World AIDS day event uses photos and art to educate CAIRO: In a sunny courtyard in Agouza, a crowd of squealing kids gathers around a couple buckets of sloppy paint. They dip their brushes and get to work on a giant canvas, emblazoning it with colorful flowers, bright red smiley faces and other colorful shapes. The kids are all about 13-years-old, and most of them have traveled here from Alexandria for the day to take part in the British Council's World AIDS Day event, held December 1st. "We came down here to learn, says Fady Samir, a 13-year-old student from the Francis Caine School in Alexandria. Considering that sex education in schools is still the exception rather than the rule in Egypt, for many of these children, gatherings like this are their only chance to learn about a disease that continues to kill millions every year. Sari Ibrahim, a grade 7 student with a bright smile and a shadow of facial hair on his upper lip, says that AIDS never pops up in the classroom and that he's learned "nothing about sex in school. On the run up to this year's World AIDS Day, however, Ibrahim's teacher, Amir Nagy, decided enough was enough and organized a field trip to Cairo so his pupils could take part in the day's lectures, activities and workshops. So what did Ibrahim's parents say when he asked them about the trip? "They encouraged me to come, he says. The official numbers for AIDS in Egypt are low. In fact, the government says that about 5,000 people nationwide are infected with the virus, but many feel that number is artificially low. "Nobody expects the official numbers to be correct, says Ahmed Ashoush, a 19-year-old student from Menoufeya governorate who helps run a sex education clinic for youth in his dusty home town of Shebin El-kom. He adds that most of the people in Egypt "still don't know the dangers. And while Ashoush plays the role of teacher in his own community, the world AIDS day event is also a great chance for to pick up tips on community outreach, event planning and organization. Across the courtyard, a panel of medical experts conducts a symposium on the growing threat of AIDS in Egypt, and inside the glass windows of the Council, a multimedia exhibit featuring photography exhibit and some short documentary films play out. Celebrated artist and photographer Hamdy Reda donated some of his own photos for the collection, and he'll also help pick a winner. "I look for a concept in the photographs - not just the color red, he says, referring to the photo competition's regulation that red must be included. Predictably, many of the pictures tackle disturbing content: "Infectious Exodus features dead grass stained by blood, "A Cold Life is a gloomy photo of a singular finger puppet soaked with water and "Lonely is a deep orange sunset. However, underlining the optimism of the day's festivities, not all of the photos are dark in tone. For example, "Freedom Now! depicts a white dove flapping its wings.
