Viva Nubia In the 1960s the construction of the Aswan High Dam heralded the destruction of Nubia, a rich Upper Nile Valley culture with its own highly distinctive architecture. Forty years after its disappearance under the rising waters of Lake Nasser, Nubia is largely forgotten. "Nubia Before the Flood" is a photographic exhibition to be held at the Photographic Gallery of the American University in Cairo: a documentary journey from the gallery's archives. Many were taken by Abdel-Fattah Eid as part of a project to document Nubian culture before the valley was submerged by Lake Nasser, featuring the daily life and customs of Nubian villages prior to their evacuation. ( see Listings p.20 ) Culture Minister Shaker Abdel-Hamid and Cairo Opera House Director Ines Abdel-Dayiem gathered with a number of diplomats to honour the late Nasser-era culture minister Tharwat Okasha, who died at the age of 91 on 27 February 2012. Organised by the Opera in collaboration with the Czech Embassy, the event featured a documentary on Okasha's life and work and a performance of some of his favourite classical music by the Cairo Symphony Orchestra. Abdel-Hamid handed his youngest daughter Nora the Opera's Shield of Recognition. The School of Sciences and Engineering (SSE) at the American University in Cairo (AUC) will be organising its third annual Cairo Science Festival from 21 April to 12 May 2012, in collaboration with the Cambridge Science Festival. "The festival seeks to contribute to empowering and inspiring people to become better citizens, capable of inventing a better future for themselves, their country and their planet," said Alaa Ibrahim, assistant professor at the AUC's SSE, and chair of the university's outreach committee. The festival's main focus this year is sustainability and a greener world. Aside from exhibits and panel discussions on the subject, the Cairo Science Festival is presenting an "Imagine the Future" competition to engage young people in global sustainability research and activities: students are invited to select a global environmental issue that is personally compelling to them and to develop solutions to address the issue through research and dialogue. To make their findings accessible to young people worldwide, completed projects will be presented in a web-based format that documents subject-specific questions, discussions, discoveries and solutions. AUC's Cairo Science Festival includes activities targeting Egypt's youngest citizens, including a puppet show, a "nutty scientists" show and various exhibitions promoting healthy living. The festival will also introduce the Science Bus -- a mobile science museum that will be visiting malls and youth centres across Cairo to cultivate a love of science among Egypt's adolescents -- as well as the residential Science Weekend, featuring students participating in two highly active days in the life of scientists. The festival's opening address will be delivered by Mustafa El-Sayed, nanotechnology expert, and Julius Brown, Chair and Regents professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, who will be discussing lessons and milestones in his own career in science. Bruce Alberts, the former president of the National Academy of Sciences and US presidential envoy to Muslim-majority countries, will also be delivering a talk about the role of science in society. Other lectures and panel discussions will explore atomic science, science and technology entrepreneurship and the culture of intellectual property. The festival's closing ceremony will be led by Minister of Scientific Research Nadia Zakhari and Minister of Higher Education Hussein Khaled. An award ceremony will follow to acknowledge distinguished projects by student participants. The Cultural Salon of Judge Ibrahim Zaki hosted a seminar at Nadi Al-Sayarat (Automobile Club) in downtown Cairo under the title "The Role of Culture in Developing Society". Minister of Culture Shaker Abdel-Hamid was the keynote speaker. Abdel-Hamid discussed his book Al-Fann wal Gharaba (Art and Strangeness), which received the Sheikh Zayed Book Award in the arts category. At the end of the seminar Abdel-Hamid bestowed 1,000 books from the Ministry of Culture to the library of the Ibrahim Zaki Salon. Present were Al-Ahram back page editor Mona Ragab, the former minister of Administrative Development Adel Abdel-Baqi, the former director of the National Social and Criminological Research Centre Soheir Lotfi, director Magdi Abu Emeira, script writer Faisal Nada, lawyer Rita Badreddin, novelist Youssef El-Qaid and TV presenter Dina Abdallah. photos: Ayman Barayez Hussein Nooh 's exhibition Shedi Helek Ya Balad (Be Strong my Country) opened at the Cairo Opera House, inaugurated by Culture Minister Shakir Abdel-Hamid. Present were actress Laila Elwi and her husband businessman Mansour El-Gammal, actors Soheir El-Mourshedi, Ghada Ibrahim, Mahmoud Qabil, Ahmed Abdel-Wareth and Ahdi Sadek, directors Magdi Abu Emera and Mohamed El-Naggar as well as numerous artists. At El Genaina Theatre, German reggae singer Gentleman gave a concert in the framework of German Weeks 2012; some 2,000 mostly young Egyptians flocked to Al-Azhar Park to discover German music. Gentleman is the stage name of Tilmann Otto, whose concert began with a statement applauding the great revolution and expressing love for Egypt and featured his wife Tamika as a background. The Maadi Branch of Alef Bookstores held a book signing for writer Ahmed Mourad, whose novel Vertigo was recently translated into English and his Torab Al-Mas (Diamond Dust) was recently released. Mourad, who is a pioneer thriller writer, is also a photographer and graphic designer. Mona Makram Ebeid, the well known politician, academic and member of the advisory council to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, and former member of the constituent assembly, received an invitation from Stanford University on 27 April to speak about the current situation in Egypt. She will also be received at the State Department to give a lecture there and to meet Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Michael Posner on 30 April. She will also meet the Egyptian-American Community to encourage them to participate in the upcoming elections. "Selections from Contemporary Egyptian Sculpture" is a group exhibition inaugurated earlier this week at the Qatar Visual Art Centre in the presence of Sheikh Hassan Al-Thani and the Qatari minister of culture. The exhibition is curated by Mohamed Talaat in coordination with the Qatar Visual Art Centre. Nineteen Egyptian sculptors from different generations are presenting 40 pieces including Abdel-Hadi El-Weshahi, Ahmed Askalani, Ahmed Keshta, Ahmed Nawar, Essam Darwish, Hani Faisal, Hassan Kamel, Hisham Abdallah, Khaled Zaki, Mohamed El-Fayoumi, Mohamed Radwan, Nagui Farid, Omar Toussoun, Said Badr, Salah Hammed, Samia Abdel-Monsef, Shams El-Kournfli, Tarek El-Komi. The World Health Organisation (WHO) selected Dr Mohamed Shaalan, professor of oncology at Cairo University and Director of the Prevention and Early Detection Unit at the National Cancer Institute as well as BCFE chairperson, to take part in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Cancer Mission to Sudan as an expert on early detection, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. This mission, which comes to a close today, is part of the IAEA's Programme for Action for Cancer Therapy (PACT). The mission's objectives are to carry out a comprehensive assessment of the country's cancer control capacity in the areas of cancer control planning, cancer information, prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment, palliative care, training and civil society activities. photo: Abdel-Hamid Eid To celebrate Easter, Nubian star Mohamed Mounir gave a breath-taking concert at Ain Al-Sokhna. Some 100,000 of Mounir 's fans were keen to attend the concert, the first concert after the release of his new album. Fans of Mounir held a banner that said "Mounir: Voice, Heart, Mind and Thinking of Egypt". Mounir sang a number of his classics like Hadouta Masriya (An Egyptian Tale) and Ana Albi Masaken Shaabiya (My Heart is Public Housing) as well as the revolutionary song Ezai ? (How?)
