You’re invited to United Church’s first inter-cultural Lunch and Learn event This is a great chance to connect and learn together – everyone is welcome !
enjoy Egypt’s rich culture and heritage . . . savour . . . a u t h e n t i c . . . Egyptian cuisine, listen to Ehaab Abdou and Sally Dawoud duet of spiritual acapella . . . Maged Zarif and 3agwand band . . . plenty of turath and sing along
Egyptian artists . . . and a sing along
Maged Zarif Kamel is a talented lute player, singer and composer – a graduate of the Oriental Music Institute, Maged enjoys performing with his band (3agwand) in Canada and multiple countries
Ehab Abdou currently lives and teaches in Waterloo. He enjoys writing and singing Egyptian songs. In 2006, he has helped co-found the “Ana Masry” (I’m Egyptian) musical ensemble to help promote and celebrate Egypt’s rich diversity which performed in Egypt, the US, and Canada. He has more recently been starting to experiment with singing without musical accompaniment
Sally Dawoud is an educator and an artist of Egyptian heritage who grew up in Canada. Her musical background includes classical, gospel, and Middle Eastern singing due to her close ties to her homeland, which inspires her to be an active choir member at various Coptic Orthodox Churches and her passion for Coptic hymnology drives her to share this beautiful music with the world. She is currently performing with Myriad ensemble located in Burlington Ontario. Her performance and teaching experience is what allows her to inspire and empower students musically and encourage them to express themselves through the power of music
sponsored by Outreach Committee & Vision Fund Grant c/o Rev Hoeun Lee at the uptown Waterloo United Church in the Hilliard Hall after the Sunday service 16 William Street West, Waterloo, ON N2L 1J3 @King Street South (Bridgeport exit from hwy)
+ + more events to be added .. please check the website as the date approaches
+ + repeats of any of the displays throughout the week include books, the fashion show, demos of the uniquely authentic Egyptian food preparation in licensed kitchens, drama presentations, workshops, etc
acknowledging more partners ….
a licensed AUTHENTIC Egyptian Cuisine ..
catering business
who will be prominently present
throughout many of the events
honoured to also acknowledge the amazing :
Mina Kirolos who in five minutes after my approaching him … stepped up and provided his own and his company’s partner towards several of the events … so I hope Waterloo Region will reciprocate first by attending and also by checking out their multi talents … years of experience and wonderful Media production, Marketing and Advertising agency …
musician/band – broadcasting & media production company
performance & event venue
6645 Kitimat Road – unit 20, Mississauga, ON, Canada
1 647 403 7078
allartsstudio7@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/AllArtsStudio
Miami Production is a full-service media production company based in Toronto, Ontario but also manages an office in Cairo, Egypt. In 2007, we became the go-to creative production company for clients as big as Vodafone, Orange, Siemens, Metlife, Alcatel-Lucent (NOKIA), ExxonMobil, Shell, and Ericsson. We love our clients, and we learn their fields whether it’s in Tech, IT, Oil & Gas, Telecom, Pharmaceuticals, or Renewable Energy. We love our clients … that’s our joy in life. And a fundamental principle in our approach to business. https://miamiproduction.tv/
generously sponsored by visionary producer, director, writer and legendary supporter of the arts . . . Glasgow born, proud Canadian . . . Lawrence McNaught’s own Rigglevake Productions
if you are unable to attend in person .. send me your contact to (egyptweekkw@gmail.com) . . . and I will send you the zoom link
2:30 – 7:00 pm interactive panel:
Alexandra Kinias, founder and CEO of Women of Egypt Network. Kinias holds a BSc. in Mechanical Engineering. After moving to the U.S., she became a screenwriter, novelist, travel advisor, and freelance market research consultant on Egyptian women’s issues. A women’s rights advocate and public speaker, her work appeared in various outlets in MENA and the U.S. Her movie Cairo Exit won the Best Non-European Film award at the Independent European Film Festival. Kinias also founded WoEgypt Initiative to empower Egyptian women, highlight key issues to drive positive change. Celebrating her 60th Birthday, she summited Mountain Kilimanjaro, to challenge age stereotypes
