It has been a week to remember the less fortunate and all sorts of events have been held across town recognising Orphan Day which takes place on 1 April. I took my shot at philanthropy and attended a conference in preparation for the day organised by Ahmed El-Qabani head of the Al-Orman Foundation for Orphans at the Semiramis Tiba Hall. The event was attended by the Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, Abba Basanty, bishop of Helwan and Maasara as well as actors Hussein Fahmi, Mohamed El- Sawy, actresses Laila Elwie, Afaf Shoeb, Nihal Anbar and media moghul Sanaa Mansour Then it was off to mingle amongst our most luminary publishers and cultural officials who thered at the conference hall of the Supreme Council for Culture as Culture Minister Farouk Hosni distributing the creativity prizes for best publisher over the past five years. Gold went to Adel El-Masri, owner of Atlas Publishing and Producing House, silver to Nahdet Misr Publishing House and the bronze medal was awarded to Al-Salam House. Hosni also distributed another five prizes for best publisher in specific domains. Al- Farouk House won first prize for their publication of cultural books, Al-Fikr Al-Arabi house for publishing scientific and academic books, Nahdet Misr House for translation, Modern Elias House for Kids and Youth books and Al-Talaa House for heritage books. Honorary certificates were also given to a number of publishers for their relentless efforts in the field. Among those recognised are the Egyptian-Lebanese Publishing House, the Egyptian-Saudi House, Ibn Sina and Hala libraries. Last Saturday, on the occasion of celebrating the Graduates Day at the Faculty of Mass Communication, Cairo University, Engineer Mohamed Taymour Abdel- Hassib, general manager of Al-Ahram Printing Department was honoured among other luminary figures in the fields of art and media. Held at Cairo University's grand celebration hall, among those honoured were head of the Shoura Council Safwat El-Sherif, media expert Abdel-Aziz Ghannam and veteran actor Yehia El- Fakharani. They received certificates of recognition distributed by the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Amr Salama in the presence of the Minister of Information Anas El-Fiqi and President of Cairo University Ali Abdel- Rahman. The Egyptian Museum lured us on Thursday night into its heart with strains of what we think is an apt representation of Pharaonic music. Culture Minister Farouk Hosni, the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) Secretary-General Zahi Hawass, French Cultural Attaché Denis Louche along with top French and Egyptian officials and archaeologists lead the way towards the centennial hall of the Egyptian Museum to inaugurate the "Champollion, Legrain... Treading the Land of Egypt" exhibition. Among the celebrities who graced the event were lovely actress Laila Elwie, head of Champollion Association in France Jean François Goyon and his wife as well as a number of archaeology professors. After six months of being on show in the French Alps capital Grenoble to mark the centennial of Legrain discovery on the occasion of hosting the ninth International Congress of Egyptologists, Cairo's citizens will be able to admire the enormous efforts exerted by both eminent French Egyptologists George Legrain and Jean François Champollion to reveal a glimpse of the ancient Egyptians' magic and mystery. Granite and limestone statues, manuscripts and photographs; while you may not have been among those fortunate enough to attend the gala opening, the show is a must- see and will be open to the public for the next three months. And after it all I still have enough energy to attend the event that shook the Cairo sky: the performance given by Canadian rock star Bryan Adams last Friday at a party held at the foot of the Great Pyramids of Giza given by Egypt's fashion monthly magazine Enigma in celebration of their fifth anniversary. Hundreds of revellers danced late into the chilly desert night. After all the setting was superb: dazzling white pagodas housing lounge suites and a bar were arranged around a seating area dotted with high tables, gilded seats and palm trees, with waiters weaving from table to table serving food and drinks to guests dressed alternatively in ball-gowns and jeans. All proceeds from the event will go to the Save the Children fund. In Cairo and at the Nile Hilton to be specific, the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Arts in Qatar (VCUQ) held a celebration for Egyptian students who received awards at the Third Annual Qatar Creative Educational Designs titled "Be Here: Design Now". Over 550 students from Egypt, Qatar, UAE, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria participated in the competition and the first prize went to Salma El-Sayed ($1350), second prize to Dina Al- Kilani ($820) while Khadiga El-Badan won the third prize ($550). "The creative and imaginative capabilities of all the students who participated in the contest, were inspirational," said Christina Lindlholm, dean of VCUQ. The top two winners will proceed to the second round of the design competition where they will compete for a full four-year scholarship to VCUQ, presented by Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Misnad, chairperson of Qatar Foundation. And the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development is a private non- profit organisation founded in 1995 by the Prince of Qatar Sheikh Hamd Bin Khalifa II, it supports and funds the VCUQ. Egyptians were also being well represented in Valetta Malta where the Egyptian Chefs Association (ECA) sent two of its member chefs to attend the Mediterranean Food Festival organised by the Malta Cookery and Foor Association and the Malta Tourist Authority. Chef Abdel-Moneim Khashaba from Louis Cruises and Ashraf Othman from the Semiramis InterContinental Hotel were accompanied by the ECAs membership coordinator Jacqueline Jampen and gave those in Malta a taste of just how wonderful Egyptian food can be. Kazakhstan Ambassador Baghdad Amreyev held a party in honour of the Kazakhstani Media delegation that visited Egypt last week within the framework of reinforcing the cultural and economic ties between both countries. Amreyev delivered a speech highlighting his country's role in the restoration works undertaken at Al-Zaher Bebars Mosque. Present were the ambassadors of Singapore, China as well as a bevy of media figures and diplomats. The wedding bells were ringing once again at the residence of the Italian Ambassador to Cairo Antonio Badini. This time round archaeological expert at the Italian Embassy Maria Casini was betrothed to professor of economy at Rome University Francesco Drago. Badini, his new bride Donia and Supreme Council of Antiquities Secretary- General Zahi Hawwas crowned the dinner party held, on this occasion, at Al-Gezira Hotel. And finally I can rest assured that I need not fly to London, Geneva, Paris or Kuwait to own a precious piece of jewellery by de Grisogono, the Swiss based company of jewellery and watch-making. We have been assured by Fawaz Gruosi, founder of de Grisogono and Chairman of the Board of Felopateer Palace Ihab Faltaqous that Felopateer will introduce this international brand to Egypt. And who would expect anything less of the company that has introduced other international brand names such as Philippe Charriol, renowned French watch-maker. And at a touching event which ultimately celebrated the qualities of loyalty and love, the head of Garden City Lions Club Awatef Serageddin held a seminar at the Cairo Capital Club (CCC) commemorating the memory of her late husband veteran Al- Wafd politician Yassin Serageddin. The seminar was attended by Minister of State for the Shoura Council Affairs Moufid Shehab, The People's Assembly Foreign Relations Committee head Mustafa El-Feki, intellectual Yehia El-Gamal and women of the social work such as Tahani Halawa, Bahiya Youssef, Samia Abul-Fotouh as well as actresses Youssra, Soheir El- Morshedi and Ragaa El-Gedawi. It was difficult but I finally tore myself from the museum to head to the residence of the Greek Ambassador to Cairo Panayotis Vlassopoulos and his lovely wife to attend the celebration of Greece's National Day. Among the attendees were a galaxy of foreign ambassadors in Egypt, diplomats, businessmen as well as chief executive officer at Global Strategic Consultants Professor Mona Zaki and her husband gifted artist Farid Fadel.
