Egypt is now entering a post-nostalgia phase. The late-twentieth-century model of ‘soft power’—defined by Joseph Nye as attraction rather than coercion—feels increasingly inadequate in a cultural arena where creative authority has ceased to be linear or institutionally contained. Instead, it is dispersed across platforms, audiences, and algorithms that redirect attention and shape perception. Influence no longer flows predictably from centre to periphery, and memory persists, though in an altered form: shifting from a static archive into an active heritage that is continually reinterpreted, refracted, and remixed. Development, in this sense, is measured not merely through infrastructure or capital, but through the symbolic coherence of a society and its landscape—the capacity to recognise itself clearly even amid profound change.

A state-level commitment to cultural justice informs this transformation. As we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the International Council of Museums (ICOM), the Grand Egyptian Museum—which recently hosted Art Cairo 2026 under the theme ‘Arab. Art. Here.’—and the City of Arts and Culture in the New Administrative Capital stand as tangible testaments to a refreshed aesthetic direction. Initiatives like the digital cultural card for students and the modernisation of 30 culture palaces in a single year represent the democratisation of public spaces. Through the ‘Collection from the Museum’ programme, the Ministry of Culture partners with platforms to release modern masterpieces out of storage and into the public sphere, along with the ‘Craft-to-Cabinet’ integration of traditional ‘Turathna’ artistry within new cities. And, by designating North Sinai as the Capital of Culture 2026, Egypt is decentralising its creative baseline to ensure active heritage is enjoyed nationwide.

A distinctly national formula is taking shape: modernising through local linguistic and emotional codes rather than borrowed Western templates. In doing so, Egypt asserts an independent right to articulate its own history—a definitive departure from an era when Egyptian heritage was mined as a global inventory. Inevitably, cultural practices alter the way cities evolve. Alongside the rise of sleek infrastructure, a counter-movement toward architectural authenticity is beginning to take root. Instead of yielding entirely to the neutrality of minimalism, a new generation of design is turning toward self-referential forms deeply attentive to local materiality, climatic logic, spatial memory, and the familiarity of place. In Alexandria, Al Nabi Daniel Street has gracefully ambled towards a new pedestrian identity, and in the capital, the restoration of the Khedivial centre has revived coherence across passages like Talaat Harb Street, while enclaves like the Al-Borsa Triangle have been reactivated as arts and community hubs, reshaping commercial layers while preserving the area’s ‘sui generis’ informal rhythm.

The renewed use of signifiers such as ‘Egyptian blue’ offers a compelling example of the negotiation between continuity and reinvention. Historically, the world’s first synthetic pigment, the colour has been transmuted from an ancient vestige into a modern strategic asset—serving as a visual code and a technical tool for energy-efficient cooling. This logic guides active restoration around heritage sites in Luxor, Saqqara, and historic Cairo, just as it informs the design of contemporary developments across the country. Importantly, earlier forms of preservation—photographs, architectural surveys, and cinematic records—allow for an informed reconstruction of atmosphere in these renovated districts. Together, this material becomes a reference system through which proportion and historic character are reintroduced into spaces undergoing transformation.

Woven into this urban fabric, a new cultural wave is reshaping visual identity. Today, Gen Z operates under the ethos that what feels authentic is what feels sophisticated. Local symbols carry supreme cachet, driven by an atavistic instinct for Egyptian aesthetics that subverts the ‘khawaga complex’ of the Gen X cohort coming of age in the early globalisation era. Independent fashion brands and diaspora micro-labels render Egypt’s landmarks, cartography, figures, and typography into wearable form—vanguard streetwear serving as a medium for civilisational branding in everyday life. These items function as mobile merchandise where national memory becomes globally legible; this aesthetic is frequently co-opted abroad by activists, Middle East studies undergraduates, and the culturally initiated, who wear these local icons as a badge of being ‘au courant’ with subcultural niches and regional nuances.

A parallel visual vocabulary exists in accessories, where Pharaonic motifs like the Ankh and lotus flower are experiencing an assertive reclamation rather than a nostalgic revival. This preoccupation with what Jacques Derrida termed archive fever was once reinforced by external frames—romanticising a cosmopolitan history abroad more intensely than it was actively inhabited at home—but today the archive has been re-appropriated, transformed from tokenistic souvenir into wearable pride.

