On the occasion of National Science Day in Egypt, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi acknowledged the role of scientists and their scientific contributions to the country. “Allow me in my name and in the name of the great Egyptian nation to salute Egyptian scientists who deserve all the appreciation for their relentless work,” he stated in a speech according to Al Ahram. Each year, the presidential cabinet focuses on one particular theme for the year, as such, 2019 was declared the “Year of Education”. While Egypt is not particularly known for its scientific legacy, there are numerous scientists and scholars who have made important discoveries, with the least known of them are the female scientists. Here is a quick glance at five female Egyptian scientists whose work is memorable and impactful to this day. 1. HILANA SEDAROUS Hailed as the first modern Egyptian doctor, Sedarous is a largely enigmatic figure whose history is not well-known. What is known about her, nonetheless, is that the Tanta-born aspiring doctor went against the conventions of her time by travelling to London in 1922 where she took on mathematics and medicine. After 1919,…
Baron Palace Will Open its Doors in October 2019
Cairo’s long awaited landmark Baron Palace will open its doors to welcome the public this October after its restoration is complete, reports Al Ahram. Its much-needed renovation, which started in August 2017, was reported to cost 100 million EGP. In statements to Ahram Online, Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said 90 percent of the refurbishment process has been completed as of now. Inspired by the Hindu temple of Angkor Wat (Cambodia), the mansion is often referred to as the Hindu Palace. It was built by a Belgian millionaire and the founder of Heliopolis Edouard Louis Joseph, or Baron Empain at the end of the 19th century. It has been the object of various folktales and stories by Heliopolis’ inhabitants through the years with fears of satanic underground rooms and ghosts warding the general public at bay. The palace’s fearful reputation stems from the fact that both the baron’s daughter and wife died in the house. Helena, the wife, particularly met a tragic death by falling down the staircase. Empain arrived in 1904 to Egypt and launched his company with the plan of creating a railway that…
Egypt’s Handball Champions Reward for Historic Victory Causes Controversy
Note to readers: The Handball Federation has clarified initial statements about the award. The article below has not been updated for content. However, the full statement (in Arabic) clarifying further information about the award and other financial information is embedded in the video below. The Federation’s President clarified that it is the Ministry of Youth and Sports that is responsible for providing financial rewards to the players, and that the Federation itself does not normally provide rewards. The Ministry of Youth and Sports has rewarded each player EGP 150,000. Meanwhile, the Federation has provided financial rewards to each player not for their success, but for their participation in the competition. Each player received USD 1,500 and not EGP 1,500 as the Federation’s President had previously inferred. Egypt’s U-19 handball team made history on Sunday night after defeating Germany 32-28 to become the first ever non-European country to win the 2019 Men’s Youth World Handball Championship. Hours after the historic victory, which saw the Young Pharaohs widely praised on social media, Egypt’s Handball Federation announced that each player would only be awarded EGP 1,500 ($US 90) for their efforts. Hisham Nasr,…
Egypt U19 Handball Team Beat Germany to Become World Champions
Egypt’s U19 team won the World Championship for the first time after defeating Germany 32-28 in the final in Macedonia on Sunday. They also became the first non-European country to be hailed champions. The Egyptian team dominated the first half of the game, finishing with a lead advantage (19-13), and continued to to maintain their upper hand and make history. It is the first time that Egypt win an U19 World Championship title, as the young pharaohs have never reached the finals of the youth championships The national U21 team, however, won the world title in 1993 when the tournament was staged in Cairo. Last month, Egypt’s national handball team qualified for the Men’s Junior U21 World Championship semi-finals to be held in Spain on Thursday, after a 29-27 victory over Norway. This made Egypt the first non-European team to have won all first stage matches since 2009….
