photos: Mohamed Wassim For the 10th consecutive year, the Press Syndicate, presided over by Makram Mohamed Ahmed, celebrated the distribution of the "Pioneer Journalists" awards. This year the distinctive awards went to late Al-Ahram Weekly Founding Editor-in-Chief Hosny Guindy, Al-Ahram writer Mohamed Mustafa El-Baradei as well as Mahmoud Aref, Farouq Ibrahim, the late Galal Eissa and the late Mahmoud Awad from Al-Akhbar newspaper, Nagui Qamha and Ahmed Toghan from Al-Gomhuriya newspaper, veteran writer and the Weekly co-founder Louis Greiss from Rose El-Youssef newspaper, Mohamed Abdel-Gawad Mansour from the Middle East News Agency and novelist Saleh Mursi. The winner of this year's award of recognition is the Weekly 's very own columnist Salama Ahmed Salama, who together with head of the Press Syndicate and the first under-secretary of the syndicate Abdel-Mohsen Salama distributed the awards in the presence of Al-Ahram Editor-in-Chief Osama Saraya. Korean Ambassador to Egypt Jong-Kon Yoon held a lavish reception at the Cairo Opera House Main Hall on the occasion of celebrating the National Day of South Korea. Guest of honour was Minister of State for Environmental Affairs Maged George, with members of the Korean Embassy also attending. The reception featured a b-boy performance (a male dancer who practises break dance, the original hip-hop dance style) and a Samulnori performance (a genre of traditional percussion music originating in Korea performed with four traditional Korean musical instruments), delighting the guests during the reception. On the sidelines, the fifth Korean Ambassador's Cup Taekwondo Championship and a Taekwondo demonstration took place at Nasr City Cairo Stadium Indoor Halls Complex where Yoon distributed medals among the participating athletes. The American University in Cairo (AUC) graduate students launched an awareness campaign under the slogan "Be active. Get tested. Stop the spread" to raise awareness of the dangers of the Hepatitis C virus (HCV), its symptoms, as well as the precautionary measures people should follow to protect themselves from it. The group are recipients under the Nadhmi Auchi Fellowship and the campaign includes lectures on HCV by specialists. The inaugural ceremony of the campaign was attended by AUC President David Arnold, founder of the Nadhmi Auchi Young Arab Leaders Fellowship Programme Nadhmi Auchi, professor at Ain Shams University and director of the Arab Cairo Liver Centre Abdel-Rahman El-Zayadi, and professor and head of the Chemistry Department at AUC and supervisor of the campaign Hassan Azzazi. A prestigious celebration marking the 41st National Day of Guinea hosted by Guinean Ambassador to Egypt Pedro Matutu Tang was held at the Pyramisa Hotel in Doqqi. The celebration was crowned by the presence of a plethora of African ambassadors to Egypt. For the first time in Cairo, the Global Women in Management Programme (GWMP) was launched a few days ago and will run until 5 November. The programme includes 23 mid-career women from Egypt, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Palestine who will examine best practices in enhancing women's economic opportunity and in meeting the needs of their communities and countries. The Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA) will provide women with full scholarships to attend the Middle Eastern regional training workshop and join CEDPA's alumni network of more than 5,200 leaders who are working to improve communities in over 150 countries worldwide. CEDPA is an international non-profit organisation that has worked in Egypt since 1980 and worldwide for more than 30 years. In honour of German Ambassador to Egypt Bernd Erbel, a thrilling farewell party was held at the Cairo Marriott Hotel, hosted by the president of the German University in Cairo (GUC), Ashraf Mansour. The celebration was attended by a galaxy of high-profile personalities and celebrities, including Nisf Al-Donia magazine Chief Editor Afkar El-Kharadli, actress Ragaa El-Geddawi, Al-Ahram theatre critic Amal Bakir, media figure Hala Hashish, director of Al-Sawy Cultural Wheel Mohamed El-Sawy, as well as members of the German Embassy. photos: Ayman Barayez The regional director of the Special Olympics for the Middle East and North Africa, Ayman Abdel-Wahab, granted Cairo Governor Abdel-Azim Wazir and 6 October Governor Fathi Saad the International Medal of the Special Olympics for their efforts in supporting youth with special needs in sports. The Indian Technical and Economic (ITEC) Programme Day was celebrated in Cairo. Minister of State for Administrative Development Ahmed Darwish was the guest of honour at a function that was attended also by Secretary- General of the Egyptian Supreme Council for the Press Galal Dwidar along with a large number of Egyptian scholars who have attended various ITEC courses in the past. More than 120 Egyptian scholars participated in these training programmes, with around 45 Egyptian scholars expected to visit India this year under ITEC. Launched in 1964 as a programme of cooperation and partnership with friendly developing countries, ITEC involves educational, technical and vocational training at institutes in India. The ninth round of Italian Language Week was opened in the presence of Italian Ambassador to Egypt Claudio Pacifico, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Hani Hilal, and director of the Italian Cultural Institute Patrizia Raveggi. Entitled, "The Italian language: Between art, science and technology," the language week is running through 25 October and comprises musical concerts, film screenings, exhibitions, seminars and roundtables. Last week, Young Arab Leaders (YAL), the pan-Arab platform for preparing Arab youth for employment via quality education, training and entrepreneurship, and Business for Diplomatic Action (BDA), the leading private sector led US public diplomacy initiative, launched in New York the 2009 Arab and American Business Fellowship (AABF), a business executive exchange programme. Now in its third year, the AABF is an inter-continental initiative that creates opportunities for high potential business executives to explore each other's cultural and business environments in order to facilitate cross-cultural relationships and encourage dialogue that bridges gaps between Arab and American societies, business communities and culture. Congratulations! Siham Konsowa has received her BA degree with honours in mass communication from 6 October Modern Sciences and Arts (MSA) University this month. Prior to the commencement party she has also got married to Mohamed Turk and is now honeymooning in Thailand. Austrian marathon runner Christian Schiester 's journey around the globe moved on to the next level on 20 October, taking him into the magical deserts of the Pharaohs. In the midst of pyramids, sphinxes, sand dunes and oases, 42-year Schiester will have to complete six stages over seven days -- a total of 250 kilometres. Schiester will also have to deal with deep sand and temperatures exceeding 60 degrees Celsius. Nonetheless, the athlete is aiming high: "I suppose it will be the hottest of the four desert cups. Even though being an Austrian I am not exactly used to such temperatures, I feel ideally prepared and want to attain a top- three placement," he said. photo: Sherif Sonbol "Stay alert and safe". These were the words by which Professor Nagwa Khamis, president of the Infection Combat Practitioners Association in Egypt, ended her lecture held at the Faculty of Dentistry of Ain Shams University. The lecture was held as part of a campaign to raise awareness of the risks of swine flu (H1N1) among students and professors. The five-day campaign was organised under the auspices of Ain Shams University President Ahmed Zaki Badr, Vice-President Atef El-Awam, Faculty of Dentistry Dean Tarek Salaheddin and Vice- Dean of Education and Students Affairs Hisham Abdel-Wahab. The diligent efforts of Maha Mohamed Kamal, head of Youth Care, and third year student Mohamed Talaat made the campaign a success.
