Euromoney
The 15th session of the Euromoney economic forum will be held in Cairo on 29 September. The two-day forum is being held this year—one year after the outbreak of the global financial crunch—under the rubric “Updating in the Field of Finance and Markets”. More than 500 government officials, representatives of the private sector and regional financial institutions will be taking part.
74 firms for wind energy
Up to 74 international firms have submitted bids to the Energy Ministry in Egypt for projects to produce wind-generated electricity. The outcome of the bid assessment is expected shortly. “Egypt is working to increase its renewable energy component to up to 20 per cent of the total energy generated by the year 2020,” said Energy Minister Hassan Younis. This should amount to 7,200 megawatts, he said, which would have taken more than seven million tons of oil to produce. The private sector will participate with 70 per cent of the wind-operated energy projects, he said.
Back home Earlier this month Egypt regained a statuette which dates back to the 26th Dynasty (664-525 BC). A statement by the Supreme Council of Antiquities said that an American woman had bought the Ushabti statue from an antique shop in New York in 1995 as a birthday gift to her husband. The husband, however, decided to send it back to Egypt once he discovered it was genuine. Ushabti statues were placed in ancient Egyptian tombs to serve the dead person in the afterlife.
Land of contrasts
Amateur Egyptian photographers have been invited to take part in a photo competition organised for the second year running by the Delegation of the European Commission in Cairo. The theme of the Competition this year is ‘Egypt: Land of contrasts’. Entries will need to reflect the various aspects of life in Egypt in all their diversity: the old and the new, the classic and the contemporary, the rich and the poor, the traditional and the trendy. A panel of eminent photographers and artists will judge the entries, and prizes will be awarded to the two best photos, 1,000 Euros for the winner and an SLR digital camera for the runner-up. Photos may depict human behaviour, scenes of urban or rural life, or Egypt’s physical or natural environment, showing how the many different ingredients of Egyptian society co-exist together in harmony. Teaching hieroglyphs The Calligraphy Centre at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA) is organising courses to teach hieroglyphs. The courses begin on 14 October and run till 19 November. The BA Calligraphy Centre is concerned with the specialised study of matters related to the origin and evolution of writing, script, and inscription through the millennia.
The Stafford in Egyptian hands
Britannia Hospitality, owned by Egypt’s al-Sharkawy family, has said that it has bought London’s The Stafford Hotel for 77.5 million pounds from pubs and hotel firm Daniel Thwaites. The purchase of the 105-room hotel in London’s Mayfair district is part of the Sharkawy family’s plans to expand into global capitals, they said in a statement. The family also owns construction and hospitality group RAMW.