Rock attack The American country rock singer Ayme Loren and her band will perform together with the Egyptian band Cairokee on 7 July, where concertgoers can enjoy listening to the music at the Lake View Stage of Al-Azhar Park. The concert is part of a countrywide tour by Loren that will take her and her band to Cairo, Alexandria and Damanhour from 6 to 12 July 2011. Her music combines the best of American country music stars like Sheryl Crow with a passion for reaching young audiences. A musical performer, teacher and advocate for social causes like chronic children's illnesses, Loren represents both high-energy music and positive social outreach. The concert is organised by the American Embassy in Cairo ( see Listings P.22 ). Daring to Care: Egypt Before the Revolution and the Way Forward, is the name of the book issued by the Association of International Civil Servants in Egypt (AFICS), launched last week at the Diplomatic Club in downtown Cairo. The book comprises papers written by 99 eminent thinkers and scholars who have rigorously assessed Egypt's situation before the revolution on a variety of fronts and express their visions for the way forward. These papers were originally published in Beyond, the AFICS's public policy quarterly supplement of Al-Ahram Weekly starting from 2005 to end of 2009. The foreword is written by Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former UN secretary- general, together with introductory reflections by Ambassador Mervat Tallawy, former UN Undersecretary- general. Nesmahar Sayed attended the ceremony and met with the editorial team of the book, which includes the AFICS veterans Seheir Kansouah-Habib, Samia Farid Shihata, Amina Abdel-Aziz, Hoda Sharkawi, Mahmoud Nour who designed the publication as well as lecturer of political science at the American University in Cairo Mona Makram Ebeid. The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) has selected Dr Mohamed Shaalan, chairman of the Breast Cancer Foundation of Egypt to be one of its members. Shaalan is going to participate in the CGI annual meeting next September in New York City, to discuss how to find innovative new treatments especially of cancer, which help to create new programmes contributing to sustainable change in Egypt and the Middle East. The Initiative (CGI) aims to collect $63 billion to improve the life of 300 million citizens in 170 countries, eliminating health and economic problems. Established in 2005 by the former US president Bill Clinton, the CGI includes the US President Barack Obama and the Queen of Jordan Rania as well as 15 Nobel Prize winners. Mona Makram Ebeid, distinguished lecturer of political science at the American University in Cairo, was invited by the PASOK, headed over by Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, to give the keynote speech at the socialist women's international now taking place in Athens, Greece, until 30 June. The conference is entitled "Arab Women and the Transition to Democracy". The American University in Cairo (AUC) Press, headed by Mark Linz, hosted its prestigious annual celebration at the Cairo Opera House Open Air Theatre, featuring the band Ana Al-Masri (I'm the Egyptian) performing patriotic songs. Present were the spouse of late Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz, artist Gazbia Sirry, Prince Abbas Helmi, the owner of Al-Ain publishing house Fatma El-Boudi as well as a plethora of novelists, intellectuals and society ladies such as Latifa Zaki, Brigitte Louvivre and the gifted novelist Miral El-Tahawi. photos: Ayman Barayez The cast of the TV series Al-Shahrora celebrated the beginning of shooting their grand series in Laylati Hall at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. The series portrays the life of the veteran Lebanese singer Sabah. The role of Sabah is played by the beautiful Lebanese singer Carol Samaha. Producer Sadeq Al-Sabah, director Ahmed Shafiq and Lebanese Ambassador to Egypt Khaled Ziyada were present at the celebration. The activities of the first edition of Alexandria Creativity Liberty Centre will start next Thursday at the centre's headquarters, celebrating changing its name from "Alexandria Creativity Centre" to "Alexandria Creativity Liberty Centre" as well as the January Revolution and the annual national day of Alexandria. Nuba will be the guest of honour at the festival's first round, introducing its rich authentic cultural, artistic and social heritage. The festival will also feature an art exhibition on Nuba by the gifted artist Farid Fadel as well as a series of lectures and seminars. photo: Abdel-Hamid Eid A celebrity-studded premiere was held at the City Stars complex for the recently released blockbuster Al-Markeb (The Boat). Written by Ahmed and Haitham El-Dahan and directed by Othman Abu Laban, the film features many rising stars such as Youssra El-Louzi, Farah Youssef, Ahmed Hatem, Reem Hilal as well as the well-known actor Ahmed Fouad Selim. Present were actors Tamer Hagras, Mirihan Hassan, Arwa Gouda, Sherry Adel, Haitham Said, Amr Youssef, Amr Abed, Amr Mahdi as well as various figures of the cast of the play Qahwa Sada (Unsweetened Coffee).
