After weeks of uproar, Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah World Fest has announced that Janet Jackson, Chris Brown and 50 Cent will headline the festival, replacing female artist Nicki Minaj. Minaj, whose initial involvement in the concert raised eyebrows, pulled out of the concert over LGBT and women right concerns in the kingdom. “While I want nothing more than to bring my show to fans in Saudi Arabia, after better educating myself on the issues, I believe it is important for me to make clear my support for the rights of women, the LGBTQ community and freedom of expression,” had stated Minaj. A day later, the festival organizers shared a photo on its social media pages, namely Facebook, where it stated that the concert was ”inclusive for all people.” Jeddah World Fest, intended to be “one of the biggest music events ever staged in the Middle East”, was supposed to take place on July 18 at King Abdullah Sports stadium, in the coastal city. It seeks to attract an audience of concert-goes aged 16 and older, both from the country and from around the world. For the sole purpose of the concert,…
A Selection of Tasty Snacks and Refreshing Drinks to Enjoy on the Beach in Egypt
It’s summer, it’s beach time, and if possible we all just want to lie on the beach and get some sun and much needed relaxation. For some, however, summer is also a top money-making season: We all know the beach vendors, who wander back-and-forth across the sandy beaches in hope of selling us some of their tasty snacks or refreshing drinks. This phenomenon is not unique to Egyptian beaches, of course, with beach vendors of sorts being popular all across the Mediterranean and beyond, mostly recognizable by their calling-out what is on offer in their boxes or baskets. During the summer, Egypt’s Sahel is particularly famous for its many luxurious food splurge options. Here are a selection of popular snacks and drinks you are likely to encounter on the beach and might want to nibble on or sip: Freska are what Egyptians call the round, sweet, paper-thin wafers often sold at the beach as vendors carry them inside large cases over their shoulders. An Italian invention, where the word means ‘fresh’, the snack is popular along the Mediterranean shore of Egypt, with Alexandria formerly being home to many Italians. The…
More Than Music: The Spirit Behind Egypt’s Coldplay Tribute Band ‘Strawberry Swing’
Music is probably one of the few kinds of art that can be experienced in so many different ways. It can be played anywhere, heard everywhere, and listened and enjoyed by anyone at any time. In a bustling, historical and growing city like Cairo, the art of music developed and expanded to reach every corner of the city, even the very far and deserted places in New Cairo. While you can have the much older generations still performing and singing on huge stages in old Cairo, there are the other young and fresh sounds in other parts of the city playing in much more intimate and renovated spaces, with music that carries the spirit of a much more global and strongly connected modern world. Earlier in July, the music of British rock band Coldplay was played not just on the radio, a mobile phone, or a laptop screen, but live on stage by their official tribute band ‘Strawberry Swing’ in Egypt. Band members Abdelrahman Sherif, Mohamed Tarek, Patrick Khalil and Ammar Raad all appeared calmly in the dim light of Room Art Space cafe and dived straight into the captivating…
Five Recent Egyptian Documentaries to Hide Away and Watch During the Summer
While the last thing you may seek during these stifling Egyptian summer months is to sit in front of a screen inside, and the last thing you may want to watch during your break is an educational documentary, this could equally be the chance to do just that. Why not take the time to hide away and indulge in another world, someone else’s perspective, a different time and place? Here are five Egyptian documentaries (and three extras at the end, for whoever cannot get enough) that have been released over the past two years and have gained substantial attention among critics and at many international film festivals. Dreamaway (2018) Produced in 2018 and officially released earlier this year, ‘Dreamaway’ is a co-production by Egyptian filmmaker Marouan Omara and German visual artist Johanna Domke. By following a group of young Egyptians who work in the holiday resort of Sharm El Sheikh, the documentary depicts the stark contrast between the touristic atmosphere found there in the aftermath of the 2011 uprisings and the ghost-town atmosphere that entered the town after the terror attacks in 2015 that killed more than 200 tourists. It…
Obligatory Anti-Divorce Courses to Begin in Egyptian Universities
According to Egyptian news outlet Al Ahram, university students will be required to take anti-divorce courses starting September, the beginning of the 2019-2020 academic year. The Mawadda program, which is done in cooperation with Egypt’s top religious institutions the Coptic church and Al Azhar, is meant at combating divorce which has been steadily on the rise in Egypt. Egyptian citizens, on average, tend to get married between the ages of 22-29. Outside of cities, namely in villages, citizens can get wed between the ages of 18-25. Marrying young is one of the reasons behind the an increase of divorce across the years. As per CAPMAS, Egypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, divorce rates reached 211,000 cases in 2018. As such, Mawada, meaning affection in Arabic, is an initiative that was launched at the beginning of the year to combat the rising rates of divorce, which especially tend to occur within the first year of marriage. It targets university students and hopes to guide young adults in choosing marital partners as well as tackling the challenges of married life such as conflicts and taking important decisions. Such courses already…
