Organs for transplant
The People’s Assembly has approved a bill for organ transplantation. The bill approves the transplantation of organs from dead to living persons unconditionally on a first come-first served basis, provided the person has sanctioned, while yet alive, the donation of his or her organs upon death. A modification was made to article 12 following heated debate among the lawmakers regarding the verification of death before carrying out a transplant. It was finally decided that verification should be done by a committee of three doctors to be chosen by a governmental higher committee for organ transplantation. In case of organ donation from living persons the bill allows donation of organs to relatives until the fourth degree but not to strangers. The bill has been passed on to the Shura Council—the upper house of Parliament—for final approval.
Open Doors
According to Open Doors 2009, the annual report on international students published by the Institute of International Education (IIE) with support from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State, the number of Egyptian students enrolled in American institutions of higher education increased from 1,766 to 1,915, an 8.4 per cent increase over the 2007/08 academic year. This was the third consecutive year that the number of Egyptian students in the US has grown.
This year’s Open Doors report shows that the total number of international students at colleges and universities in the United States increased by 8 per cent to an all-time high of 671,616 in the 2008/09 academic year. Open Doors also reported that 1,466 American students studied in Egypt in the 2007/08 academic year, an increase of 33.3 per cent over the previous year. Egypt is the leading destination among all Arabic-speaking countries for Americans studying abroad. The total number of Americans studying abroad increased by 8.5 per cent to a total of 262,416.
Danish experiment
To empower businesswomen in Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, a regional agreement between the Danish International Development Agency DANIDA and the Egyptian Businesswomen Association EBWA was signed under the sponsorship of the Danish Embassy. The three-year project aims at empowering businesswomen in free business and activating their roles in the field of economic development.
Hearing in Japanese
The Japanese Embassy in Cairo and the Nardin Association for hearing disabilities have held a celebration at the association’s premises in Old Cairo to mark the inauguration of a vocational training centre for persons with hearing disabilities. The new centre was established through a Japanese grant of USD79,173.
Biodiversity in focus
A recent event at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, jointly organised by the UN’s Environment Programme, the World Bank and the Egyptian State Apparatus for Environmental Affairs, discussed “Biodiversity and its relation to nature”. The French Consul in Cairo addressed the participants with a review of the French role with the UN environment programme, and an exhibition on biodiversity which will be touring Egypt’s various governorates from Alexandria in the North to Assiut in the south throughout 2010.
25th Biennale
Last Thursday saw the opening of the 25th Alexandria Biennale for Mediterranean countries which will run for one month. Some 31 artists from 17 Mediterranean countries will be participating in the Biennale and its numerous cultural and artistic activities.