The American University in Cairo (AUC) celebrated its accreditation by the National Authority for Quality Assurance and Accreditation of Education (NAQAAE), the body established by the Egyptian government in 2007 to foster quality at educational institutions. AUC has thus become the first university in Egypt to successfully complete the NAQAAE process of institutional endorsement. The celebration took place last week at the Tahrir Square campus; present were the Egyptian Minister of Higher Education Amr Salama ; NAQAAE President Magdi Kassem ; AUC President Lisa Anderson ; AUC provost Medhat Haroun ; and Ali Hadi, AUC distinguished professor and founding director of the actuarial science programme. The presidents of several Egyptian universities were also in attendance. Minister of Culture Emad Abu Ghazi, along with the Head of the General Organisation of Cultural Palaces (GOCP) Saad Abdel-Rahman attended the closing ceremony of the first Sculpture and Ceramic Symposium for Children held at the Child Cultural Palace in Garden City, headed by Zeinab El-Assal. Abu Ghazi opened the exhibition which showcased 150 artworks created by cancer hospital children and toured a caricature exhibition entitled We Broke the Frame by artist Khedr Hassan. photos: Abdel-Hamid Eid At the charming city of Hurghada, Mohamed Mounir made his first appearance after the 25 January Revolution in a big concert. Hundreds of Mounir fans flocked to the party to celebrate Easter to the Egyptian King's enthralling voice. The concert opened with Ezai (How?), the song that foresaw the revolution. Mounir concluded his concert with his famous and unforgettable song Hadouta Masriya (An Egyptian Tale). The Photography Festival at the French Cultural Centre held a seminar to honour filmmaker Khaled El-Haggar for his latest film Al-Shouq (Lust). The seminar was conducted by critic Latifa Fahmi in the presence of the cast of the film and many celebrities. In the presence of the two veteran novelists Bahaa Taher and Sonallah Ibrahim, an open discussion on Ahmed Zaghloul Elshiti 's Mi'at Khutwa minath- thawrah (A Hundred Steps of Revolution) published in Cairo by Merit Publishing House took place at Alef Bookstore in Zamalek. The winners of the competition of the Lahazat Harega TV series were announced on the series website. The first of its kind in the Arab world, the competition consisted of 10 questions about season two which is currently airing on Dubai TV; the prize is an invitation to attend a full day shooting of the third season of the series in Cairo. As for winners from outside of Egypt, they will receive a round trip ticket and a two-night hotel stay in Cairo. The competition received over 10,000 entries from all across the Arab world. A number of stars are part of the second season of Lahazat Harega : Hisham Selim, Amr Waked, Mahmoud Abdel-Moghny, Amir Karara, Lebanese actor Ammar Shalak, Sawsan Badr, Injy El-Mokaddem, Randa El-Beheiri, Amy Samir Ghanem, Dorra Zarouk, Hanan Motawei, Yasser Galal, Nidal El-Shafei and Tarek Lotfi among others. The Minister of Culture Emad Abu Ghazi, the councillor for culture and information at the Korean Embassy Park Jae Yang and the artist Mohamed Abla, the new director of the Atelier du Caire, inaugurated a Korean Exhibition entitled Inter Being at the Atelier in downtown Cairo. The exhibition includes 25 paintings created by artist Kim Hyun Ju during her stay in Egypt. The artist said that she is seeking to identify her private world through travelling and knowing other people. ( see Listings p.24 ) The Breast Cancer Foundation of Egypt (BCFE), in collaboration with the Global Initiative for Breast Cancer Awareness in Egypt, is organising a number of health and cultural-social chats among members and employees in five Egyptian sporting clubs in May and June. The Afternoon Tea Chats deal with breast cancer prevention through interaction between women and health educators, nutrition and sports experts and breast cancer survivors. Breast cancer in Egypt does not occur only in poor communities, but affects all women due to the absence of health awareness and lack of knowledge. Beside the fact that early detection service is not affordable to all, there is a problem related to stigma that should be dealt with. Cairo social clubs include more than 500,000 family members who spend most of their free time in the summer and their weekends there; thus the Chats provide a good opportunity to spread the word about breast health among women and their families. Dr Mohamed Shaalan ; BCFE chairperson, nutrition and sports expert Samira El-Etribi, and a breast cancer survivor Manal Bashat, participate in the chat among other health educators. The attendees get examined by the doctor, and given a free mammogram. Sixty five ladies were already taught how to perform a self examination in Gezira Sporting club during the health chat. It is expected to carry out the same programme in Al-Zohor, Shooting, Al-Maadi, and Al-Tayaran clubs.
