photo: Nader Habib Military fanous Every Ramadan brings in its own innovative fanous or lantern, inspired by prevailing ideas or circumstances but made -- as always -- in China. This year, everything being about Tahrir, it is the Tahrir fanous which looks like a model tank: one of the many that were out on the streets for a month or so -- and the backdrop to countless photo souvenirs of a momentous and transformative moment. photo: Ayman Barayez The Moroccan Ambassador to Egypt Mohamed Farag Al-Dokali and his wife Khaira Al-Fassi welcomed guests at the headquarters of the Moroccan Embassy's garden in Zamalek to celebrate King Mohamed VI's coronation. Guests included Minister of Information Osama Heikal, Minister of Culture Emad Abu Ghazi, Minister of Social Solidarity Gouda Abdel-Khaliq, former prime minister Abdel-Aziz Hegazi as well as Saudi Ambassador to Egypt Ahmed Al-Qattan, Omani Ambassador to Egypt Sheikh Ali bin Khalifa Al-Harithi, German Ambassador to Egypt Michael Bock and his Indian counterpart R Swaminathan as well as Turkish Ambassador Héseyin Avni Botsali. photo: Abdel-Hamid Eid Moroccan singer Abdel-Fattah Al-Gereini rocked the stage at El Sawy Culturewheel in a huge concert with over 5,000 fans. Al-Gereini sang a number of his most popular songs and interacted enthusiastically with the audience, concluding the concert with a small speech on the revolution. In an atmosphere of creativity, Culture Minister Emad Abu Ghazi, along with the head of the General Organisation of Cultural Palaces (GOCP), poet Saad Abdel-Rahman, handed out the awards of the literary competition 2010/2011 to participants in a celebration held at the Child Cultural Palace in Garden City. The Egyptian Troupe for Arab Music featured in the ceremony, playing a number of patriotic songs. The competition covers a number of literary genres such as vernacular poetry, the short story, the novel, children's literature, critical studies and translation. The GOCP also supervised the Fine Art Bus for Children Festival where children presented singing recitals and showed their paintings inspired by the 25 January Revolution. Held at the Mahmoud Mukhtar Museum, the festival was also attended by Abu Ghazi, Abdel-Rahman as well as the head of the Fine Arts Sector Ashraf Reda. The American University in Cairo (AUC) President Lisa Anderson and Mass Communication professor Sherine Fahmi recently spoke on the occasion of "From Facebook to Nassbook", a featured exhibition at the Shubbak Festival, a window on contemporary Arab culture presented by the mayor of London Boris Johnson. Anderson gave a talk about the Egyptian revolution, the future of Egypt and how the transition affects the university and its mission, while Fahmi discussed the role of social media in engaging and motivating young people through the revolution. "All those thousands of youth could not get together and have one single objective without interacting through social media," she said. Present were representatives of the Egyptian Embassy in the UK as well as Reedah El-Saie, director of the Mica Gallery; Raymonda Raif, director of AUC's Alumni and Trustee Affairs; Saadeddin Ibrahim, Egyptian-American sociologist and author; and Azza Fahmi, well-known jewellery designer. Revolution-inspired artwork by AUC faculty and alumni occupied centre stage at the exhibition, presented at the Mica Gallery in the Knightsbridge/Chelsea neighbourhood of London. "From Facebook to Nassbook" borrows its title from the methods used in Egypt's revolution. When government intervention disabled the Internet, word of mouth became the medium through which information was exchanged and people were assembled; hence the term "nassbook" was coined, using nass, Arabic for "people". From Facebook to Nassbook captures the spirit of pre- and post-revolutionary Egypt with a focus on people- powered networks that cut across social classes, erasing religious differences and overcoming intergenerational barriers. The exhibition showcased nine contemporary Egyptian artists including AUC faculty Ashraf Fouda and Thomas Hartwell, and alumni Amena El-Saie, Natalie Ayoub and Amina El-Oteifi. Among the works are Fouda 's Tahrir stones signed by celebrities, first displayed at AUC's Festival of Freedom last April. Last week the South Korean Embassy in Cairo held the first Korean Song Festival "K-POP" in the Maadi Library. The Korean Ambassador to Egypt Jong-Kon Yoon said that the festival aims primarily at strengthening cultural relations between Egypt and South Korea and spreading Korean music among young Egyptians. Forty-one participants took part in the festival, which attracted a large audience, and seven winners were chosen at the end of the event. On the fringe of the K-POP festival, a Korean food festival was held at the end of the day, in which some Korean dishes offered to participants and audience alike. The Cultural and Information Consul at the Embassy Park Jae Yang pointed out that the Korean drama, which has been screened on Egyptian TV, was behind the spread of Korean songs among Egyptians, therefore the embassy will be keen on organising the festival on a regular basis.