This metamorphosis extends beyond objects and visual culture into the organisation of shared memory itself. Egyptian audiences once inhabited a unified broadcast environment, with households and communities across the country gathered around a screen to share a viewing experience. Commercials historically played a formative role; they were not just adverts for products but recurring cultural touchstones, with jingles and catchphrases absorbed collectively, quoted colloquially, and remembered long after campaigns ended. Today, that shared experience has pluralised, as audiences no longer follow the same schedules or programming. Indeed, the old gatekeeper era—the age of the monolithic broadcast and the scripted monologue—is giving way to texture, spontaneity, and recognisable humanity. Social media has altered the hierarchy of trust; audiences encounter meaning first through creators and eyewitnesses whose credibility relies on raw immediacy rather than a sanitised setup. Even legacy talk shows now operate as downstream consumers of the internet, relying on viral clips and trending hashtags to shape their rhetoric. The centralised transmission is no longer the epicentre of public attention, but a secondary node in a diversified attention economy.

Yet this does not signal the disappearance of shared popular culture, only its reconfiguration within new systems of circulation. Egypt’s distinct, of-the-moment humour and perspectives keep its presence unmistakable on the modern screen. Occasionally, an Egyptian scene, meme, or advertisement circulates virally in ways that reveal just how relatable contemporary Egyptian expression can be—travelling globally without the need for translation. Egypt’s prestige cinema, highbrow television, and iconic theatrical works have long shaped the Middle Eastern media landscape, establishing Egyptian Arabic as the definitive lingua franca of storytelling. This timeless audiovisual repertoire created a structural intelligibility that no later market entrant has displaced, despite the mass circulation of imported, dubbed, remade, and original series across pan-Arab streaming platforms. Even as newer regional production centres expand their output and visibility, Egyptian content continues to instinctively attract audiences through its enduring charm and gravitas. Cairo remains the central organising hub of Arab screen culture, a role reinforced by the return of Al-Mahrousa—Egypt’s national pavilion at the Cannes Film Market—bringing together filmmakers, producers, and global distributors, while underlining Egypt’s enduring cinematic impact on the universal stage.

This civilisational reach extends beyond the arts, no longer channelled through the outmoded paradigm of soft power but operating as a robust framework of human capital and intellectual exchange. Two hundred years after the landmark educational mission of 1826, thousands of international students come to study in Egyptian universities each year in continuum of Egypt’s ancient role as a destination for scholars. Alongside this, the country steadily broadens its impact in science, engineering, and technology with growing participation in advanced manufacturing and global electronics supply chains. The resulting ecosystem is increasingly coalescing into a sovereign framework in which local creativity and national development reinforce one another. Egypt is not simply safeguarding culture; it is shaping the terms through which Egyptian identity is encountered, interpreted, and appreciated both internally and externally. Ultimately, this profound cultural transition demonstrates that heritage is not a stagnant archive to be passively preserved, but a vital, living “culture in motion.” Ours is a nation uniquely equipped to turn memory into momentum, heritage into invention, and everyday life into a sustained cultural language—not as a repetition of the past, but as a deliberate expansion of what the present can confidently become.

Nadine Loza is a development strategist, opinion columnist, and Founding Director of the Egypt Diaspora Initiative.

The post Opinion | New Republic, Post-Nostalgia first appeared on Dailynewsegypt.

This is where reform quietly begins to fail. Reform does not fail because policies are inherently flawed. It fails because they are often assigned to the wrong people.

This is not a theoretical argument. It is a pattern I observed firsthand while serving as an adviser at Egypt’s Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, and later as a member of the Egyptian Senate. Across both executive and legislative environments, one lesson stood out: the quality of ideas is never enough. Outcomes are determined by who implements them, how they understand their role, and the institutional environment in which they operate.

Many states do not suffer from a shortage of policy ideas. They suffer from a deficit in selection. In theory, appointments should be based on merit, competence, and functional suitability. In practice, other considerations often take precedence: trust, proximity, manageability, and political or personal reassurance. Competence does not disappear, but it loses its decisive role.

Over time, this produces something more serious than isolated inefficiency. It creates a selection logic that reshapes institutions themselves. The distinction between those who fit a role and those who merely occupy it gradually fades.

