The first edition of the Cairo International Symposium for University Theatre, which took place 1-7 October, closed with a ceremony at Cairo University's theatre.

The symposium included a competition and a series of workshops, talks and discussions that ran in parallel under the title of “University Theatres: The reality and horizons of the future.”

The symposium is the first of its kind in Egypt, and extended internationally to host 14 countries: Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iraq, Oman, Kuwait, Jordan, Yemen, Mexico, Ukraine, Canada and Australia.

Egypt’s entities embracing and participating in the event were Cairo University, Menoufiya University, The British University in Egypt, The Olympic Centre, Salah Jaheen Hall, and the Minister of Youth and Sports Theatre.

As this edition was dedicated to prolific Egyptian stage and screen actor Yehia El-Fakharany, he presented the awards, with a message to the young artists: "It's not important to win awards; the real joy for the artist is the hours of work and what ends up reaching the audiences."

The award for best actor went to Assem Eissa (Egypt), best actress to both Nouralhuda AlDaef (Morocco) and Rahma Rahmy (Lebanon), best director to Ashraf Aly (Egypt), and best performance to Reibo troupe (Mexico).

Jury members for the competition included Professor Mohamed Abdallah El-Aber, head of the acting and directing department at the Higher Institute for Theatre Arts, alongside actress Magda Mounir, director Hakin Ahrb, critic Mohamed El-Ruby, and Yemeni actress Shorouk Mohamed.

The symposium is supported jointly by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and organised by the Egyptian Artists Organisation for Arts and Culture, directed by Am Kabil.

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