photo: Sherif Sonbol If clouds could speak At the 19th Cairo International Experimental Theatre Festival, Sherif Sonbol found beauty in choreographer Walid Aouni's If Clouds Could Speak. The festival concluded its activities two days ago at several different venues of the Cairo Opera House. On the occasion of Ramadan, the Muslim-American band Native Deen (the second word being Arabic for "religion") will perform at Al-Azhar Park and Al-Sawy Culture Wheel on 28 and 29 September, respectively. Sponsored by the US Embassy in Cairo and local contributors, Native Deen are a group of three rappers from Washington DC, best known for Middle Eastern percussions and lyrics that focus on tolerance and the teachings of Islam. Their first meeting took place at the Muslim Youth of North America (MYNA) camps when they were still in their teens, and they have since won the 2006 Mahabba Award in Dubai. After Cairo, Native Deen will return to Jerusalem and the West Bank, where they performed last year. For Ramadan, the General Organisation of Culture Palaces (GOCP) has put together an exciting programme. According to GOCP deputy head Mohamed El-Sayed Eid, "It will include religious seminars organised by the Ministry of Religious Endowments and Al-Azhar, as well as religious chanting by various troupes." Tannoura, circus and folk dance performances will take place all over the country, and several Egyptian leading figures in different fields will be honoured. In memory of the Fateh Revolution of September, Libyan Ambassador Saleh El-Derouki gave a reception in the lavish Aida Hall of the Marriott Hotel. Present were Minister of International Cooperation Fayza Abul-Naga, former prime minister Atef Ebeid, actors El-Sayed Radi, Hisham Abdel-Hamid, Aida Abdel-Aziz, Nabila Ebeid and Mona Hala as well as belly dancer Nagwa Fouad. To celebrate Brazil's Independence Day, Ambassador Elim Dutra and his wife Ilza Durta gave a reception at their villa in Zamalek, where Minister of Social Security Ali Moselhi and Sudanese Ambassador to Cairo Abdel-Moneim Mabrouk were among those present. The garden was packed with members of the Brazilian community in Egypt, including embassy counsellors Alexandre Campello de Siqueira and Gilda Motta Santos, who enjoyed the ambassador DJ-ing! photos: Ayman Barayez Culture Minister Farouk Hosni spoke about his nomination for the post of UNESCO director-general at the Egyptian Council of Foreign Relations in the presence of council head Abdel-Raouf El-Ridi, Minister of International Cooperation Fayza Abul-Naga, former minister of industry Ali El-Saedi and a number of diplomats. Former Congolese culture minister Juliana Lumumba, daughter of the late revolutionary leader Patrice Lumumba, received the African Society's special award for this year. Juliana, who grew up in Cairo in the 1960s and speaks fluent Egyptian Arabic, is secretary-general of the Cairo- based African Trade Chamber. Present were, among others, Shams Abdel-Aziz Ishaq -- daughter of the Egyptian ambassador who rescued Lumumba 's children following the latter's brutal murder -- and Ibrahim Nasreddin, head of the African Society, who handed Juliana the award. photo: Nesmahar Sayed Egypt has been the first country to have the privilege of the German parliament's approval of the teaching of Fachoberschule (FOS), the German specialised secondary certificate, the first year of which, taught in Alexandria in the academic year 2006-07, was the subject of a celebration held at the St Charles Borromeo School in Bab Al-Louq, and attended by Nesmahar Sayed. On the occasion Egyptian representative of the school Magda Tantawi explained that the certificate qualifies students for 18 arts faculties in national universities and is fully authorised by the government. During the event, FOS holders spoke of their experience at university and in the job market, projecting a positive picture. Luckily enough, many girls received good job opportunities from the companies where they had their training as part of the certificate. For her part Jutta Wicke, FOS coordinator, clarified that FOS starts in the ninth year of education and does not depend on exam results for the eighth, but rather the creative potential of the students. Present too were the new school manager, Ritter Walte, and Hebatallah El-Sanhouri, who supervised the cooking of the delicious food the school girls made especially for the event. On the fringe of the 19th Cairo International Festival of Experimental Theatre, Al-Azhar University Spanish professor Zedan Abdel-Halim and Stage Directors Association Secretary-General Juan Antonio Hormigon presided over a roundtable at the Cervantes Institute. While Hormigon recounted his experience in the theatre, vowing to help translate more Arabic titles into Spanish, Abdel-Halim announced that 50 Spanish works have been translated into Arabic as the first stage in a long-term movement. It seems Ramadan this year will be a very special time for aspiring actress Menna Fadaly, who has just been engaged to musician Adel Haqqi. At the Salaheddin Hall, Cairo Sheraton, where the party took place, well-wishers included such stellar figures as Mohamed Nagati, Mohamed Ashoub, Ola Ramy, Nehal Anbar, Maged El-Masri and Samir Ghanem. The Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture invites Egyptian students to participate in its 13th painting competition, entitled "Glimpses of India", held annually in the period 30 September-11 October to commemorate the birthdays of Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru and Maulana Abul-Kalam Azad. Students from Cairo and Giza aged six to 18 are eligible to participate. For more details contact the Centre: tel. 2393339/60071; e-mail [email protected].
