I was delighted to hear that my dear colleague Aziza Fouad from Nisf Al-Dunya magazine won the fourth place in the international Media Distinction competition for an article she wrote entitled "Perennial Popular Depression". Some 40 participants from various countries took part in the competition which was organised by the Boehringer Ingelheim. Keep up the good work my dear Aziza. The US Embassy's Cultural Affairs Office is sponsoring a science and musical concert by the group The Circus Guy. This my dears was the first time the group performed in Egypt. The Circus Guy, an American music group was initially formed by Arab American brothers Michael and T H Culhane. The show which started last week will continue until 11 December. My dear colleague Nesmahar Sayed who spilled the beans, told me something of the history of the talented band. In 1994, Michael Culhane and physicist and musician Gregg Ross expanded the band and recorded its debut album "The Lovely Luna" which reached number four on the Virgin Megastore Record chart. This unique team of musicians include scientists and development specialists who have worked with NASA. They have been enthusiastically received in Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. I am confident that they will receive a warm welcome in Egypt as well. The Society of Writers on Environment and Development (SWED) in conjunction with the Environment Ministry, paid a visit to the protected nature reserve of Ashtoum Al-Gamil in Port Said Governorate. The visit included 35 journalists from various Egyptian newspapers. The manager of the reserve Khedr Mahfouz and Adel Abdel-Ghaffar, the media consultant of the Environment Ministry, supervised the visit. My dear friend Wael Reda also accompanied the group. My dear colleague Mahmoud Bakr, Al- Ahram Weekly 's environment editor, tells me that this visit is among several others that were agreed upon between SWED and Environment Minister Maged George. The British Council in Alexandria launched its new branch in the Mediterranean city last week. The opening ceremony was attended by the British ambassador to Egypt, Sir Derek Plumbly, Abdel-Salam El-Mahgoub, governor of Alexandria, Chairman of Alexandria University Mohamed Abdallah and John Grote the director of the British Council in Egypt. Grote mentioned many important projects that are sponsored by the British Council in Alexandria among them the creative writing competition, "I Belong and Collective Dreams", in conjunction with the Ministry of Youth and Sports in Egypt. Samir Farag, chairman of the Supreme Council of Luxor, announced that preparations for the athletics tournament and marathon have been completed and that the Upper Egyptian city, once the country's fabled capital, is ready to host the marathon athletic event which will take place tomorrow, Friday, in the vicinity of the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. Ahmed Hamza Khalifa, the head of the Athletics Federation's Luxor department, proclaimed that the national Egyptian team that will participate in the international competition marathon in France next March will be chosen among the winners in Luxor. Meanwhile Farag, who is very keen on improving education in Egypt and raising educational standards, held an open meeting with educational experts, teachers and lecturers to discuss the role of societal participation in encouraging distinguished teachers and punishing the undeserved ones. Farag also suggested holding training courses for teachers to familiarise them with the state-of-the-art educational systems. My dear friend the celebrated illustrator Gamil Shafiq invited me to the launch of his exhibition Tarh Al- Bahr 4 (Drift Wood 4) at Gallery Grant next Sunday. Prominent Artist Adam Henein will open Shafiq 's exhibition that will last until 28 December. I am looking forward to sample his works.
