Ali El-Guindi attends the opening of the General Egyptian Book Organisation's latest bid to spread cultural awareness and improve access to culture Readers of Arabic generally respond very positively to the General Egyptian Book Organisation (GEBO) logo -- the ancient Egyptian scribe -- because of the combination of valuable content and affordable price tag that it signals. One of a few positive vestiges of Nasser's long renounced socialist regime, GEBO last week began celebrating the tenth anniversary of its brainchild, Maktabat Al-Osra (Family Library), a project undertaken under the auspices of Mrs Suzanne Mubarak with as head of the board of directors, and aiming to provide a multitude of valuable material -- religion, heritage, philosophy and science as well as literature, with both Arabic classics and foreign books in translation published -- at prices ranging from LE1 to LE5. The event (29 Oct-9 Nov) is taking place at the GEBO headquarters on the Nile Corniche, next to the World Trade Centre, and provides for a broad range of activities from a book exhibition to poetry readings featuring the work of such major figures as Jubran Khalil Jubran, Ahmed Shawqi, Salah Abdel-Sabour and Amal Donqol, as well as that of poets writing today, and from theatrical to musical performances. More significantly, the event features discussions of Maktabat Al-Osra publications, held in the presence of the authors of the books being discussed -- Ibrahim Nafie, Mustafa El-Feki, El-Sayed Yassin, Osama Anwar Okasha, Alaa El- Aswani, Ibrahim Aslan and many others -- and open to the public. The opening session on Thursday set the tone with "an open dialogue" featuring Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni and several writers and artists, Mahmoud Amin El-Alim and Ahmed Mostagir among them. All expressed their views on the role of both government and intellectuals in spreading cultural awareness and improving access to culture among the people at large -- decentralising culture, as it were, by taking it out of the confines of elitist circles. The dialogue centred on two focal points: means to spreading culture, and the role of television and the media. "How can the book be made an integral part of people's lives?" asked El-Alim. "Culture has turned into a battle... What is offered by the global mass media is a culture not of awareness but of blindness. It is here, in the space separating our culture from the culture of the mass media, that intellectuals must wage their battle..." Others, like Fathia El-Assal and Nawal Mustafa, warned of the dangers that "the imperialist plans of" globalisation pose to our sense of identity and our authenticity. "Culture," El-Assal declared in this context, "is our first and most important weapon. Our enemies can only manipulate us if we are ignorant." For many, proper attention to culture required wide-ranging reform. Mostagir and Ahmed Ammar stressed the importance of spreading "scientific culture", pointing out that the present might of America did not come about as a result of poetry alone. Dominion is achieved, rather, through the natural sciences -- the spread of which holds the only viable key to development. Hosni responded particularly positively to this line of thought, calling for holding a conference of scientists and officials to map a programme for spreading scientific culture on the spot. For his part Sabri El-Shabrawi critiqued the management of institutions responsible for the promotion of culture, speaking of "a schizophrenia" whereby the cultural establishment lacks economic good sense and the economic establishment lacks cultural awareness. "The real danger is in the culture of managers and directors," he said. "Cultural institutions that raise the banners of reform themselves suffer from such problems as centralisation and managerial narcissism..." Hosni agreed that only a culturally aware official will be capable of deploying the full intellectual potential of the country, pointing out that politicians should work closely with intellectuals and thinkers. All agreed on the immense influence of television -- an incredibly powerful tool more often misused than not. No matter how much writing takes place, El-Assal declaimed, television will continue to command the public mind. "Real culture," she insisted, "should infiltrate the screen." Many urged Hosni to work closely with Minister of Information Mamdouh El-Beltagui to bring culture to the local mass media. "It is true that these treasures now being published are affordable," El-Alim pointed out, "but they need to be promoted by television and the media -- so that people will become aware of them." He suggested, in addition, that there should be discussions between authors and public, to demystify the cultural sphere and foster an atmosphere of vital exchange. Some intellectuals went so far as to call for a national television channel devoted to culture -- to which Hosni replied that the ministry would happily work towards such a goal if it had the support of the Ministry of Information. A three-hour affair, the session ended with the customary exchange of compliments and plans, with Sarhan congratulating Hosni on the renovation of Dar Al-Kutub in Bab Al-Khalq and the latter declaring that the ministry's efforts are not enough in themselves to raise cultural awareness, a task, he said, that should involve every single ministry, especially the Ministries of Education, Information, Youth and Economy. Though attendees seemed satisfied enough with the way things progressed, only time will tell whether this open dialogue will prove to be more than another Ramadani diversion. Another, persistent doubt concerns whether the cultural figures present, the youngest of whom was 60 years old, represented a vital view of contemporary culture, or whether their version of the story too needs to be renovated, like Dar Al-Kutub.