In multiple cases, reform initiatives were technically sound, yet assigned to individuals whose background did not match the complexity of the task. The result was not failure in design, but stagnation in execution. Good policies, in such contexts, produce limited outcomes or fail to materialise at all.

At this point, a deeper shift occurs. Competence itself can become a source of discomfort. Capable individuals tend to be more independent, more analytical, and less willing to comply blindly. In systems that prioritise stability over professional rigour, these traits may be perceived as risks rather than assets. In their place, another value emerges: containability. Institutions begin to reward those who adapt to the system more than those who can meaningfully improve it.

This is not merely an administrative issue. It affects the state’s ability to produce real outcomes. The problem becomes especially visible in strategic sectors. My work on institutional reform, including discussions on restructuring Egypt’s cultural sector, has reinforced a critical point: culture is not peripheral. It shapes public awareness, societal judgment, and what can be described as a form of cognitive national security. When such sectors are managed through accommodation, symbolic positioning, or recycled weakness rather than genuine competence, the consequences extend far beyond institutional boundaries.

Real reform does not begin with slogans. Nor does it begin with organisational charts. It begins when the state recognises that managing talent is not a bureaucratic luxury; it is a condition for resilience and renewal.

This requires clear professional pathways, credible evaluation mechanisms, and a firm distinction between personal trust and professional merit. When these are blurred, stability does not increase; decline simply becomes slower and less visible.

If reform is to be taken seriously, it must be understood not only as a policy challenge but as a selection problem. Policies can be rewritten. Institutions can be redesigned. But without aligning the right people with the right roles, reform will remain performative rather than transformative.

For international partners, this carries an important implication: supporting reform is not only about funding programs or endorsing policies. It requires understanding the institutional logic of selection that ultimately determines whether those policies will succeed or stall.

In the end, the future of reform is not decided when policies are announced, but much earlier, at the moment a system determines who is allowed to act in its name, and why that person in particular.

Dr Ramy Galal is an Egyptian writer and academic specialising in public management and cultural policies. He has authored studies on cultural diplomacy, the orange economy, and restructuring Egypt’s cultural institutions.

Galal holds a PHD degree from Alexandria University, a master’s degree from the University of London, and a Diploma from the University of Chile.

A former senator, and former adviser and spokesperson for Egypt’s Ministry of Planning. He was also the spokesperson for the Egyptian Opposition Coalition.

The post Opinion | Good policies, wrong people: Why reform stalls? first appeared on Dailynewsegypt.

During a meeting with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly to review the ministry’s upcoming work pillars, Zaki said the upgrades aim to transform these facilities from “mere buildings into an integrated life system.” The initiative is part of a broader strategy to achieve “cultural justice” and ensure cultural access as a right for all citizens.

Madbouly stated that the cultural file holds an “advanced priority” within government programmes, citing the state’s interest in “building the Egyptian person” and enhancing civilisational identity. He added that the culture sector remains a primary pillar of Egypt’s soft power and that the government is keen to invest in the sector’s “promising potential.”

The minister outlined the strategy under the slogan “Towards a Fair, Safe, and Creative Culture,” based on three pillars: social, national, and civilisational.

Under the social dimension, the plan includes supporting mobile culture units to reach rural and border areas through artistic workshops. Upgraded culture palaces will be equipped with “People’s Cinema” screenings, digital book platforms, free studios for talent discovery, and permanent theatres for touring performances. Zaki also announced the planned launch of a free “cultural card” for low-income students and people with disabilities to provide free access to all cultural services and events.

The national dimension focuses on protecting identity and “fortifying generations,” specifically targeting “Generation Alpha and Generation Z” through partnerships with the private sector and schools. Zaki said a national programme will be established to merge technology with Egyptian heritage through interactive applications and educational games.

The strategy further involves partnering with private companies to produce digital cultural content for social media platforms and integrating “authentic Egyptian cultural content” into basic education curricula to form a “conscious generation” capable of facing “digital cultural invasion.”

Additionally, a unified digital platform for museums dedicated to Egyptian state icons will be launched, using formats such as “reels” to attract younger audiences. This will be supported by school and university trips and promotional programmes coordinated with the Ministry of Tourism.