Adel Darwish an Alexandria, Egypt born British author, historian, political commentator and a veteran journalist, based at the Press Gallery of the House Of commons in the Palace of Westminster. As a broadcaster Adel continues to contribute, mostly live, to major national and international networks on a variety of subjects. His expertise on international affairs covers conflict, conflict resolution, water politics, and has worked for most Fleet Street papers as a foreign correspondent covering Africa and the Middle East since the Six-day war in 1967 through to the late 1980s. He knew and had meetings with most of the period leaders of the region. As author, he published several books including : Alexandria Adieu: A Personal History: 1939-1960; Unholy Babylon: The Secret History of Saddam’s War; Water Wars: Coming Conflicts in the Middle East; The Edge of War: Kuwait’s Underground Resistance, Khafji 1990-1991. In the field of Drama, he published many film and theatre critiques and as theatre producer and director, Darwish has been involved in British theatre, with some of his plays performed at the Edinburgh Festival and at the Young Vic and several Fringe theatres in London during the 1970s. Most of his plays were adaptations of poems and short stories from Africa, especially from Egypt. Darwish introduced 20th century Egyptian Drama in English to British Theatre goers Between 1970 and 1982 in English production of scores of plays by Egyptian playwrights. Among them Tawfik el-Hakim; Alfred Farag; Mahmoud Diab; Ali Salem (Salim); Mikhail Roman. Darwish also produced plays by other African writers like Libyan novelist and dramatist Ahmed Faqih . He also produced works from Latin America like Pablo Neruda
Ronald Moreno Cicurel mathematician and author of “memoires” of his early life in Egypt (he is grandson of Salvatore Cicurel who founded the famous department stores in Egypt. He is the son of Salvator Cicurel and Huguette (nee Rofé). Ronald was born at the foot of the Pyramids of Giza in 1945. His family was forced to leave Egypt in 1957 to settle first in Milan and two years later in Lausanne where they obtained Swiss nationality. Ronald did his primary education in a small school in the Cairo suburb of Meadi, at the Cours Morin in Zamalek, then at the Lycée français du Caire before leaving Egypt. He continued his education at the Lycée Alessandro Manzoni in Milan, at the Collège Cantonal du Belvédère in Lausanne, to conclude his secondary studies at the gymnasium of Cité in the math / science section where he obtained his baccalaureate. He pursued university studies and obtained a bachelor’s degree in mathematics at the University of Lausanne in 1968, followed in 1973 by a doctorate in science. He teaches at the universities of Lausanne and Geneva, actively participates in international congresses and seminars in Switzerland, France, England and the USA. From 1980 to 2000 he participated in the creation and development of several commercial enterprises in various fields, including education and publishing. He will carry out activities in Switzerland, Indonesia, India, South Africa and Brazil in particular. In 2003, he returned to university research as a lecturer at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). He is interested in the rapid developments of neuroscience and contributes to the launch and development within EPFL of a computer brain simulation project. Ronald left EPFL in 2016, but continued his research to this day examining how mathematics, epistemology and physics can contribute to the knowledge of the brain and mental space of primates. He is also a lecturer and the author of a dozen books, mostly scientific
Dr Isaac Friesen Isaac is Assistant Professor of Conflict Studies at Saint Paul University in Ottawa. His research brings together anthropological and historical perspectives on political conflict, religion, and imperialism. He has lived in Egypt for four years (including throughout the 2011-2013 revolutionary period), and has a forthcoming manuscript on the Muslim attendance of Coptic spaces in Egypt.
