Cultural, artistic movement in Egypt thrived after Sisi became President

CAIRO – 11 October 2020: The cultural and artistic movement in Egypt thrived ever since Abdel Fattah el-Sisi took office as Egypt’s president. Gigantic strategies, plans and facilities have been established to achieve the sustainable development goals of human development, reshaping awareness,  community development, in addition to consolidating cultural,  national identity and promoting citizenship values.

Book fair development:

Cairo International Book Fair is the most important cultural event in Egypt. Over the years the fair has suffered from a deterioration in the organization due to the poor condition of the old fairgrounds. 

However, with the arrival of President Abdel Fattah, the implementation of the new Egypt Center for International Exhibitions in the Fifth Settlement began, which later witnessed the fair’s Golden Jubilee that was inaugurated by the president, in a move praised by the public. It showed Egypt's ability to organize major international exhibitions.

Celebrations of the Egyptian Capital of Culture:

During the era of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the Ministry of Culture decided to choose the governorate that hosts the Egyptian Writers Conference as the capital of Egyptian culture. 

Marsa Matrouh held the title in 2019 in conjunction with the opening of the 33rd session of the conference.

During the year 136 cultural and artistic events were held in the governorate, including various literary and artistic forms, in addition to cultural weeks in schools in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, and others for individuals with special needs.

Also, Port Said Governorate was also declared the Capital of Egyptian Culture for the year 2020 at the opening of the 34th session of the conference.

Enterprise development:

Some cultural facilities were replaced and renewed, others were upgraded, rehabilitated, and secured, in addition to the inclusion of new ones within the cultural service. Twenty one cultural centers were opened and re-operated.

Cultural activities provided to border areas:

This includes presenting cultural seminars, forums and salons, literary and poetry evenings, artistic activities, cultural caravans, children's story workshops, cinematic shows for adults and children, plastic arts workshops and exhibitions, handicrafts and heritage workshops, as the activity extended to the Nuba villages in Aswan, Halayeb Triangle - Shalateen - Abu Ramad in the Red Sea, North and South Sinai, Matrouh and New Valley.

Cultural caravan program:

It aims to provide cultural and social support to Egyptian families in remote areas and direct care and awareness to young people in their sites to enhance social responsibility and spread the components of literary, artistic and heritage culture among the groups of society, as the Ministry carried out 443 convoys for the border governorates and villages of the governorates of the West and Central Delta region and the villages of Minya Governorate in the Central Upper Egypt region.

Supporting cultural industries:

It aims to support magazines in the film industry, music, books, publishing and reviving traditional crafts, which would contribute to promoting the Egyptian economy’s development plans.

Activities for individuals with special needs:

A total of 2,987 activities were implemented for individuals with special needs, which contributed to enhancing their participation in social life. 

Development of talented, genius and creative people

The Ministry of Culture sponsored dozens of talented people in various fields through the Talent Development Centers, which began expanding in various regions of Egypt. In addition to motivating them through announced competition prizes or through logistical support.

That is in addition to the “Ebdaa Helmak” (Start Your Dream) workshop to train and adopt talented youth in different theater arts.

The generalization of the initiative began in the governorates of Egypt and the second batch of students graduated in Cairo during October 2019, and their number reached 170 artists.

“Stay At home, Culture is between your hands” initiative:

With the adoption of health measures to confront COVID-19, the Ministry of Culture began to move towards digitizing its content and services, which is one of the most important achievements of President Sisi's era.

The initiative aims to broadcast the anecdotes of the National Knowledge and Heritage Creativity Archive of the publications of various sectors by making the content available online, which helps in raising awareness,