It's been quite a week, my sweets, I'll tell you that. The first exciting thing I'd like to tell you about are the two wonderful exhibitions I had the good fortune to attend. On Saturday, I was at the inauguration of "Visions of Egypt", a collection of striking photographs by Joseph Gerges. This enlightening show will run till 30 May at the World of Art gallery in Maadi. At the Khan Al-Maghraby in Zamalek, meanwhile, an exhibition entitled "Still Life" featuring the work of Ibrahim El-Dessouki, El- Dessouki Fahmi, Islam Zaher, Tharwat El-Bahr, Fouad Tag, Attyat Sayed and Mohsen Meto opened on Tuesday. It runs till 10 June. Moving right along to another artistic genre, I can't wait until 25 May, when Thornton Wilder 's play "Our Town" will be performed in colloquial Egyptian Arabic right here in Cairo at the Hanager Art Centre. The classic Broadway show won the Pulitzer Prize for its moving portrayal of life in a small New England town. The play's American director, Seth Gordon, said he was delighted to communicate with the Egyptian cast and to convey nuances about the execution of the production with the help of a translator. Exploring other cultures has always been one of my favourite themes. It was a pleasure, then, for me to spend a few hours at the American University in Cairo's recent International Day celebration, where students from many different nations took the opportunity to introduce their countries' unique costumes and foods to the general public. Several countries also wowed the audience with renditions of their national dances. Overall, everybody had a fantastically multicultural time. At the Al-Ahram Regional Institute for Journalism, meanwhile, a two week training course for 40 journalists from Commonwealth countries has recently come to an end. Hamdi Sanad Loza, the secretary-general of the Egyptian Fund for Technical Cooperation with the Commonwealth, one of the sponsors of the course, told my colleague Mustafa El-Menshawy that the high-level media personalities who attended had the chance to meet with such top Egyptian figures as senior presidential adviser Osama El-Baz, Youth Minister Alieddin Helal, Tourism Minister Mamdouh El-Beltagui, Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, and Press Syndicate Chairman Galal Aref, among others. A lot of dear friends were honoured for their various achievements this week, my loves. At the Supreme Council for Culture, a seminar on children's culture gave out awards to several pioneers in the field of children's literature. The four individuals who received special trophies included director Ahmed Zaki, former Puppet Theatre head Ragi Enayat, songwriter Shawki Khamis, as well as our very own culture editor, Mursi Saad El-Din, who, to my surprise, has always had a hidden talent for writing plays, books and TV shows for children. My heartiest congratulations go out to Mursi, as well as my hopes that one day he might start a children's section here at the Weekly. Congratulations are also in order for Khaled Zakaria Amin, who teaches at Cairo University's Faculty of Economics and Political Science. Amin is currently a doctoral candidate at New York University, where he has just been awarded the 2003-2004 NYU Public Administration School teaching award for adjunct PhD candidate professors. Amin, who is interested in public economics and finance, as well as development public policy, was given the award during the school's convocation held at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center. Speaking of education, I am very pleased to inform you of a unique initiative whereby generous donors from the private sector fulfil some of the public school system's dire needs. In Giza, the Pharaonic Village, along with the Rotary club, provided two primary schools with computer facilities, as well as help in renovating the school buildings themselves -- to the tune of LE230,000. Education Minister Hussein Kamel Bahaaeddin inaugurated the programme. A high-profile women's political forum was recently organised by the National Council for Women (NCW) and the General Organisation for Cultural Palaces, under the auspices of Mrs Suzanne Mubarak. NCW Secretary-General Farkhonda Hassan said the forum was a successful way of providing much needed support to the idea of increased participation by women in the nation's political scene. Cultural Palaces director Anas El-Fiqi said the forum would cover issues of vital import to women across the country. Several women who have been pioneers in this field were also recently honoured at a celebration held at the Gumhouriya Theatre, and attended by my colleague Mahmoud Bakr. Amongst the honorees were 13 ideal mothers. A performance entitled History is a Woman, written by Al-Ahram's Mona Ragab and directed by Intissar Abdel-Fatah, also took place.