Isaac’s presentation will centre on the subject of diversity in contemporary Egypt. His discussion of religious, socioeconomic and political difference in the Egyptian context will connect, more broadly, to current debates around diversity, difference and conflict across the Middle East, Canada and the wider world
Dr George Dimitri Sawa was born in Alexandria, Egypt, and in addition to being an amazing oud & Qanoon player and author he has a PhD in Arabic historical musicology from University of Toronto in 1983 and is an independent scholar in Arabic music theory, performance and literature. He taught medieval, modern and sacred music at the University of Toronto and York . He has over 50 years experience in Arabic performance, history and theory; and has performed and lectured worldwide. and has published over seventy articles and nine books that include translations of medieval treatises, performance practice, music education, and a treatise on musical ornaments. His 5 CDs and 3 DVDs include historical performances and educational material for belly dancers. George is the recipient of numerous awards including the Livetime Achievement Award from the Egyptian Ministry of Culture for his research in Arabic music history
Samy Harak though a lawyer by profession, he has spent over 40 years researching and writing er and writer about the progression of the “Egyptian” spoken language, following it from its roots in ancient Egypt through the Coptic and ensuing influences all the way to the present
this portion is in Arabic, I will translate if required
. . .
5:00 – 7:00 pmfull feature film screening
BACK TO ALEXANDRIA . . . followed by interactive zoom with director Tamer Ruggli
after twenty years of absence, Sue must return to her native Egypt to see her mother Fairouz, an eccentric aristocrat from whom she has been estranged. This surprising journey, leading her from Cairo back to Alexandria, tinted with distant memories, nostalgia, and mixed feelings about her past, will allow Sue to become the empowered woman she ought to be
Tamer Ruggli,
a Swiss-Egyptian filmmaker, born in 1986, spent his formative years in Kinshasa, Riyadh, Vienna, and Zürich. He pursued his education at the École cantonale d’art de Lausanne (ECAL) and further refined his writing skills at the New York Film Academy. Tamer received the SSA Scholarship (Swiss Society of Authors) and the Prix CÉCI Le Moulin d’Andé for his first feature-length film, RETOUR EN ALEXANDRIE. Tamer’s films have been recognized and awarded by numerous prestigious international film festivals
As my family celebrates our 30th year of being Canadian, I am deeply disturbed by the set back that we are currently experiencing; the gap that has been widening among the members of our wonderful and historically nurturing community, the atmosphere of divisiveness, the fearmongering about ‘other’, the sense of entitlement, the hate . . . and yes . . . the racism . . . and in how fellow Canadians regard each other, treat each other and feel towards each other.
In the past, I had felt a certain uneasiness about ‘imposing’ behaviours on people . . . such as political correctness, and although “multiculturalism” surely had short term benefits in curbing some of those attitudes, I always worried that over-sensitizing would only send those with insecurity about defining Canadian identity and values, and their resentment of the unknowns, into hiding below the surface and denial of their true emotions. The idea of equity, diversity, anti racism and all the different names we gave it was a good start, but it should have been supported by a plan and a list of measurable objectives . . . to address the core problem and gradually building on the goodness in every person . . . I call it Mutual Respect.
That may have been what prompted me, in 1991, to launch Cross Cultures magazine … a safe space for exchange of information towards promoting mutual respect through knowledge and better understanding of the different cultures and faiths of Canada.
It is all about knowing each other, you always hear someone say “I know a Muslim”, or, “I know a ….”, once that barrier is overcome, people see the ‘other’ as a human and the labels get dropped.
This brings me to my current campaign … I am very excited about the Mutual Respect project. Our approach covers culture / ethnicity; faith / belief; male-female parameters; gender self identification; discrepancies in social status (education / income / poverty); changing attitudes with regard to authority (politicians / civil service) etc.
The current population of this Region is over 500,000 (in 2016 it was 535,154) who have come to Turtle Island from many countries of diverse cultural backgrounds and faith beliefs, and have so far managed to enjoy a fairly safe and caring community in spite of the turmoil that is happening in the world around us and the rise of white supremacy.
To maintain and nurture this neighbourliness and live together in harmony and mutual respect we, at Cross Cultures, feel an urgent need to exert a renewed effort to sustain and build on those good foundations.
There is growing support for this project from many levels – individuals, educators and academic institutions, ethnic and faith communities and grassroots organizations.
