One big cultural weekend connects Alexandria to people across the Euro-Mediterranean region
People from across Egypt are gathering in Alexandria for a full weekend of music performances, international food fairs and cultural exchange taking place between the 22nd and the 24th May 2008.
The big weekend commences on the evening of the 22nd of May with the Euro-Mediterranean Dialogue Night. For the very first time thousands of people from the countries of the Euro-Mediterranean region will gather in one common event for dialogue, with events held in synchronisation ranging from intercultural concerts in Beirut and Barcelona to public debates and gatherings in the squares of Napoli and Rabat.
In Alexandria the Dialogue Night is taking place in the ancient Citadel of Quaitbey and will see the music performance of the award winning Fathy Salama together with European musicians, a variety of cultural act from Egyptian civil society organisations and groups and provide the opportunity for participants to send their messages for dialogue to people across the region.
Over the following two days, 23 and 24 of May, the International food Fair "Gastronomy in Alexandria" – a project funded by the EC Delegation in Egypt - is being held in the historic Villa Antoniadis gardens. This free food festival will feature a ‘food court’ where visitors can wander, sampling the many dishes that will be categorized into nationalities.
Various presentations will be held throughout the days allowing the public to see for themselves traditional Euro-Mediterranean recipes and a photographic exhibition focusing on ‘street scenes and food’ displayed within the main community tent. In the gardens traditional dancing and music will feature as well as established Alexandrian restaurants and hotels serving food.
This major weekend of cultural exchange is the highlight of a month of cultural activities carried out by the European Commission Delegation to Egypt, the Alexandria and Mediterranean Research Centre (Bibliotheca Alexandrina) and the Anna Lindh Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures and has being carried out in the framework of 2008, nominated as the Euro-Mediterranean Year of Dialogue between Cultures by the Foreign Ministers of the Euro-Med Partnership.
The range of ideas and issues generated through this month of action will provide a basis for discussion for policy and decision-makers converging on Athens at the end of May for the Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Conference on Culture, taking place in Athens at the end of May 2008. Key figures attending the meeting include the Ministers of Culture of the Euro-Mediterranean Region, Mr Ján Figel', EU Commissioner for Education and Culture, and Mr André Azoulay, President of the Anna Lindh Foundation who will present the initial outcomes of this major initiative.`
For editors
The Anna Lindh Foundation is the first common institution created by the member countries of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. The Foundation is co-funded by the member countries and the European Commission, with the main objective of bringing people and organisation from both shores of the Mediterranean closer to each other.
AlexMed, a research centre within the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, is one of the city's leading cultural institutions. Since 2003 the centre has collaborated with organizations from all over the Euro-Mediterranean region and initiated projects and publications concerned with the Arts in Alexandria and greater Mediterranean.
Contact information
For the Dialogue Night event in Alexandria
Susanne Aboughaida: Susanne.aboughaida@bibalex.org
Mobile: (+2) 0104811833
For the International Food Festival
Edward Lewis: Edward.lewis@bibalex.org
Mobile: (+2) 0107211698
For the EU Commission Delegation to Egypt
Nabila Massrali: nabila.massrali@ec.europa.eu
Tel: (+20 2) 37494680 Ext.318
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