By Madame Sosostris The Latin American ambassadors with their wives photo: Nasr Attia The Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture (MACIC), Embassy of India, organised an exhibition by 28 artists of South Asia at Al Bab Gallery. The exhibition was inaugurated last Thursday in the presence of South Asian diplomats by Minister of State for Scientific Research Nadia Zakhari, Ambassador of India R Swaminathan. Salah El-Meligui, the head of the Fine Arts Sector at the Ministry of Culture and Suchitra Durai, director of the MACIC, were also present. The exhibition comprises 28 paintings by a group of young, up-and-coming artists from the eight countries belonging to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC): Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. On the fringe of the event, a souvenir publication on the year-long celebration of the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore held in Egypt in 2011-2012 was released. The book, which is both in English and Arabic, is expected to serve as a record of the MACIC activities as well as a reference for students of Tagore in India, Egypt and elsewhere. At the end of the event, Swaminthan granted Zakhari a copy of the memorial book. (see Listings p.16) Last week, the American University in Cairo (AUC) held its spring commencement ceremonies for 690 master's and bachelor's degree candidates, marking the end of the 2012 academic year. In the two ceremonies, President Lisa Anderson awarded 515 undergraduate degrees and 175 graduate degrees to candidates from each of AUC's schools, while TV presenter Yosri Fouda and psychiatrist Ahmed Okasha addressed the graduates as the keynote speakers. At the undergraduate commencement ceremony, 81 undergraduate students graduated with honours, 96 with high honours and 83 with highest honours. In addition, several students were recognised by individual awards for their superior academic performance as well as their contributions to campus and community life. The President's Cup and the associated Mohamed M El-Beleidy Academic Award, both of which go to the student with the highest grade point average, were shared by Radwa Metwali and Youssef Salem. The Parents Association Cup, given to the student who has demonstrated unusual capability in blending academic achievement with a major contribution to student activities, was awarded to Ebram Attalla. Shatha El-Nakib and Amin Badra shared the Nadia Younes Award for Public and Humanitarian Service, and the Ahmed H Zewail Prize for Excellence in the Sciences and the Humanities was given to Farida Monsef. The AUC also awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science to Wafaa El-Sadr, a global leader in the field of infectious disease and public health. The French Embassy in Giza gave a reception to bid farewell to the French Ambassador to Egypt Jean Félix Paganon whose term in Egypt has ended. Paganon took the chance to say good-bye to his Egyptian friends and members of the French Embassy, such as Minister of Tourism Mounir Fakhri Abdel-Nour, Editor-in-Chief of Al-Ahram's quarterly magazine Al-Dimoqratiya (Democracy) Hala Mustafa, former minister of Higher Education Hani Hilal, beautiful actress Laila Elwi and her husband businessman Mansour El-Gammal, novelist Gamal El-Gheitani, Canadian Ambassador to Egypt David Drake, Turkish Ambassador to Egypt Héseyin Avni Botsali, European Union Ambassador to Egypt Marc Franco and his Belgian counterpart Bruno Néve de Mevergnies. The Zamalek branch of the Diwan Bookstore held a book signing ceremony for The Revolution and Constitution and Ruling Regimes by writer and member of the National Council for Human Rights Laila Takla. Present were Ambassador Ismail Mubarak, Al-Ahram writer Aisha Abdel-Ghaffar, head of the Egyptian Association for Technology Development Hassan El-Shami and many other figures. Latin American ambassadors to Egypt and their wives gathered for an elegant luncheon at Kempinski Nile Hotel to bid farewell to Honduras Ambassador Nelson Valencia, and to the representative of the United Nations James Rawley, who will soon be leaving to their new destinations. They also welcomed the new Ambassador of Portugal Antonio Tanger Correa. The Dean of the Latin American diplomats in Venezuela Ambassador Victor Carazo organised the gathering.