The “civilisational” pillar, titled “Egypt Creates for the World,” seeks to celebrate Egyptian creators globally. Plans include establishing “Digital Egypt Studio” as an integrated production centre and a national fund to support creators in partnership with the private sector. The minister also noted the creation of an Egyptian cultural export programme and partnerships between Egyptian art museums and international capitals to showcase Egyptian art.

Zaki identified digitisation as the “backbone” of the Egyptian cultural system, stating it is no longer an option but a necessity. The ministry aims to build a unified cultural platform to aggregate all Egyptian cultural initiatives and reach a larger number of beneficiaries.

The post Egypt to upgrade 30 cultural palaces in 12 months under new strategy first appeared on Dailynewsegypt.

Zaki succeeds Nevine Al-Kilani, who held the post from August 2022 to June 2024, and Ines Abdel-Dayem, who served as the first female minister in the role from January 2018 to August 2022. Her appointment follows a career across international cultural diplomacy, museum management, and academia.

Museum and Institutional Leadership

Zaki previously served as the head of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) during its preparation and operational phases. In this role, she managed heritage and archaeological protocols according to global standards for one of the region’slargest cultural projects.

She also served as the director of the Egyptian Academy of Arts in Rome, the first woman to hold that position. During her tenure, she focused on establishing cultural partnerships with European institutions and expanding Egypt’s artistic presence abroad.

International Diplomacy and UNESCO

Zaki’s background in international policy includes a term as Egypt’s representative to UNESCO. She also served as a regional consultant for the organisation, specialising in the implementation of global policies for the protection of cultural and natural heritage.

In 2025, Zaki was awarded the Legion of Honour by French President Emmanuel Macron. The distinction recognised her contributions to cultural dialogue between Mediterranean nations.

Academic Credentials

A specialist in ancient civilisations, Zaki holds a PhD in Egyptology from the Lumière University Lyon 2 in France. Her academic career includes:

• University Post:Professor at Helwan University.
• Expertise:Representing the Egyptian government in the UNESCO Convention for the Protection of Cultural and Natural Heritage.

The Ministry of Culture under Zaki is expected to focus on the management of national heritage, the development ofcreative industries, and the use of cultural diplomacy as a component of Egypt’s regional influence.

The post PROFILE-Egyptologist Gihane Zaki takes helm as Egypt’s culture minister first appeared on Dailynewsegypt.

Held under presidential patronage, the fair will run from 21 January to 3 February and is being billed as the largest in its history in terms of both participation and activities.

This year’s edition is organised under the slogan “One who stops reading for an hour falls centuries behind,” a quote by Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz, who has been named Personality of the Fair. Renowned artist Mohieddin El-Labbad was selected as Personality of the Children’s Book Fair, while Romania is participating as guest of honour.

The opening ceremony was attended by several cabinet ministers, the Grand Mufti of Egypt, the governor of Cairo, diplomats and senior officials, as well as members of parliament, writers, intellectuals and media figures. Romania was represented by Culture Minister András István Demeter and Ambassador Olivia Toderean.

Madbouly praised the continuous development of the Cairo International Book Fair in recent years, saying the steady growth in international participation, diversity of exhibitors and expansion of exhibition space reflect the fair’s prominent position on the Arab and regional cultural map. He stressed that the event underscores Egypt’s commitment to promoting culture and thought as key pillars of its soft power and its long-standing role as a regional cultural hub.

Minister of Culture Ahmed Fouad Hanno said the current edition is the largest in the fair’s history, with the participation of 1,457 publishing houses from 83 countries and more than 6,600 exhibitors. He added that the cultural and intellectual programme includes around 400 events, over 100 book-signing ceremonies and 120 artistic performances, featuring Egyptian, Arab and international writers and artists.

Hanno noted that this year’s fair places special emphasis on Egypt’s ancient civilisation and heritage, coinciding with the recent opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum. He added that several new initiatives are being launched, including the “Library for Every Home” project, aimed at restoring books to daily family life, and the “Ahlena wa Nasna” camp, which highlights Egypt’s intangible cultural heritage across its governorates.

