Arch priest Mourqos Aziz Khalil of the Hanging Church was at the centre of a Nile Hilton celebration this week when the Egyptian Centre for Arab Culture in Sydney, Australia, decided to honour him, dears. Travelling all the way to the southern hemisphere having proved impractical for this virtuous man, dears, Father Mourqos received the 2004 National Unity award and shield (given to an Egyptian figure who works to promote positive Muslim-Copt relations) closer to home, in the presence of Cairo Governor Abdel-Azim Wazir, Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa and the Egyptian Ambassador to Australia Ahmed El-Quweisy as well as a star-studded audience of officials, media and public figures and clergymen, including our own darling administrator Samir Naoum. Heart-warming speeches confirmed various aspects of national unity and Egyptian achievement: Wazir quoted Pope Shenouda III on the shared roots linking Muslims and Christians; Gomaa praised the role played by Khalil 's articles in confirming national unity within the Egyptian community in Australia; Mohamed Abdel-Quddous, on behalf of the Egyptian Press Syndicate, congratulated Khalil, expressing pleasure and pride; El-Quweisy elaborated on Egyptian presence in Australia, where numerous Egyptians occupy high- ranking positions, making invaluable contributions to society. It wasn't until all had enjoyed one of Um Kulthoum's patriotic songs that Khalil gave his own speech, thanking everyone before he declared, "but why do I deserve a prize for loving my country?" Speaking of which, dears, national unity finds true adherents in Armenian-Egyptians who, however eager they remain on preserving their own culture, have a strong sense of belonging to the country. I'm talking about another celebratory evening in the company of these very special Egyptians, the 150th anniversary of the Kalousidian of the Armenian School, founded by Garabed Kalousidian in 1845. To mark the occasion, the head of the Armenian community A Mesrobian, school director S Tchamkertenian and the Armenian Benevolence Union Chairman B Terzian symbolically divided a huge cake with the name of the school on it on campus. The founding of a new organisation to help combat the awful drug menace warmed my heart on Sunday, dears, when the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood Secretary-General Moushira Khattab announced the birth of the Coalition of Non- governmental Organisations for Drug Abuse Prevention -- signing a cooperation protocol with 15 NGOs. This, you will be glad to know, is but a small part of the National Campaign for Drug Abuse Demand Reduction Among Youth. A large-scale initiative undertaken in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Italian Embassy, the plan involves schools, youth centres, clubs and the media -- and relies to a large extent on young volunteers eager to wage war on addiction. During the signing, participants celebrated the achievements of Al-Orman Secondary School for Boys drug- prevention NGO -- a young organisation in every sense of the word. Speakers included Khattab, UNODC Regional Director Mohamed Abdel-Aziz and Ahmed Abul-Azayim, head of the Egyptian Coalition for Drug Abuse Prevention. The Cairo Opera's Modern Dance Theatre Company, brain child of my dear friend the Lebanese choreographer Walid Aouny (who now directs it and creates its shows) will contribute Sheherazade, a modern dance variation on Rimsky Korsakov's timeless classic to the international festival Souq Okaz (The Okaz Market), which opened recently in Jordan and goes on till 14 September. Since its creation in 2000, the show has been known to mesmerise audiences at Alexandria's Roman Theatre and the Cairo Opera House, and I can only envy the Jordanians. No matter. Attendees of the International Frankfurt Book Fair, naturally including myself, dears, can look forward to a string of new shows to be staged there in October. Morocco, Morocco, Morocco. In collaboration with the Culture Ministry's Foreign Cultural Relations Department, dears, I was delighted to find out that I can have the pleasure of a whole week of Moroccan sights and sounds (11-17 September) at the small hall and open-air theatre of the Cairo Opera House, from painting and jewellery exhibitions to poetry recitals featuring my favourite Moroccan versifiers Wafaa Al-Emrani and Abdul- Karim Al-Tabal as well as art-based seminars introducing such prominent figures as Moulim Al-Arousi, Farid Al- Zahi and Hassan Nagmi. Closer to home, our very own cartoonist Tamer Youssef, deputy head of the Federation of Cartoonists Organisations, had an exhibition of caricature in Al-Arish, North Sinai. Opened by North Sinai Governor Ahmed Abdel- Halim under the auspices of the new Minister of Youth Anas El-Fiqi, the exhibition took place on the fringe of the great annual camel race. It included 73 portraits done especially for Al-Ahram Weekly, and several delightful takes on the desert lover's favourite creature. For his efforts, Youssef was handed a certificate of recognition by Abdel-Halim.
