspects of cultural interconnection and cooperation between Egypt and Europe. Displayed in Beit Al- Seheimi, the exhibition presents craftspeople working with several materials and techniques. These craftspeople continue to use skills and traditions that have carried through many generations. Through a comparison of the descriptions and pictures produced 200 years ago by French surveyors and other European sources, it is possible to trace how these crafts evolved with time. This exhibition is a result of a project affiliated with the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo, sponsored by the Delegation of the European Commission in Egypt and by the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Cairo. The Group of Democratic Development (GDD), headed by Negad El-Boraai, held a workshop on the Election Fairness Guidebook in the Arab World on 1-2 June. This guidebook is due for publishing by the GDD at the end of 2005. The aim of the two-day workshop was to discuss the draft of the guidebook with concerned experts. Researchers from Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon and Bahrain presented the elections status in their countries on the first day. Egyptian researcher Essam Hassan presented the status of the elections in Egypt while Jehad Ouda, professor of political science, presented the viewpoints of growing democracies such as India and Indonesia. The second day found the researchers and the participants discussing the draft of the Unified Arab Guidebook. Some crucial issues concerning elections have been discussed: the conditions and guarantees of the fairness of the procedure's pre-polling phase, the conditions and procedures which guarantee the fairness and transparency of voting and polling process and lastly, the means and the procedures for challenging election results including the contesting of election process procedures. The workshop was attended by a number of researchers, political experts and media members. Many among them were concerned with democracy and reform: five from the People's Assembly and Shura Council, 10 representatives from most of the political parties, two judges, four professors in universities in addition to 18 public figures and about 35 journalists representing the national regional and international media firms. During the seven sessions of the workshop, heated debates occurred as participants expressed their observations on the draft. These concerned observations will be taken into consideration when formulating the final draft of the guidebook; after all, this is the aim of holding the workshop. After 30 days a press conference will be held to declare the final draft of the guidebook. After the press conference, a promoting campaign will be launched in Egypt and the Arab world. The guidebook will be distributed on the MPs in the Arab parliaments and the MPs in Egypt. We are delighted by the American University in Cairo's recent announcement which proclaimed Medhat Haroun as the new dean of AUC's Sciences and Engineering Department. Haroun follows in the footsteps of Fadel Assabghi, dean since 1999. Haroun will commence his deanship on 1 September 2005. Haroun 's deanly duties include directing and overseeing a myriad of AUC departments: biology, chemistry, computer science, construction engineering, mechanical engineering, electronics engineering, interdisciplinary engineering programmes, mathematics and physics. Upon receiving his PhD from Cal Tech in 1979, Haroun proceeded to teach civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Irvine in 1981. His involvement with this prestigious California institution led him to serve as director of the University of California Education Abroad Center at AUC. Continuing his impressive resume, Haroun fulfilled the role of professor of construction engineering at AUC. It was not long before he received an award for excellence in undergraduate teaching from AUC (2003). As a world renowned expert in earthquake engineering, he added another feather in his cap by winning the Huber Civil Engineering Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers in addition to the Distinguished Professor Award for Teaching from the University of California, Irvine. Haroun is married and has two children who seem to be following in his trail of success: Heba, a 1999 mass communication graduate of AUC, and Hani, a 1998 graduate of University of California at Berkeley.
