Diwan Bookstore
105, Abu Bakr El-Seddiq St, Heliopolis, Misr Algedida, Tel 02 2690 8184/85/ 0122 6000168
Sat 24, 12-2pm: Storytelling and drawing with Fatafeet for children (Ages 4-9), written by Madonna Wadiaa, with illustrator Mustafa Mahdi.
French Cultural Institute
Madrasset Al-Huquq Al Frinseya St, Mounira, Tel 02 2791 5800
Tues 27, 6.30pm: “A Taste for Books” a conversation with Sophie Hénaff about crime fiction. Hénaff is a French journalist, novelist, and translator. She is the author of successful humorous crime novels, beginning with her novel Poulets Grilles (Grilled Chicken), winner of the Arsène Lupin Prize for Literature, praised for its lively tone, humor, and feminist perspective on the world of crime. This event is for all crime fiction enthusiasts curious to discover the behind-the-scenes aspects of writing and translating this genre.
Italian Archeological Centre
14 Champollion Street, Tahrir Square, Downtown, Cairo, Tel 02 2735 5423/2735 8791
Mon 26, 6pm (Free admission): The “Cross-Looking” project, directed by photographer Andrea Savorani Neri and co-funded by the European Union’s Creative Europe programme, explores their shared legacy of Gabriel Lekegian (1853-1920 ca.), an Armenian photographer from Constantinople, who made his fortune in Cairo, and Salvatore Valeri (1856-1946), an Italian painter based in Constantinople, who became a teacher at the Academy founded by the Sultan. Based on four residencies in Yerevan, Istanbul, Cairo and Rome, and involving several young international artists, the project takes a critical look at the relationship between painting, photography and cultural heritage. Participants Omniya Abdel-Barr, architect, historian of Islamic art and architecture at the Egyptian Heritage Rescue Foundation, Paolo Girardelli, Professor of Art and Architectural History, Department of History in Boğaziçi University, Photography historian and Honorary Consul of Italy in Luxor Francis Amin, and Andrea Savorani Neri, photographer based in Paris. The discussant will be Giuseppe Cecere, Professor of Arabic Language and Literature, University of Bologna; andCoordinator of the Archaeological Centre of the Italian Cultural Institute.
Tahrir Cultural Centre (TCC)
Al-Sheikh Rihan St, off Tahrir Square, Tel 02 2615 2694/01280009077
Oriental Hall
Wed 28, 11am – 12pm: “Great Arab Minds: A New Era for Arab Excellence and Global Impact” a discussion introducing the “Great Arab Minds” initiative, its mission and its impact across its six categories.
It features Saeed Al Nazari, chief executive officer of the Development Office at the Executive Office of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Al Nazari currently serves as secretary-general of the Great Arab Minds initiative and is the general coordinator of the Dubai Civility Committee. The talk will be moderated by AUC Provost Ehab Abdel-Rahman.
ALEXANDRIA
Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Chatby, Alexandria 21526, Tel (03) 4839999
BACC Conference Center, Main Hall
Wed 28, 9am: The BA, in cooperation with Alamein International University, is organizing the “SciComm Nexus” Scientific Communication Forum. The forum aims to redefine the roles of scientists, researchers, and scientific content creators as influential actors in shaping societal awareness, capable of transforming complex knowledge into understandable and applicable meaning. The forum also gains a practical dimension by empowering participants with practical skills in scientific communication. Attendance is by pre-registration through the following link: https://forms.gle/2PBXXtbSQiPuNZKu9
* A version of this article appears in print in the 22 January, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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