YEARNING FOR AEGEAN LIGHT. The Swiss Committee for the Return of Parthenon Marbles presents this new documentary film, produced by the Committee and directed by Gary Grenier. Many people are either misinformed or undecided about the need to reunify the Parthenon, a mutilated work of art and the major symbol of Europe’s common cultural heritage. This film will allow you to have an informed opinion.
Author: Athanasios Koutoupas
-
Yearning for Aegean light
-
Egypt to launch cruise lines with Greece in latest efforts to revive tourism
As part of the state’s continuous efforts to attract additional tourists and revive the country’s ailing tourism industry, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism reached an agreement with Greece last week to launch cruise lines between the two countries, international relations advisor to the Tourism Minister Samy Mahmoud said.The trips will begin with medium-sized cruise ships carrying 700 to 800 passengers between Greece and Egypt, via Port Said and Alexandria. Further on, the ministry plans to begin using larger ships with a passenger capacity of 2,000 to 5,000 passengers by 2019, Mahmoud said.
The effort marks the latest attempt by Egyptian authorities to kickstart a sector that has traditionally been a primary source of foreign currency, but which has struggled since the 2011 uprising that ousted president Hosni Mubarak.
Currently, the top markets for Egypt are Europe, which constitutes 70 percent of tourism traffic, followed by the Arab nations constituting 26 percent, official statistics show.
“We are promoting Egypt to all age groups with different packages to suit everyone. We have special products like the Nile cruise, history and culture for the elderly travelers; and many adventure activities for the youth. We also have programs that will suit families,” Mahmoud said in a phone interview on Thursday.
As Egypt’s tourism industry was struggled to remain alive in the aftermath of the 2011 events, conditions took a turn for the worse after the suspected bombing of a Russian airplane in October 2015. The plane was carrying 224 people, all of whom died, and was en route to Russia from a Red Sea resort when the incident occurred.
In April, Minister of Tourism Yehia Rashed said he’s stepping up tourism activities by lunching promotional campaigns and expanding into new markets for Ramadan, Eid and the summer vacations, with the goal of reviving visitor number.
The tourism campaigns are scheduled to begin during the holy month of Ramadan, targeting Arab tourists from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon and Jordan.
Rashed said the Arab market represents one of the most significant markets exporting tourism to Egypt; because of the geographical proximity and the similarity of their language and traditions, Arabs feel like they’re in their second home when they’re in Egypt, he pointed out.
In addition to more diverse tourism offerings, Egypt has also been planning to promote religious, medical and luxury trips, and develop new markets in India and Eastern Europe, as it pushes to resuscitate the tourism sector to pre-2011 levels within two years.
“We have one direct flight which flies four times weekly from Mumbai. We also have several connecting flights from India as well. We are hoping for more direct flights from India connecting with 1 or 2 cities by December this year,” Egyptian Tourism Counselor – Regional Director India and Far East, Ismail Hamid Amer told the Hindustan Times, adding that Egypt is being promoted as a premium and exotic destination in India and is expected to reach the potential of 300,000 tourists by 2019.
“It is likely for India to be among the top 10 source markets for Egypt in 2-3 years,” he said.
Egypt has already seen a feeble reversal of the plunging trend it has endured for years, from tourism levels still as low as 5.4 million in 2016, according to government figures.
But to bolster these improvements and step up an unrelenting recovery, officials plan further promotional programs far removed from the traditional offerings along the Red Sea resorts, or the antiquities for which Egypt is well-known off.
“The final target is to get to the 2010 numbers,” Rashed recently told Bloomberg, referring to the more than 14 million visitors the country hosted in 2010, its peak year for tourism arrivals.
“We should be able to get as close as possible to the target in the next 18 to 24 months.”
Germany is the top growing market, followed by the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia. There’s also been growth in tourists from China, Japan, the US and Ukraine.
-
Athens named World Book Capital 2018
Athens has been named World Book Capital 2018 by the director general of UNESCO, Irina Bokova.The Greek capital was chosen on the recommendation of an advisory committee, comprising representatives of the IPA, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), and UNESCO, based on the “outstanding quality” of its programme of activities for the book trade in Greece.
Every year, the city named World Book Capital commits to promote books and reading and to implement a programme of activities for one year, starting on World Book and Copyright Day, on 23rd April. The purpose of 2018’s initiative is to make books and reading accessible to the whole population, including to migrants and refugees.
Athens’ “proven expertise in organising international events” was also a factor, alongside its “cultural infrastructure”, in selection. During its tenure as World Book Capital it will organise meetings with authors, translators and illustrators, as well as concerts, themed exhibitions, poetry readings and workshops for publishing professionals.
IPA president Richard Charkin said: “Ever since my predecessor, Pere Vicens, proposed the idea for World Book Capital in 1996, it has been about celebrating and promoting literacy and reading culture. Our warmest congratulations go to Athens, which put in a fantastic bid this year. This ancient city naturally corresponds with the values of the World Book Capital initiative, and I am sure will deliver an outstanding programme in 2018.”
The European and International Booksellers Federation (EIBF) pulled out of its role on the committee in June, after 13 years supporting WBC, due to concerns for freedom of speech when Chinese city Shenzhen and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates were put forward as potential winners. EIBF’s director, Françoise Dubruille, said at the time: “For EIBF, the absence of freedom of expression is ipso facto an eliminatory criterion in any WBC application and there is no need to refer to any other form of assessment.”
Athens is the 18th city to be named World Book Capital, after Madrid (2001); Alexandria (2002); New Delhi (2003); Antwerp (2004); Montreal (2005); Turin (2006); Bogota (2007); Amsterdam (2008); Beirut (2009); Ljubljana (2010); Buenos Aires (2011); Yerevan (2012); Bangkok (2013); Port Harcourt (2014); Incheon (2015); Wroclaw (2016); and Conakry (2017).
-
Egyptian FM optimistic over agreement on EEZ with Greece
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in an interview with Efimerida Ton Syntakton newspaper on Saturday, on the sidelines of the 2nd Conference on Stability and Security in the Eastern Mediterranean held in Rhodes, stressed the need for cooperation between Greece and Egypt in the energy sector.He stressed that “it is important for all of us to broaden the fields of cooperation. And energy is a field of cooperation “, while on the demarcation of an EEZ between the two countries he noted that the talks continue and expressed the conviction that there will be an agreement.
It is important,” he added, “to build our relationship, to create a climate of security, stability and peace in the area that will pave the way for better exploitation of our common resources and the comparative advantages of each country. Of course, these will create better opportunities for employment, economic progress, and revenues.”
“We are facing the same or similar challenges, whether we are talking about politics or the economy, and if we work together we will get better conditions to meet our aspirations, but also to be protected from threats to peace and stability,” he stated.
