The Ottoman dream At the Ghouri Dome, with the thrilling Islamic district of Ghouriya in the background, the Destar traditional Turkish Music Ensemble gave a concert celebrating Turkish-Egyptian tourism cooperation under the patronage of the Turkish Embassy, sponsored by the Turkish Airlines with support and participation from the Yunus Emre Turkish Cultural Centre in Cairo. Sherif Sonbol was there with his camera. The American University in Cairo (AUC) held its spring commencements for 598 graduate and undergraduate degree candidates, marking the end of the 2011 academic year. In the two ceremonies held to honour the undergraduate and graduate students President Lisa Anderson awarded 458 undergraduate degrees and 140 graduate degrees to candidates from each of AUC's schools while Mohamed El-Erian and Galal Amin addressed the graduates as their commencement speakers. The theme of revolution figured strongly in all speeches. El-Erian, CEO and co-CIO of PIMCO, who was presented with an honorary degree before speaking at the undergraduate ceremony, urged graduates never to "give up on themselves" and to find inspiration in their potential to serve. Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Amin, professor emeritus and prominent economist, expressed his hope for the next generation. "My generation was deprived of choices, but we also had far fewer responsibilities. Happily the events of 25 January have proven that the generation wants the choice and deserves the responsibility that comes with it." In addition to the 70 undergraduates who graduated with honours, 90 graduated with high and 77 with the highest honours; several students were chosen for individual awards recognising superior academic enterprise and contributions to campus and community life. In the presence of Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs Salim Sayegh, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Shahida Azfar and UNICEF Representative in Lebanon Annamaria Laurini, the first edition of Facts for Life by UNICEF was launched a couple of days ago in the Bristol Hotel, Beirut. Lebanese pop star Nancy Agram, UNICEF regional goodwill ambassador, attended the event. What makes Facts for Life distinctive is that it is the first edition in Lebanon of this programme, adopted by the UNICEF worldwide. In order to produce a reference guidebook adapted to the Lebanese social structure, the Lebanon Country Office employed 58 experts in different specialisations representing different scopes of competence to verify the validity and credibility of the information presented. Italian President Giorgio Napolitano bestowed the Order of Merit of the Italian solidarity on Mohamed Awad, head of the Alexandria and Mediterranean Civilisations Studies Centre at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and professor of architectural engineering at Alexandria University. Awad was handed the award by the Italian Consul in Alexandria Mario Vinci. The award went to Awad for his tireless efforts in the field of preserving the architectural and civilisational heritage of the city of Alexandria and his tremendous contribution to the study of the Italian cultural legacy in Egypt. The Tunisian blogger Lina Ben Mhenni was granted the Best Blog Award of the Deutche Welle Global Media Forum in Bonn for her efforts in delivering the voice of the revolutionary youth, while Egyptian activist Wael Ghoneim received the forum's Best Social Activism Campaign Award for his Facebook page "We are all Khaled Said". The Cairo Opera House Main Hall saw the closing ceremony of the centennial celebration of the Faculty of the Fine Arts in the presence of Minister of Culture Emad Abu Ghazi. The ceremony featured an operetta personifying various influential art icons such as Mahmoud Mukhtar, Hassan Fathi, Gamal El-Seguini, Hussein Fawzi, Salah Abdel-Kerim, Hamed Nada, Bikar and Nagui Shakir. Choreographed by Walid Aouni, the operetta was performed by his modern dance company. The Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Amr Ezzat Salama and the dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts, Helwan University Mohamed Mekawi were present. photos: Ayman Barayez A prestigious closing ceremony for Nazli Madkour 's exhibition was held at the Horizon One Hall in the Mahmoud Khalil Museum, crowned by an assembly of high-profile figures including former secretary-general of the Arab League and possible candidate for the presidential elections Amr Moussa, veteran political expert Mohamed Hassanein Heikal and his wife, head of the Egyptian Writers' Union Mohamed Salmawy, head of the Plastic Arts Sector at the Culture Ministry Ashraf Reda, cinema critic Rafik El-Sabaan and actress Nabila Ebeid. photo: Abdel-Hamid Eid During his visit to Egypt, Azeri-born British singer Sami Yusuf paid a visit to the Health and Hope Oasis for children afflicted with cancer in Wadi Al-Natroun. The children spent a lovely day singing and playing with Yusuf. Later before the end of his visit to Egypt, Yusuf featured in a thrilling concert as he rocked the stage at Al-Gezira Youth Club with a large number of fans. El Sawy Culturewheel held a concert by singer Riham Abdel-Hakim performing a variety of songs of the Egyptian diva Umm Kolthoum including Enta Omri (You're My Life), Fakarouni (They Thought of me to be) and Alf Leila w Leila (One Thousand and One Nights) in addition to some of her own songs. Out of a sense of responsibility for the community, Abdel-Rahim Mustafa Al-Demerdash Pasha established the hospital that carries his name in Cairo in 1931 -- a gift from him, his wife and his daughter to people regardless their ethnicity, religion or nationality. Till today the educational hospital, Ain Shams University serves people from all over the country. With the mission of offering quality treatment to the patients, a newly refurbished Emergency Ward 7 recently reopened. The upgrading took place with support from a leading oil company. Nesmahar Sayed attended the opening of the renovated ward. During the ceremony, the company Chairman and Managing Director Tom Walter declared their commitment to the community, with which education goes hand in hand. Al-Demerdash General Manager Dr Adel El-Nazzer confirmed that the unit is one of the largest emergency surgical units in the hospital, serving more than 2,000 patients annually. Deputy Managing Director of the Hospital Dr Ahmed Saafan added that the renovation expenses reached almost LE800,000. The German Ambassador to Egypt Michael Bock gave president of the German University in Cairo (GUC) Gamal Nawara the Order of Merit for his relentless efforts in endorsing Egyptian-German relations in the field of education. Bock declared the commitment of German schools in Egypt to granting all secondary school graduates the German Abitur certificate, making them identical to their counterparts in Germany. The Cairo branch of the Cervantes Institute in Dokki, along with the 78 Cervantes institutes worldwide celebrated the third edition of the Spanish Language Day by unleashing metres of Spanish words written on balloons.
