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    « Phase I - Leaving Los Angeles | Main | »

    Mar 08, 2010

    Phase II - on the ground in Cairo

    It’s Tuesday morning and quite a bit has happened since the last posting:

    Saturday – I arrived in Cairo with 3 other AoCIF members coming from Berlin, Austria, and Dallas. We definitely have an all-star roster of talent including journalists, lawyers, lobbyists, and entrepreneurs to name a few.  After finally getting the luggage, we met with our handler Lamis and eventually drove to the hotel. Traffic (at 1140pm) reminds me of Los Angeles…..it is bad no matter what time of the day.  A quick bite to eat and off to bed (~130am)

     

    Sunday – Very good agenda…we met with Amabssador Youssef – Chief of Cabinet of the Secretary General of the League of Arab States. We had a fantastic discussion about President Obama, Israel-Palestine relations, efforts by the Arab States to improve relations between the West and Middle East, cultural exchanges involving the arts, and much much more. I found his comments about the President’s efforts since the speech in Cairo to be interesting…..saying that the Middle East is still waiting for the US to make good on its promises (e.g. Entrepreneurship Conference, improved education efforts for women). Also, his history lesson about the Middle East and Palestine had everyone leaning on the edge of their seats. The Ambassador said that everyone should make their calendars for a time period in July (4 months) where there should be major revelations coming.

    We crammed into our traveling van…off to the Ameican University in Cairo to witness the campus that was built on the outskirts of the crammed city of Cairo. Dr. Naela Hamdy, Chair of Mass Communications and Journalism Department,did shed light on the evolution of media in the area. She described a culture that just witnessed within the last 5-10 years,  the freedom of speech being exercised  in a stronger fashion. While there are 3 groups of owners amoung the newspaper (govt. owner, private owned, and party owned), they all are somewhat manipulated by the government. And, the expansion from 3 state owned television stations to a satellite system with over 450 channels has brought a wave of criticism about how the government operates and the “crack downs” it enforces have produced a sense of fear of the government by the people. Ultimately, no one has decided (as of yet) to stand up to the injustices lived every day.

    Finally, off to the pyramids…..we had a late jump so we will return on Tuesday. I hope to write more.

    Monday – a really packed schedule that included a mosque, meeting at the British Council, and a networking opportunity with local entrepreneurs

    IMG_0522

    Mar 08, 2010 at 09:41 PM in On the Road |

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    Comments

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    Great pics Alex! Keep them coming. It is great to see all the exciting places you are traveling to.

    Posted by: Christina Garcia | Mar 11, 2010 at 04:20 PM

    The agenda is very good ... we meet with Amabssador Yusuf - the League of Arab States Secretary-General's Office. We have a President Barack Obama on the United States, Israel and Palestinian relations fascinating discussion, by the Arab countries in their efforts to improve relations with the West and the Middle East, cultural exchange, involving art, and more. I found a speech in Cairo since the president's efforts, very interesting ... .. that the United States, the Middle East are still waiting for commitments (such as entrepreneurs, the General Assembly to improve women's education) good with him.

    Posted by: gaia gold | Nov 04, 2010 at 01:19 AM

    Naela Hamdy, Chair of Mass Communications and Journalism Department,did shed light on the evolution of media in the area.

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