BIG READ Meeting

E-ERA has organized a meeting on December28,2009 Pyramisa Hotel for the schools interested in Participating in Big Read Project. Mrs. Dalia Khalil, director of E- ERA shared information about the project with the participating schools. Copies of  Fahrenheit 451’s book were distributed.

The participants were activity teachers Librarians and Arabic teachers of  these schools.

Big Read Gallery

E-ERA has celebrated the Christmas through BIG READ initiative by  holding an informal gathering on  Saturday, December 26, 2009 at the Exhibition Hall, Federation of Non-Governmental Organizations. The event included enjoying music, food, and outstanding black/white picture collection. It was a landmark cultural night that enriched the spirit of sharing and appreciating the other. Dr. Hossam Fahmy, E-ERA board member and Big Read volunteer, took the participants through the special gallery with lots of stories, and insights.

Access Alumni Network

Through Access Alumni Network Project, E ERA organized a Capacity Building Training for 16 students of the Access Alumnus students from 5 governorates (Alexandria, Beni Suef, Fayoum, Menya, and Assuite). The training program was held at the Beni Suef Conference Hall on December 2 – 5, 2009. The training was planned to develop a core  group to assist the network and its mentor to develop materials, train new alumnus, conduct outreach activities, evaluate projects, plan and organize the Youth Summit, decide on mini grants receivers, and follow up on community service projects. The Capacity Building series included four stages: Self and Community Awareness – Change – Action.

VOA Celebration at El Maadi Library

E-ERA has celebrated distributing VOA awards on September 30, 2009 at El Maadi library. Ms. Dalia Khalil, Director of E-ERA welcomed attendants and highlighted E-ERA’s activities and goals and VOA competition. Moreover, she has shed light on the importance of Egyptian heritage and how VOA CDs contain full information as well as remarkable experiences of famous figures.   E-ERA has honored US Embassy, Integrated Care Society, Ministry of Education as well as participating schools for their efforts. Dr Areeg Ibrahim, professor of Literature – Helwan University speech described her experience as being one of the competition’s judges. Mr. Micheal Hencky and Ms. Helen Lovejoy, US cultural Attaché in Cairo, have represented US embassy in the celebration. Finally, VOA celebration ended with ” Ana Masry” concert which entertained all attendants.

iEARN International Conference, Morocco, 2009

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Through a generous grant from the US Embassy in Cairo, E-ERA was able to support a number of Egyptian youth and educators to participate in the iEARN Annual International Conference that took place in Ifrane, Morocco. One teacher, eight students, and one alumni were able to make it as finalists and attend the conference. The Egyptian delegation participated through several presentations at the Youth Summit and active participation in the event. The delegation also enjoyed the cultural experience in Morocco, site seeing, and learning about the world through their international colleagues. The selection
was handled by three board members and E-ERA’s staff members. Unfortunately, one teacher and one student were not able to join the delegation due to personal reasons. Preparations for a meeting with Embassy’s representatives is underway.

Youth Camps: Awareness

In collaboration with the National Council for Youth, E-ERA has participated in the National Youth Camps that are held in Port Said, Abou Kheir, and Ras El Bar, and developed an awareness campaign on a variety of topics. The sessions were as follow:

Title	Location	Date	Facilitator
Teens Problems	Alexandria	27 June	Dr. Mohga Moustafa
Vision in Life	Port Said	27 June	Ms. Ghada El Degwy
Teens Problems	Alexandria	30 June	Dr. Mohga Moustafa
Vision in Life	Port Said	5 July	Dr. Hassan Said
First Aid	Domietta	8 July	Dr. Elham Kafafy
First Aid	Domietta	24 July	Dr. Haythem Magdy

BIG READ

During E-ERA day, an interesting session about the 2^nd book of the BIG READ Project. The session was about “Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury,” and called A Path to Freedom: Mind, Words, and Humanity. The speakers were

• Dr. Mounira Soliman, Associate Professor of Comparative Literature, Cairo University
• Dr. Fatma El Boudy, Director, El Ain Publishing
• Mr.Tamer Habib, Prominent Script Writer
• Ms. Salwa Bakr, Prominent Writer

In collaboration with the Giza Cosmopolitan Rotary Club, E-ERA held a session on A Path to Freedom: Mind, Words, and Humanity. Our distinguished speaker discussed the continuous challenges faced by innovators, visionaries, and writers to make a difference. The speaker took the participants through an imaginary clip of wondering a world without books and the focal area of the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. After the meeting, the book was distributed. The speaker was Dr. Mounira Soliman is an Associate Professor of Comparative Literature in the Department of English at Cairo University. The session was on June 2 at the Sphinx Hall, Pyramisa Hotel. In collaboration with the Cairo University, E-ERA held a session called Accepting the Other: A Living Culture. The session was an intellectually enriching gathering to discuss today’s instabilities and conflicts as well as the culture of accepting the other through reflecting on Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Issues related to the Arabic translation of the novel will also be discussed. The session was held on June 20, at the Isis Hall in the Pyramisa Hotel. The speakers were:

• Dr. Sahar El-Mougy, Assistant Professor of Literature, English Department, Cairo University and a novelist
• Dr. Maher Shafik Farid, Professor of Translation and Poetry, English Department, Cairo University
• Dr. Salwa Kamel, Professor of Linguistics, English Department, Cairo University
• Dr. Dalia El Shayal, Associate Professor of American Literature, English Department, Cairo University (translator of To Kill A Mockingbird.)
• Dr. Mustafa Riad, Professor of Literature and Translation, English Department, Ain Shams University (editor of To Kill A Mockingbird.)
• Dr. Feisal Younis, Professor of Psychology, Psychology Department, Cairo University (moderator).

Capacity Building

Through a generous funding by Barclays Bank, E-ERA participated in the MANGO training for Financial Management for NGOs. After the effective training, E-ERA worked on reforming its financial system and procedures. Mrs. Dalia Khalil, Director, has been selected by the International Development Research Center (IDRC) in Cairo to participate in the Research Capacity Building in MENA, and the 3rd IEEE/ACM International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD2009) during April 17-19, 2009 at Carnegie Mellon Doha, Qatar

YouthCAN

Forthe fifth year, iEARN Egypt held its YouthCan Annual conference. The conference attracted over 300 students and 25 volunteers. Theconference was held at Zahran Experimental School in Alexandria. Students shared their year round research and activities with their colleagues from different governorates.
The conference was organized through the iEARN Egypt alumni. The conference’s topics were diversified and included environmental issues as Bird Flu, Water, Energy, etc. The conference was held on April 11 to suite the school’s agenda in Egypt. On April 6, Egyptian students conducted a video conference with their counterparts in the US at the Musuem of Natural Science in New York City. The video conference was held at the American Center in Alexandri

E-ERA Day

On April 10, E-ERA joined its members in a full Cultural Day at the Triumph Hotel in Heliopolis with more than 100 participants. The event included a performance by Ana Masri Band, 20 children from Alwan We Awatar NGO, and members of E-ERA. E-ERA illustrated its different projects and shared its latest
news and benefits with its members. Cultural materials and books were distributed.