As a first step towards a more open discussion on the Mutual Respect, a prototype of a plaque with the theme
of the indigenous medicine wheel / four directions and the wording:
Our Region embraces MUTUAL RESPECT we are proud of our diversity and are stronger for it
was unveiled during our 17th annual commemoration of the UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination at the Kitchener City Hall. This has evolved into a monument / rock not a plaque to match its natural surroundings and is being designed by local indigenous artists and will eventually be installed at the entrance of Kitchener’s Victoria Park somewhere around the Clock Tower.
This Mutual Respect project will involve a concerted effort such as interactive roundtable discussions, town hall events, etc. and depending on the audience we are engaging, it may require full or half day seminars.
In addition to the publication, Cross Cultures have organized the region’s annual commemoration of the U N International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination for several decades now.
As well as regularly facilitating roundtable, interactive dialogue series, town hall gatherings, panels, debates and events … to discuss a wide range of topics in a very sincere, frank, inclusive, intellectual informative -while mutually respectful – atmosphere, towards dispelling the misinformation and the myths surrounding “other”.
We also partnered with various entities in the community over the years to have a SeasonS of Light where each faith, spirituality, religion … shared the light in their particular path, and we made a special point of holding this in December which is, among other occasions, Christmas. I am not familiar with too many people who want to call it a holiday .. I used to say “I have yet to meet”, but one year I got an email setting me straight that the writer of the email objects .. but we all know that he is in the rare minority.
Another bi-annual Gala brings together in one room heroes from every field, there are no awards, we honour contributions from all, and we just have a happy festivity.
Cross Cultures have been doing all this in print and in the community since 1991 and are well positioned to facilitate open minded discussions on mutual respect.
In order for this to be meaningful and effective, the dialogue should start at the grassroots, whereby all are heard and included.
Please help us lead your group in this conversation
CKWR FM . . . voice of the community December 1991 / January 1992 available at 98.7 on the FM band and 97.7 on cable
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CKWR – FM was established in 1973 and is Canada’s first licensed community radio station. The mandate of CKWR is to provide the community with programming that is neglected by other radio stations in the region. Broadcasting at a power of 2,220 watts they serve the communities of Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Stratford, Guelph and Brantford.
The station is primarily run by volunteers from the region of Waterloo who represent different special interest groups.
They offer programming that reflects the needs of many area residents. Programs are available in English, French, Portuguese, German, Spanish, Greek, Serbian, Croatian, East Indian, Polish, Romanian and Chinese. They also offer programming appealing to people of Irish, Carribean and Native ancestry. They also offer specialty music and arts programming as well as programs of an educational nature.
How about that !! on CANADA DAY
July 1 1991 and at the Multicultural Festival in Kitchener Ontario’s Victoria Park . . . this is where we will start . . .
Cross Cultures is open to everyone to participate
our main goal is to promote MUTUAL RESPECT
harmony and better understanding
between the different cultures and faiths of Canada
we believe that through open and sincere dialogue
intelligent and intellectual debate
the exchange of knowledge and view points
many barriers can be transcended
and fear of the unknown be overcome
the magazine does not take any stand from issues rather we welcome freedom of expression for all and wish to stress that the articles reflect the individual writers’ opinions
we will however not shy away from discussing issues that concern us all regarding freedom of expression, thought and spiritual practices, human rights, racism, and whatever comes up … so we encourage you to start writing …
with so many wonderfully rich cultures, civilizations, faiths and spiritualities, how wonderful it would be to communicate and “meet”, share ideas, debate and discuss issues with respect, intellect and sincerity .. to enrich each other’s horizons … this is the first of what we hope can be a friendly companion to you all
we reach out with open arms to all cultural, ethnic and faith groups to join hands and help us make a go of it!
share an article educating us all, and help us understand your group’s concerns
measuring any action according to one’s own standards may sometimes do injustice to people; it is for that reason that we ask that submissions be written by a member of the specific culture or faith . . . for who can explain it better ??
the exception of course will be for travel diaries, observations from one culture to another is also enlightening provided there are no derogatory remarks
Cross Cultures magazine
(a division of Sphinx Freelance Corporation)
is registered with the National Library of Canada under ISSN 1188-8032; Copyright 408918, 1991
