The festival culminates a two-year (2023-2024) work, aiming to decentralize Egypt’s cultural landscape and support cultural diversity. It encourages artistic exchange across Egypt, empowers cultural professionals, and financially supports their local projects.   

Participants at Goethe Institute's Outside Cairo video journalism workshop (photo credit of Goethe Institute)

The festival showcases the vibrant product of Outside Cairo 2023 and 2024 across three cities: Aswan, Minya, and Port Said. Each day includes welcome speeches by Frederike Berje, head of arts for the MENA region, and Doaa Ahmed, culture programme coordinator – outside Cairo, and presents the project and screening of the film about Outside Cairo and time for networking.  

This will be followed by a large plethora of events showcasing the creativity of cultural practitioners from Outside Cairo’s network, from cities such as Aswan, Damietta, Minya, Menofia, Assiut, Sohag, Ismailia, Port Said, and Siwa.  

The events include theatre, dance, music performances, storytelling, and discussions, showcasing the fruits of the Outside Cairo initiative’s funding art. This initiative offered financial support to 14 local cultural projects in the governorates. Those projects, chosen from 114 applications, address the need for heritage preservation, highlight social issues, encourage cultural engagement by exploring new forms of artistic expression, and impact local communities strongly.  

The festival will kick off in Aswan’s Krouma Cultural Centre. The highlights of the day include a panel discussion on filmmaking outside Cairo, a storytelling performance by Hassan El-Geretly in cooperation with the Nebatya project from Aswan, and a Semsemia concert by the Sohbat Semsemia band from Port Said to conclude the day.  

One of the projects funded by Outside Cairo is Nebatya, a podcast by 

Nawal Mahmoud. It aims to train young girls from Aswan in the basics of film criticism and analysis within the context of the podcasting industry.  

From Aswan to Minya!
 

On 20 November, the festival will move to Minya, and events will occur at the Jesuit Culture Centre. The day’s programme will offer a panel discussion on “Theatre: Decentralization and the Pursuit of Excellence,” a theatre performance by Teatro Alsaeed, another initiative funded by Outside Cairo.

Led by Beshoy Saber, Teatro Alsaeed provides performance spaces, training, and equipment for artists in Minya.  

The day will conclude with a concert by Sawt Al-Aseel, a project presented by Amin Shahin featuring the traditional Arghul instrument. This unique initiative aims to preserve ancient Egyptian folk music by teaching young people to play the Arghul to revive the region’s musical traditions. 

The festival’s last day, 22 November, will occur at Port Said’s Misr Public Library. The day will start with a panel discussion on cultural heritage, followed by a dance performance entitled "Memory of the Shore" by Nermin Habib, who has been working with women from Damietta. The show incorporates body expression, photography, and urban heritage, inviting women to celebrate their region’s unique cultural identity through contemporary dance.  

Dynamic festival!
 

The festival offered three comprehensive venues to support cultural managers, journalists, and actors through training programmes, workshops, and funding opportunities. It helped the participants develop skills, expand their networks, and bring innovative cultural projects to life across Egypt.  

Workshops in cities including Damietta, Mansoura, Luxor, Ismailia, Port Said, Aswan, Minya, and Alexandria brought together two groups of 15 cultural professionals. They engaged in five multi-day workshops covering key areas, such as proposal writing, financial planning, design thinking, legal regulations for cultural organizations, social media use, and public relations.  

In addition to the cultural management programme, Outside Cairo also hosted a cultural journalism programme attended by 13 journalists nationwide. The festival offered them workshops covering topics such as photo and video journalism, the ethics of reporting, and arts and culture analysis. As part of the programme, participants have also had the opportunity to attend cultural events outside Cairo, deepening their understanding of regional cultural practices.