The programme honouring Mahfouz includes intellectual seminars, film screenings and artistic activities, most notably the exhibition “Naguib Mahfouz Through the Eyes of the World,” featuring works by artists from several countries. Activities celebrating El-Labbad include specialised seminars, an exhibition of his works, interactive children’s programmes, reprints of selected publications and a commemorative book documenting his artistic career.

During his tour of the fair, Madbouly visited pavilions of several ministries and state institutions, including the ministries of culture, defence and interior, the Administrative Control Authority, the Central Bank of Egypt and the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics, which announced that Egypt’s population has reached 108.6 million.

He also toured the pavilions of Al-Azhar, Dar Al-Ifta, the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs and the National Reading Pavilion, as well as the Financial Regulatory Authority, which showcased its initiatives to promote financial literacy. The Cabinet’s Information and Decision Support Centre presented its research publications, digital platforms and smart applications.

At the Romania pavilion, Madbouly was briefed on the guest of honour’s cultural programme, which includes 30 events involving 60 participants, as part of preparations to mark 120 years of diplomatic relations between Egypt and Romania in 2026.

Concluding his tour, the prime minister praised the high level of organisation, the diversity of participating pavilions and the dedicated children’s area, as well as the prominent tribute to Mahfouz. He said the Cairo International Book Fair continues to strengthen its role as a leading platform for cultural dialogue, a key supporter of the publishing industry and an important gateway for spreading knowledge and public awareness.

The post Madbouly opens largest-ever Cairo International Book Fair with record international participation first appeared on Dailynewsegypt.

In The Future of Egypt’s Culture, I do not treat culture as a luxury or a marginal sector, but as an invisible infrastructure underpinning both state and society. Culture here is not limited to theatres or festivals; it is the language through which we understand ourselves, the medium through which we communicate with others, and the system that produces public taste and reshapes awareness. When this system falters, societies do not collapse overnight; they begin to erode quietly.

Before proposing solutions, the book deliberately pauses before seven foundational questions largely absent from cultural debates in Egypt. Culture is not treated as an administrative file or a budgetary item, but as a shared public meaning. These questions are not theoretical exercises; they form the gateway to the entire book, because when meaning is not consciously shaped, it forms elsewhere and turns from a source of cohesion into a silent arena of conflict.

The book diagnoses what I describe as “soft cultural erosion”, a process that makes little noise, yet weakens symbolic power, distorts awareness, and leaves the public sphere without governance of meaning. I examine how culture moved from paper to screens, and from screens to algorithms, and how digital platforms have become unelected cultural actors that reorder attention, taste, and knowledge according to the logic of profit rather than the public interest. In this context, I introduce the concept of cognitive national security as a practical necessity.

The book also addresses cultural justice, centralisation, the marginalisation of peripheries, and the transformation of cultural events into superficial substitutes for real systems of production. I argue clearly that the crisis is not a lack of talent or imagination, but a fragility of design, specifically in how culture is funded, governed, and integrated into education, media, and the economy.

The title of this book intentionally echoes an earlier moment in Egypt’s intellectual history, when leading thinkers debated how culture and education could enable the country to enter modernity in the early twentieth century. I write today, however, from a radically different global context. Europe is no longer the centre of the world, and we now live amid multiple overlapping “states”: social media, digital platforms, the creative economy, fragmented identities, and the empowered individual.

Our anxieties today are therefore more complex: symbolic emptiness, cultural erosion, and identity disorientation in digital space. We are no longer searching only for Egypt’s place in the world, but for its future within itself, its ability to reclaim its narrative and remain present as a living meaning rather than a historical symbol.

In its final chapter, the book calls for what I describe as a “new cultural contract”, one that rejects mutual suspicion, authoritarian control, and chaotic improvisation alike. Instead, it argues for a partnership based on clear guarantees and practical mechanisms that allow for accumulation, continuity, and measurable impact. Culture, after all, is not governed by good intentions alone, but by design.

The Future of Egypt’s Culture: An Age of Anxiety does not offer final answers. It is a draft of necessary questions and an early warning against cultural collapse if left unmanaged. It is written for those who sense that what is happening culturally is more dangerous than it appears, and that the battle over meaning is no less critical than those over economics or politics.

I hope this book opens a serious discussion, not only about culture, but about the future of this country itself because those who fail to see culture as a priority today will pay tomorrow’s price in collective conscience and in society’s very ability to endure.

