By Madame Sosostris Sherif Sonbol captured the Egyptian maestro Ahmed El-Saaedi when he made his first appearance after many years, conducting the Cairo Symphony Orchestra last Saturday at the Cairo Opera House Main Hall. The German Ambassador to Egypt Michael Bock and his wife welcomed their guests at the German Embassy's headquarters in Zamalek for a celebration of the 21st National Day of Germany. Bock delivered a speech at the start of the event, applauding strong relations between Egypt and Germany, reflecting in their partnership in various fields. Present were diplomats and officials including the State Minister of the German Foreign Ministry, Cornelia Pieper, who also delivered a speech, the Turkish Ambassador to Egypt Hÿseyin Avni Botsali, his US counterpart Anne Patterson, the EU Ambassador to Egypt Marc Franco and his wife Rita Janssen as well as the Minister of Health and Population Amr Helmi, the Minister of Communication Abdel-Qader Salem, artist Farid Fadel and his wife AUC professor Mona Zaki, and columnist Salama Ahmed Salama. And while we're on German activities in Egypt, last Saturday the German University in Cairo (GUC), located in New Cairo, held the graduation ceremony of the class of 2011 in the faculties of engineering, pharmacy and biotechnology and business informatics and management, as well as the first class of Faculty of Applied Sciences and Arts (Design). The total of graduates reached 1,280 in addition to five PhD holders, 66 Masters' holders and 17 MBA holders -- 1,368 graduates in all. Present were the German Ambassador to Egypt Michael Bock, the Minister of Higher Education Moataz Khorshid, the general secretary of DAAD, Doritta Roland, the state minister of the German Foreign Ministry, Cornelia Pieper, general secretary of the Spanish Scientific Exchange, Martinez Sierra, and deans and chairmen of German institutions that sponsor GUC. Both the founding chairman of GUC, professor Ashraf Mansour, and GUC president professor Mahmoud Abdel-Qader took pride in the graduates, reiterating the idea that a qualification from GUC is equal to one from Germany. At its annual media forum, this year titled "Children in the Middle East and North Africa: Rights and Challenges", UNICEF's Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa discussed with media and development professionals the impact of the Arab Spring on children. "Since the beginning of the year, we have seen children and young people speak up for themselves and demand their rights," said UNICEF's Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Shahida Azfar at the opening of the forum. "But we have also seen them beaten, detained, tortured, their schools attacked and their homes destroyed. The lines between children's right to participation and their exploitation for political purposes have been blurred." At the one-day Dubai meeting, media, humanitarian and development experts talked about how young people have been represented during the Arab Spring and the role of the media and development community in placing children's issues at the heart of the reform agenda. The meeting was also an opportunity to announce the winners of UNICEF's Regional Media Award. "UNICEF's annual media award helps keep children's issues in the spotlight and is gaining momentum year after year," Charbel Raji, regional communication chief, ad interim, told MENA. The final winners of this year's award are, by category: electronic media -- Said Mohamed Said Mohamed (Bahrain) and Marwa Ibrahim El-Tigani Mohamed (Sudan), TV -- Magdi Awad Sadeq Elyas (Sudan), radio: Mohamed Lutfi Yehia (Egypt), photography -- Carole Alfarah (Syria), print media -- Nassima Oulebesri (Algeria), caricature -- Anas Lakkis (Lebanon), special award Aslan Shahebrahimi (Iran). The awards were distributed by Azfar and UNICEF's region goodwill ambassador, Egyptian actor Mahmoud Kabil. Darb 1718 is staging the show "Two Presentations Against One Another", directed by Nora Amin on 11 October, 8pm: "a manifestation" of stories of the revolution by young people who participated. "My name is Mahmoud Badr", for example, tells the real story of Mahmoud Badr, which evolved through "Our stories" in cooperation with dramaturgy by Nora Amin, as well as the monodrama Interview by Sherif Dessouki, written by Nora Amin and published by the Bibliotheca Alexandria in February 2010. The show, which is supported by Al Mawred Al Thaqafy (Culture Resource), will be provided in Arabic. El-Gouna, Egypt's top environmentally friendly destination, recently hosted the Global Water Dances event for the first time in Egypt. Global Water Dances is a 24-hour series of dances around the globe centred on water issues. Cerographists use dance and music to blend local issues with the global struggle to ensure a safe water supply for everyone on earth. Global Water Dances start with performances in countries in the Pacific Rim, rolling westward through the time zones. It is a model of participatory art used to raise awareness of environmental issues and the importance of community involvement for addressing them. The mission behind this event is to educate participants and viewers in the critical role of human beings in protecting water supplies. El-Gouna's environmental initiatives aim to involve members of the community through education, clean-up campaigns and the establishment of environmental standards and guidelines with the aim of developing totally sufficient towns. The place is not only officially recognised as the most environmentally friendly tourist destination in Egypt, but also as one of the world's top green destinations. The Nile Lions Club (NLC), presided over by the multi-talented artist Samir Sabri, held a birthday party for the Lebanese diva Sabah. The guests included actors Youssra, Nabila Ebeid, Iman, Ghada Ibrahim and Omar El-Hariri, singer Ghada Ragab, and the Lebanese Ambassador to Egypt Khaled Ziyada, as well as fashion designer Hani El-Beheiri and directors Ahmed Yehia and Ahmed Shafiq.
