The Delegation of the European Commission in Egypt celebrates
the 2008 Euro-Mediterranean Year of Dialogue between Cultures
To celebrate the 2008 Euro-Mediterranean Year of Dialogue between Cultures the Delegation of European Commission in Egypt is organising a number of cultural events during the month of May to showcase the different cultural programmes that are funded by the European Union in Egypt. On this occasion, The European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Training and Youth, Ján Figel’ will be in Egypt 7-9 May. During his visit, the Commissioner will sign a financing agreement (120 million Euros) on Education Sector Policy Support with the Egyptian government. He will also close the Regional TEMPUS Conference on Improving Quality in Higher Education.
The EU cultural projects in Egypt are funded under different local and regional programmes, and are covering a wide a range of fields, from music and cinema to cultural heritage and gastronomy. They are implemented in partnership with Egyptian and International Organizations working in Egypt, in addition to the projects supported by the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures.
Some of the events included in the programme of May are a two-day open air food fair in Alexandria organized by the Bibliotheca Alexadrina that aims at highlighting the diverse gastronomy and encouraging the exchange of experiences, traditional recipes, stories and dishes from the different communities from city. Another event is a new edition of the Caravan of Euro-Arab Cinema of SEMAT, this time with films focused on "Dialogue with the other", and a concert offered by the Egyptian Philharmonic Orchestra under the project "The Orchestra: A Guest in Schools" and addressed to the students of Ain Shams University, as a part of a series of educational performances in classical music for Egyptian school children. Other EU funded cultural projects in Egypt include a programme to revive the Mediterranean Cultural Heritage of the Egyptian city of Rosetta with EAIS Association, a curatorial programme to train arts professionals in the region organized by Townhouse Gallery for Contemporary Art, a project with UNESCO to safeguard the Egyptian traditional festivals, and another on the intercultural contacts in the Mediterranean antiquity with the Netherlands-Flemish Institute.
"Culture, diversity and intercultural dialogue are essential to face the major challenges of peace, mutual understanding and respect for shared values." Says Dr. Klaus Ebermann, the Head of the Delegation of the European Commission in Egypt. He adds "Intercultural Dialogue is recognized as an important part of the European Union's main cooperation programmes and instruments, and in the Union's bilateral agreements with third countries; therefore, the European Commission's Delegation has dedicated the month of May to focus on our cultural partnership with Egypt."
• More info
|