Dr Ramy Galal is an Egyptian writer and academic specialising in public management and cultural policies. He has authored studies on cultural diplomacy, the orange economy, and restructuring Egypt’s cultural institutions.

Galal holds a PHD degree from Alexandria University, a master’s degree from the University of London, and a Diploma from the University of Chile.

A former senator, and former adviser and spokesperson for Egypt’s Ministry of Planning. He was also the spokesperson for the Egyptian Opposition Coalition.

The post Opinion | The Future of Egypt’s Culture: An Age of Anxiety first appeared on Dailynewsegypt.

The true value of Fulbright lies not only in what participants learn inside universities or research centers, but in what they discover about themselves while living a fundamentally different experience: a society open to questioning, one that rewards curiosity over rote memorization and values critical inquiry and calm dialogue. This daily exposure produces a quiet inner transformation, often invisible at first, yet enduring long after return.

In the Egyptian context, this impact is magnified. Many alumni return to educational, cultural, and research institutions in urgent need of this different intellectual breath. They come back carrying new tools, not merely technical, but cultural: how ideas are managed, how disagreement is discussed, how collective work is built, and how knowledge moves from rhetoric into practice. This is not a superficial transfer of expertise, but a deeper reshaping of workplace culture.

What gives Fulbright its distinctive standing is its long record of success and continuity. Over decades, it has produced generations of researchers, professors, thinkers, and artists who later became influential figures in academia and public life. Fulbright’s strength lies not in the number of grants, but in the rigor of selection and the global reputation that makes affiliation with the program a mark of academic and cultural trust. It has preserved its meaning over time, remaining synonymous with quality, openness, and intellectual seriousness.

The most important lesson Fulbright, and similar international programs, offers is that culture is not a luxury, but an essential infrastructure of consciousness. Strong societies are measured not only by economic size, but by their ability to manage knowledge, respect difference, and transform diversity into productive energy rather than conflict. This lesson is particularly vital for Egypt at a moment when trust needs rebuilding between individuals and institutions.

Fulbright also demonstrates that investing in educated, open-minded individuals is not a luxury, but a condition for stability and progress. Alumni equipped with critical thinking, collaborative skills, and ethical commitments to knowledge become stabilizing forces within their institutions, capable of breaking stagnation without confrontation. This quiet capacity for change lies at the heart of Fulbright’s cultural impact.

Nor can Fulbright be viewed in isolation from programs such as the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) or the British Chevening Scholarships. Despite differences, these initiatives share a core idea: building cross-border human networks and cultivating elites capable of linking the local and the global without losing identity. Together, they have accumulated significant human and cultural capital in Egypt, capital that still requires a national vision to harness it.

The key lesson is that international scholarships should not be seen as isolated individual successes, but as tools within a broader cultural and knowledge policy, one that shifts from sending individuals abroad to building systems of education, research, workplace culture, and knowledge management. Only then does the return on a scholarship become a public good rather than a personal story.

Fulbright, DAAD, Chevening, and similar programs affirm a simple truth: when culture is managed with awareness, it becomes genuine soft power; and when investment is directed toward people, it yields the highest return. The question for Egypt is not how many scholarships it receives, but how it transforms this accumulated experience into a national project of knowledge, awareness, and progress.

Dr Ramy Galal is an Egyptian writer and academic specialising in public management and cultural policies. He has authored studies on cultural diplomacy, the orange economy, and restructuring Egypt’s cultural institutions.

Galal holds a PHD degree from Alexandria University, a master’s degree from the University of London, and a Diploma from the University of Chile.

A former senator, and former adviser and spokesperson for Egypt’s Ministry of Planning. He was also the spokesperson for the Egyptian Opposition Coalition.

The post Opinion | Fulbright in Egypt: A Quiet Investment in the Mind first appeared on Dailynewsegypt.

The opening follows directives from President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to expand the national network of public libraries. The “Noon El-Sahar 2” public library in Zahraa El-Maadi was developed through a partnership between the Ministry of Culture, Cairo Governorate, the Maxim Charity for Development and Services, and the National Roads Company.

