Does anyone still remember the union of Syria and Egypt, that time in our history when Arab unity seemed just around the corner? Well I was happy to discover I am not the only one who remembers as last Tuesday, the Arab League celebrated its 60th anniversary with an amazing exhibition documenting the United Arab Republic. The inauguration of the exhibit -- a three day event which showcased original issues of both Egyptian and Syrian newspapers published in 1958 and held at the Press Syndicate, was attended by comedian Mohamed Sobhi among many others. Congratulations, dears. The daughter of Al-Ahram 's very own Financial Affairs Manager Hassan Tawfiq, Maha, was wedded to the dashing engineer-cum-police captain Sherif Medhat Ismail -- the son of Major General Medhat Ismail and his lovely wife Sawsan Shoeir, a general-manager at Masriyat Company. Held at the Airforce party hall, the charming celebration featured major media figures as well as some of our dearest colleagues, including General-Manager for Advertising Hassan Hamdi, Sports Director at the Advertising Agency Mahmoud El-Khatib, the backpage editor Mona Ragab and Al- Shabab magazine Editor-in-Chief Labib El-Sebaei. In his first solo exhibit in Alexandria, Al- Ahram's very own art critic and illustrator Makram Henein is exhibiting his works at the Alexandria Creativity Centre. The event was inaugurated by the Governor of Alexandria Abdel-Salam El-Mahgoub, last week and is a must see. It showcases works created by Henein in 2005 as well as older period oil paintings. Back in Cairo I had the pleasure of attending a lecture presentation by the renowned German architect and structural engineer Werner Sobek at the American University in Cairo's New Falaky Theatre Hall. The title was daunting: "Merging Architecture and Engineering in the 21th Century Buildings -- Lightweight, Adaptivity and Transparency" and yet Sobek succeeded in bringing all the technicality to life. The lecture was followed by an open discussion and a reception in his honour, and a display of his works was in exhibit. One of Germany's leading engineers, Sobek was appointed the successor of architect Frei Otto and in 1994 took over the leadership of the famous Institute for Lightweight Structures at Stuttgart University. He is known for the high- rise buildings he designed such as the Post Tower in Bonn, the Highlight Business Tower in Munich, the new Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart and the new Bangkok International Airport in Thailand. This month witnessed the inauguration of the first German Information Centre (GIC) for the Arab World, under the auspices of the German Embassy. At a cocktail reception, German Ambassador Martin Kobler, Assistant Secretary- General for the Media and Communication Affairs at the Arab League Mohamed Khamlichi and representative of the German Federal Foreign Office Rainer Schlageter explained the importance of the event while Susanne Schètz from the Communication Department of the German Office and Kobler launched the GIC website: www.almania-info.diplo.de. The Arabic website is an initiative of the German Foreign Office to provide reliable information on Germany to meet the demands of the Arab world. GIC will cover topics of interest ranging from politics to sports, explain the political position of the German government and offer translations of speeches and government statements. It is hoped that the GIC will also act as a forum for regional events as well as offer individual services to people interested in Germany, in particular journalists, who can also subscribe to a newsletter. Governor of Giza Fathi Saad and the ever dynamic Italian Ambassador in Egypt Antonio Badini inaugurated the multi-media library of Abu Al-Nomrous this month. The Italian Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (COSBY) is the NGO responsible for executing the library project, a project which aims to become a leading centre of training and the promotion of cultural and social activities. This week, the Cinema Art Society presided over by Abdel-Moneim Saad held a party at the fashionable Four Season's Hotel to distribute the awards of the 26th round of the Egyptian Cinema Oscar Festival. Awards were handed by veteran actress Madiha Yousry, head of the jury and member of the committee actor Mahmoud Yassin, comedian Adel Imam, actresses Laila Elwie and Aida Abdel-Aziz as well as actors Mahmoud Hemeida, Ezzat El-Alaily and filmmaker Youssef Chahine. And in a touching gesture to those who have parted the arts scene, the late actresses Zouzou Madi and Laila Fawzi were also honoured. The party was animated with the performances of Moroccan singer Boushra, Lebanese singer Amir Yazbak and the ever- wonderful belly dancer Fifi Abdu. photos: Ayman Barayez Adding to its list of distinguished events this year, the American University in Cairo (AUC) hosted the Knowledge Society Symposium organised in collaboration with the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Over the course of two days, participants discussed higher education in the Arab world and focussed on potential solutions and possible paths to progress. Inaugurated by AUC President David Arnold, Bibliotheca Alexandrina Director Ismail Serageldin, the Minister of Higher Education Amr Salama, Minister of Communication and Information Technology Tareq Kamel, the event was truly a high powered one. Sessions and events were attended by such luminaries as the internationally renowned heart surgeon Sir Magdy Yacoub, General Manager of the Aga Khan Foundation Thomas Kessinger and Noble prize laureate Ahmed Zewail.