This Year’s Round of ‘ProGirls’ Initiative Begins in Cairo and Alexandria
The summer saw the start of the third annual ProGirls (Professional Orientation of Girls) initiative in Egypt’s capital Cairo and coast city Alexandria. This initiative, founded in 2017, introduces high school girls to the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) – a field that is predominantly run by men- and aims to cultivate leadership. The initiative is supervised by EconoWin (Economic Integration of Women in the MENA Region), which is a collaboration program by GIZ, the German international development agency, and PASCH Schools’ Partners for the Future initiative. This round of the program trains 190 Egyptian students from 12 different states in Sohag, Damanhour, Alexandria and Cairo, where they are given the opportunity to work with 90 female mentors and meet supervisors from 45 local private companies as well as attend internships. The participants are attending five mentoring session between July and September as well as a two-week internship program. Teacher Rania Ragab from Al-Quds School in Alexandria told Ahram Online, “What motivates me as a teacher to participate in ProGirls, is the change that I find in the girls’ mentality and personality after the project. This is our third…
Hip Hop Heat Hits Cairo: Meet Felukah
Egypt has always harbored significant cultural elements of art, music, cinema, and literature. Yet, this is often only attributed to the past- ignoring the current artists breaking through in a contemporary setting. Cairo born rapper, Felukah, combines elements of poetry with music to create heartfelt rap from a unique perspective. The 21-year-old rapper unashamedly presents her identity as an Egyptian woman with lived experience in both Cairo and New York. Felukah entered the scene with her mixtape Battery Acid and her E.P. Yansoon in 2018. She has described rap as housing “pain, power, and resistance” all at once, which is visible in the 12 tracks on her latest project, covering issues from sexism and racism to everyday struggles and relationships. Her debut album Citadel was released on streaming platforms last month on June 27th. In a country where there’s so much existing stigma surrounding women and their behavior, the female rap scene is vital to breaking these barriers. Felukah’s music challenges ideas of human politics and addresses the barriers we develop internally. What do you currently do? How do you balance music with other aspects of your life? I’m presently…
First Time Ever: Egypt Reach U-19 Handball World Championship Finals
The young Pharaohs have made history after defeating Portugal 41-36 at the semi-finals of the 2019 Men’s Youth World Handball Championship. Egypt have never reached the finals of the youth championships and will face Germany on Sunday 18 August at Boris Trajkovski Sports Center, Skopje in North Macedonia. The Pharaohs were looking shaky at the start of their match against Portugal, but ultimately managed to fight back and score a historic victory for their country. Meanwhile, Germany comfortably defeated Denmark 31-23 in their match. The 2019 Men’s Youth World Handball Championship has marked a series of firsts for the Egyptians. Egypt’s best result prior to this year’s championship was a fifth place finish in the 2007 and 2011 editions. Egypt qualified for the Round of 16 knockout stages of the 2019 edition after finishing in first place in Group B, which saw Egypt face against Sweden, France, Hungary, Chinese Taipei and Canada. In the knockout stages, Egypt defeated Slovenia and Iceland. If Egypt are victorious on Sunday against Germany, they will become the first non-European country to be hailed champions….
Cairo University Jumps 100 Ranks in 2019 Shanghai Academic Ranking
Cairo University jumped 100 ranks to reach the 301-400-category place in the 2019 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) of Shanghai Ranking Consultancy. Cairo University highlighted in a statement that ARWU has been presenting the world’s top 500 universities annually based on transparent methodology and objective third-party data, and been recognized as the most reliable and trustworthy source of global university rankings. Mohamed Othman al-Khesht, President of Cairo University, pointed out that Cairo University allocated large budgets for scientific research and rewards for researchers, as well as promoting internal competition between colleges for scientific research. “This success comes for the first time in the history of Egyptian universities,” he said. The university collaborated with international scientific magazines such as JAR magazine, which ranked fifth globally in the latest classification of the most influential journals. Other Egyptian universities that were also included the ranking include Ain Shams and Alexandria universities, which were ranked in the 701-800, category, followed by Mansoura University, which was placed in the 801-900 category. The top 5 universities in the ranking are Harvard university, Stanford university, University of Cambridge, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and University of…
The Sudanese Film Festival Fundraising For the Sudanese People And Their Freedom
In the wake of the Sudanese revolution, ShakoMako – a cultural space in Sweden which focuses on and celebrates the arts of the MENA-region – is hosting an exciting mini film festival dedicated to the Sudanese people, curated by ShakoMako’s creative director Ansar Danzar and Habibi collective’s Róisín Tapponi. The festival, happening from August 17 until August 18, will donate all the money to the Sudan Doctors Union and the Sudanese people’s struggle for freedom and democracy. There will be four films in the program directed by Sudanese directors, starting with Issraa el-Kogali’s award-winning music documentary “In Search of HipHop”, which highlights the influence of hip hop on young people in Sudan. Next up will be a short film on the Sudanese uprising by Mohammed Kordofani, “Kejer’s Prison”, which includes conversations between an officer and one of the detained demonstrators. “The Art Of Being A Sinner” is by Ibrahim Mural, focusing on first openly gay Sudanese artists and the journey in trying to find acceptance from his family back home. Finally, there will be the emotionally gripping film “Bahar” by Khalid al-Baih, which reveals the real experiences of migrants sailing…