Hanno directed that a section of the library be dedicated to people with disabilities, equipped with Braille-supported resources and ministry-published titles in the system. He stated that the expansion of public libraries is a “fundamental pillar” of the state’s vision for national awareness and preparing a generation capable of meeting future challenges through knowledge.

The 620-square-metre facility houses approximately 11,000 books across various fields. It features a general library hall and four specialised areas: the Noon El-Sahar Cultural Salon, a training hall, an activity hall, and a computer laboratory for training programmes.

Governor Ibrahim Saber said the high demand for the first Noon El-Sahar branch at the Shinzo Abe axis in Nasr City prompted the expansion into Zahraa El-Maadi. He described the library as a successful model of integration between executive bodies and civil society.

Naglaa El-Sahar, founder of the Maxim Charity, stated that the library aims to create an open space for dialogue and creativity, particularly for children and youth.

The library operates under the technical supervision of the Misr Public Library, headed by Ambassador Abdel Raouf El-Reedy. Several Ministry of Culture sectors contributed to the project, including the General Egyptian Book Organisation, the National Centre for Translation, the Cultural Development Fund, the Supreme Council of Culture, the National Centre for Child Culture, the National Library and Archives, and the General Organisation for Cultural Palaces.

The Minister confirmed that the ministry will continue to provide technical and logistical support to ensure the sustainability of such projects and ensure cultural services reach citizens across the country.

The post Egypt opens Braille-accessible library in Cairo under presidential directive first appeared on Dailynewsegypt.

The handover represents the completion of the first and second phases of a restoration project for documents belonging to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates. The items, which were processed within the laboratories of the National Library and Archives (Dar Al-Kutub), date back to the Khedivial and Royal eras.

The transfer took place in the presence of Osama Talaat, Chairman of the National Library and Archives. During the proceedings, the two ministers inspected the facility’s reading rooms, digitisation centre, and restoration laboratories to review the technical and technological capabilities used in preserving official state documents.

Hano stated that the preservation of Egypt’s historical documents is a “major national responsibility” because they embody the memory of the state and document its diplomatic and political trajectory over several decades. He added that the Ministry of Culture prioritises the restoration of rare manuscripts using the latest technologies to ensure their preservation for future generations.

The cooperation between the two ministries reflects the integration of state institutions in protecting national heritage and providing it to researchers and specialists in a methodical manner, Hano said.

Abdelatty praised the efforts of the National Library and Archives, describing the institution’s role as vital in preserving the “institutional memory of the Egyptian state.” He affirmed the Foreign Ministry’s commitment to ongoing cooperation regarding the restoration and digitisation of historical treaties and maps to facilitate their accessibility.

The Foreign Minister also highlighted the significance of the cultural dimension in diplomatic efforts, describing it as a fundamental pillar and an essential tool of Egyptian foreign policy.

The post Egypt completes restoration of 43 historical agreements, 13 maps for Foreign Ministry archive first appeared on Dailynewsegypt.

The authority will hold a series of events in several governorates this week to celebrate the inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum, which it described as a “new birth for Egyptian soft power.”

Under the slogan “Egypt, Your Golden Sun Has Returned,” events will take place in Cairo, Alexandria, Sohag, Beheira, Minya, Qalyubia, New Valley, and Assiut. The activities include educational meetings, art workshops, Arabic music and folk art performances, as well as theatrical shows.

Also this week, the first edition of the “Qena Festival for Traditional Arts and Crafts” will be launched at the Qena Cultural Palace. The five-day festival will feature a rich programme of artistic performances, specialised workshops, and educational meetings with artists, researchers, and artisans, aimed at supporting handicrafts and traditional industries.

On Sunday evening, the authority will hold a literary meeting in Sohag to honour the great poet Ofa Abdullah Al-Anwar, as part of a programme to celebrate creative figures in the provinces.

The week of events will conclude on Saturday, Nov. 8, with the launch of a three-day cultural convoy in the village of 28, Banger Al-Sukar, in the city of Al-Hamam, Matrouh governorate. The convoy will include lectures, craft workshops, and artistic performances, as well as talent discovery segments.

The week’s agenda also includes a variety of artistic and literary workshops and educational meetings, in addition to special events celebrating Childhood Day.

The post Egypt’s cultural palaces authority launches nationwide arts and culture events first appeared on Dailynewsegypt.