Al-Ahram's gifted photographer Bassam El-Zoghby has added yet another prize to his array. His piece of work entitled "The Drama of Colours" received the 72nd Japan International Salon for Photography's honorary award. The director of the Arts Sector at the Ministry of Culture Salah El-Meligui said he was proud of the achievement. The American University in Cairo (AUC) has named Nigel Fletcher-Jones the new director of the AUC Press. With a distinguished career in publishing, particularly in science and medicine, Fletcher-Jones says he will build on the solid foundations of the press to establish a global digital presence and expand the house's operations into new research areas including science, technology and engineering. "I would like to see AUC Press turn into a digital publisher," he also said. The President of the International Union of Muslim-Christian-Jewish Dialogue and Peace Education Ali El-Samman gave a reception at his residence bidding the French Ambassador to Egypt Jean Félix Paganon farewell on the occasion of ending his term in Cairo and honouring the head of the National Council for Human Rights Boutros Boutros-Ghali. The evening featured the Tunisian singer Hadia who sang a number of Umm Kolthoum songs followed by a recital of Abdel-Halim Hafez songs by the child singer Yehia Harmel. Present were the Saudi Ambassador to Egypt Ahmed El-Qattan, the Turkish ��Ambassador to Egypt Héseyin Avni Botsali, the Canadian Ambassador to Egypt David Drake and the Indian Ambassador to Egypt R Swaminathan, Minister of Tourism Mounir Fakhri Abdel-Nour, Cairo Governor Abdel-Qawi Khalifa, Giza Governor Ali Abdel-Rahman, former judge of the International Criminal Court Fouad Abdel-Moneim Riad, and media figures Moufid Fawzi and Salma El-Shamaa. The Turkish Ambassador to Egypt Héseyin Avni Botsali gave a reception at his residence in Giza on the occasion of the first meeting of the Turkish-Egyptian Businessmen Association, headed by Zeki Ekinci after the revolution. Egyptian singer Ghada Ragab gave a performance during the celebration followed by a unique performance presented by the Nubian Drums Troupe directed by artist Intesar Abdel-Fattah. The head of the Industrial Development Authority Ismail El-Nagdi, the former prime minister Essam Sharaf, the actor Ahmed Adam and an array of diplomats were present. photos: Ayman Barayez Together with the Chairman of Housing and Development Bank Fathi El-Sibaai, the newly appointed Minister of Culture Saber Arab opened the group exhibition "Caricature" showcasing 74 paintings in various sizes by 32 different artists and members of the Egyptian Association for Caricature such as Salah Jahin, Ahmed Hegazi, Mustafa Hussein, Ahmed Toughan, Amr Fahmi, Maher Badr, Said Badawi and others. They included paintings of Naguib Mahfouz, Umm Kolthoum, Tawfiq El-Hakim, Sabah and Sayed Darwish. Among the attendees were former minister of culture Shaker Abdel-Hamid, former head of Fine Arts Sector Ashraf Reda and many artists. photo: Bassam El-Zoghby The 34th Round of the General Exhibition entitled "Freedom: Creativity" honours veteran sculptor Abdel-Hadi El-Weshahi, who was handed his award by Director of the Arts Sector Salah El-Meligui. The exhibition features different art genres including painting, sculpture, graphics, photography, video art and installations, and is currently on show at the Palace of Arts. (see Listings p.23) Cameroonian Ambassador to Egypt Mohamadou Labarang celebrated the 40th anniversary of the independence Cameroon among his guests at the headquarters of the embassy. Labarang seized the opportunity to honour Meitry, an active member who has been working at the Cameroonian Embassy in Egypt for 40 years, handing her an honorary shield. Present were a galaxy of diplomats, high profile personalities and members of the embassy in Cairo. Congratulations! The Forum of Young Global Leaders (YGLs) of the World Economic Forum (WEF) has selected the American University in Cairo (AUC) alumnus ('95 '97) and assistant professor Ayman Ismail as one of two of Egypt's most influential and inspirational figures in 2012. This recognition is granted annually by the WEF to honour the world's most distinguished leaders under 40. Ismail shares this honour in Egypt with fellow AUC alumnus Wael Ghoneim ('08), the well-known activist. Ismail, the Abdul-Latif Jameel Endowed Chair for Entrepreneurship at AUC, is actively involved in a number of initiatives at the university. He leads the School of Business's programme supporting the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Egypt through a number of activities and partnerships. The German University in Cairo (GUC) MET team was crowned as the Africa and Middle East champions during the ACM ICPE world finals which took place in Warsaw, Poland on 17 May. The GUC team consisted of Mohamed Atef, Mustafa Mahmoud and Omar El-Azzazi and coached by Abdallah El-Guindi (MET TA). The team was supervised by professor Slim Abdennadher, vice president for Academic Affairs. From over 8,000 teams selected from 2,219 universities in 85 countries, the top 112 teams of students competed for bragging rights and prizes at the 36th annual ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest World Finals in Warsaw, Poland, and hosted by University of Warsaw. Alexandria's latest art and culture space Teatro Eskendria had its soft opening a couple of days ago. The space is financed by Mahmoud Abu Doma, the renowned writer and theatre director, in addition to a contribution made by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Egypt and the Culture Resource Centre (Al Mawred Al Thaqafy). The 320 sq m, Italian-style building in Alexandria's historic downtown dates back to 1923. The centre offers a variety of cultural activities and services to the Egyptian and the international community such as artistic performances, training courses for the creative sectors, dialogue and debate programmes, children's programmes as well as a cultural café destined to become a dynamic social hub. The opening ceremony was attended by cultural and developmental foundations in Egypt as well as the Embassy of the Netherlands in Egypt, the French Consulate in Alexandria, the Goethe Institute, the Anna Lindh Foundation in Alexandria, the Swedish Institute in Alexandria and the French Institute in Alexandria, in addition to celebrities as well as art and culture lovers. The crowd enjoyed a performance by Massar Egbary band and an outstanding storytelling performance by the ATG -- "Alternative Theatre Group". The opening also featured an exhibition entitled "Features from the Allurement of the Past" by the artists Ahmed Abdel-Ghani and Ayman Abu Doma. The aim of this primary ceremony was to gather feedback from the cultural sector at large on the type of activities and events to be hosted by the space in the future. Teatro Eskendria aims to promote the values of freedom of expression, liberalism, critical thinking and active contributions to modern culture. It also seeks to optimise the potential and capabilities of middle-class talents and encourage positive change that will influence the community, creating space for new and non-traditional cultural events. It will officially open on 15 June 2012. Al-Maslaha (The Benefit) premiere was last Tuesday at the Stars Cinema at City Stars with extensive media presence. The film, written by Wael Abdallah and directed by Sandra Nashaat, features Ahmed El-Saqqa, Ahmed Ezz, Hanan Tork, Zeina, Nihal Anbar, Ahmed El-Saadani, Syrian actor Kenda Aloush and Khaled Saleh. Among the stars who attended the premiere were veteran actress Lebleba, script writer Medhat El-Adl, producer Gabi Khouri, rising actress Youssra El-Louzi and producer Hassan Ramzi.