Benat Seshat: a Digital Literacy Initiative Empowering Young Orphan Women in Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt is one of Egypt’s most under-resourced and underdeveloped regions, which puts a great strain on its citizens and exacerbates a number of existing social issues. One such example is the neglect young orphan women face there, a particularly marginalized community not only subject to sustained gender inequality but often deemed illegitimate in the eyes of Egyptian society as well other countries across the region. Many of these women are unable to access educational opportunities, which in turn decreases their ability to become agents of change. What is more, degrading stereotypes that paint Upper Egyptians as backwards and brainless unfortunately still prevail across the country. Benat Seshat is a social initiative that intends to alleviate these intersecting forms of oppression by strengthening digital literacy and computer learning skills of a group of young women between the ages of 14 and 30 in an Upper Egyptian orphanage. In doing so, the broader aim of the project is to pave the way towards higher education, self-realization and societal integration beyond the confines of the orphanage. By providing the necessary technological resources as well as critical thinking skills, the students will ideally…
Majidah: Job Hunting Platform for People with Disabilities
Last month, Ebtessama Foundation collaborated with Vodafone Egypt for Community Development to introduce a ‘first of its kind’ platform ‘majidah.org’ which helps people with disabilities job hunt by connecting employers, companies, training centers and institutions together. The foundation, founded by the late Majidah Sami in 1998, has been pushing for the rights of people with disabilities for over 12 years. Majidah, which is also the name of the namesake of the project, was considered one of the pioneers in the field. The Story Behind Majidah.org During a time when the segment faced deeply rooted discrimination, Majidah not only believed in the rights of people with disabilities such as mental, physical, intellectual and sensory disabilities, but also their abilities and the possibility of achieving their dreams. The mission of the foundation is to “eliminate the barriers” that are preventing people with disabilities and their families from having equal opportunities in life. “Employment rights were of particular interest because financial independence and stability are key factors in regaining autonomy over their lives,” Ashraf Othman, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Ebtessama Foundation, explains. Of course, “eliminating the barriers” is not an…
Plastic Bags to Be Banned in Egypt’s Marsa Alam
Governor of the Red Sea governorate, General Ahmad Abdallah, recently announced that plastic bags in Marsa Alam would soon be banned following Hurghada, Al Masry Al Youm reports. Earlier in June, Abdallah announced that plastic bags in Hurghada would be banned in favor of using eco-friendly alternative bags made of paper, cloth and other materials. As of today, the ban has been applied to 90 percent of the Hurghada area, and it is expected to be applied to 100 percent of the city by the end of July, he told Al Masry Al Youm. He added that the decision was well received by international tourism companies, and will raise Hurghada’s classification in ecotourism and marine conservation. While fines have yet not been imposed, they will be applied gradually by August, Abdallah said, which could mean closing any space that does not adhere to the ban. The ban of plastic bags is intended to protect wildlife and preserve endangered species which have been severely harmed by plastic use, either from ingestion, suffocation or drowning. In April this year, Abdallah decided to ban single-use or disposable plastics starting from June after agreeing…
“Room Art Space”: an Original Idea Branches Out to New Cairo
When a business opens a new branch elsewhere in the same city, that is usually a sign of its popularity and success. In a constantly growing city like Cairo, the boundaries of which keep expanding to include newer developments and larger outskirts, central neighborhoods such as Downtown and Garden City are no longer the sole hubs of attraction – at least not to the extent they used to be. At the same time, this outward growth offers the possibility for well-established ventures in these districts to extend their presence and visibility – thus attracting a new clientele – beyond the confines of the bustling city center with its many historic buildings and architectural gems, while maintaining the same spirit and target audience. Room Art Space is the perfect example of such a recent decision to venture out into new territory – more precisely, shopping mall territory – in many ways a reflection of Cairo’s development more generally, and of the times we are living in. The popular space launched its new branch just recently on 23 May 2019 in New Cairo’s ‘The Spot Mall’, where it hopes to attract…