Fall 2017 Covering an Event Assignment at AUC

Some basic tools for covering an event as a journalist.

For Fall 2017, students in the Multimedia Writing course covered many events on The American University in Cairo (AUC) campus.

This is a required course for all majors in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication (JRMC).

For this assignment the students worked in small groups to produce

• live tweets with photos and video
• an article
• photo essay
• short video
• audio clips and interviews

We used Adobe Spark to produce the web pages.

Here is the list of the events covered:

On Sunday, October 22, 2017

• Conference in AUC Reveals How Social Media Shapes Politics
• The Future of Traditional Journalism in Egypt

On Sunday, October 29, 2017

• Chi-La-I-Li Wa-Chi-Wi Brings Native American Culture to Cairo
• Tips for Inclusive Teaching
• The Future of Graduates in the World of Tech-based Corporations

On Monday, October 30, 2017

• Discussion with La Totfea El Shams Cast

On Monday, November 6, 2017

• Seeking Change Through Promoting Global Citizenship Education
• Global Citizenship and Its Importance in Promoting Education for an Entire Generation

Fall 2016 Covering an Event Assignment

For Fall 2016, students in the Multimedia Writing course covered many events on The American University in Cairo (AUC) campus.

We used Adobe Spark to produce the web pages.

Here is the list of the events covered:

On Tuesday, Nov. 1
Makeup Workshop in AUC Reveals Beauty Tips
By Danah AlAnsari, Farida Kamal, Haidy Haitham and Yomna Abdelnasser

On Monday, Nov. 7
Directing Askar wa-Harameyya: A Professor's Experience
By Doaa Abdelghany, Mayar Magdy and Rania Yehia

On Wednesday, Nov. 9
The University Forum on Student Tuition
By Mariam Seif, Reem Mohamed and Hanien Gaballah

On Saturday, Nov. 12
Heated Discussion Breaks Out at Cairo Streets and Stories Event
By Lama Ibrahim, Kareem Ragheb and Kirillos Samuel

On Wednesday, Nov. 16
Egyptian Superheroes That No Longer Need to Fly
By Leila Nassar, Yasmine Ayoub and Yara El-Fayoumi

On Sunday, Nov. 20
Bridging the Gap Between Media Education and the Industry
By Mayar El Zanty, Jackline Said and Farha Tomoum

Egyptian TV presenter, Ramy Radwan: I’ll quit if I’m ever forced to give up my principles!

By Farah Zalat and Hussein Shaker

(Cairo, Egypt) - Ramy Radwan, TV presenter of El Beit Beitak and alumnus of The American University in Cairo (AUC), spoke at AUC about the challenges facing young media professionals on Monday, November 2, 2015.

Radwan was the guest speaker and around 50 people attended, ranging from current AUC students and faculty to AUC alumni. It was planned by The AUC Alumni Association, which strives to connect the AUC alumni with one another as well as with the university.

After a brief introduction of Radwan by Dr. Naila Hamdy, associate professor and chair of the Journalism and Mass Communication Department (JRMC), he began his speech by clarifying how he was choosing to speak in Arabic because his respect for his native language has significantly grown lately. He jokingly, yet informatively, mentioned some of the challenges he has faced in the field.

He reassured the audience by using a personal example that making a mistake will not be as severe if you take the right measures to correct it and apologize. He also talked about how hard it is now to stay grounded ethically, stating how this problem has become increasingly evident in the Egyptian media.

In 2015, The Guardian published an article focusing on the increasing number of Egyptian media professionals who are becoming “mouthpieces for the government.” Which further proves Radwan’s point about the ethics in Egyptian media.

Rawan Lasheen, a JRMC graduate who attended the event; stated, “The government restrictions they put on the media. To say this and say that, don’t say this and don’t say that,” is the biggest problem she is personally facing in the field.

During the interview with Radwan after the event, he advised, “If you stick to your own beliefs, you will always gain more than just doing like a chameleon” to further emphasize the importance of principles in media.

Radwan is on El Beit Beitak on TEN TV at 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. every Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. Tune in to watch him apply his personal ethics as a TV presenter.

Candygirl Author Gives Lecture on Imagination and The Reader

By Maghie Ghali, Amr Zaghloul and Menna Abdelbaky

Here are some selected audio highlights from the lecture:

A slide show featuring photos taken at the event:




Selected clips from the lecture:

Mohamed Tawfik, Egypt’s ambassador to the United States gave a lecture on Thursday Nov. 6 about his novel Candygirl at The American University in Cairo (AUC), to talk about imagination as part of the One Book, One Conversation, One community Reading Initiative.

           

Tawfik began by talking about his early experiences with Egyptian workers and how they would tell stories and enjoy new tales, “one day they discovered I had traveled out of Egypt and I would tell them stories about Paris; about Vienna.” Due to these experiences Tawfik saw the wonder of storytelling and it inspired him to tell his own, leading to him becoming an author who has written several books.

           

As the lecture progressed, Tawfik’s main topic was presented. He talked of the creative interactions between the author and the reader, believing that “the act of reading is essentially an act of creation.” What the reader imagines is almost more important than what the author envisions.

           

Furthermore, imagination and knowledge were two concepts that were also addressed by Tawfik. He stated that “regarding the element of imagination, a good novel for me is like a good symphony.” An important aspect is the way imagination is used, especially when talking about cultural stories. His novels are “set in densely populated, noisy Egyptian backgrounds” to give a multitude of sense to explore.

           

The section on knowledge explored the idea that “what is important is how humans interact and react” to things like books and media. Tawfik also covered issues of translating Arabic to English and the loss of meaning. However, he saw it as “a different way of looking at your own work.”

           

After the lecture, a Q&A session took place with Tawfik and the audience members. Rhetoric and Composition professor George Marquis was personally not a fan of the novel and felt that “inspiration is more than just a few words of wisdom.”

In relation to upcoming projects, Tawfik said he would be taking time to attend to his political duties for a few years to come.

Other events as part of the One Book, One Conversation, One community Reading Initiative will be taking place throughout the semester as well as another lecture with Tawfik on Wednesday Nov. 12.

A Storify to show the Tweets posted while covering the lecture:

Fashionistas Rejoice: The Cairo Fashion Festival Returns

By Gloria Botros, Nadine El Guiddawy and Farah Fayez

Cairo, Egypt - The Cairo Fashion Festival returned for a third season on Friday, Nov. 7, 2014 at the Cairo Festival City Mall in New Cairo. 

The Cairo Fashion Festival is an annual event that gathers international brand names and local fashion enthusiasts in one place. 

The Cairo Fashion Festival takes place every year with the purpose of shining more light on the field of fashion in Egypt: "If Cairo was once a fashion capital then why can't we bring it back?" says Omar Madkour, founder of the Cairo Fashion Festival on the official Facebook event page. 

This year, the fashion festival included 15 runway shows featuring designers from Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and Jordan. International brand names like U.S Polo and Levi’s were also represented. The runway shows were hosted by actors Ashraf Hamdi and Amina Khalil.  

The Cairo Fashion Festival was also an opportunity for 50 exhibitors to display their products in a bazaar-like area open for the public.

The festival was not only about runway shows and exhibitions but also included live music: Screwdriver, a live band, also provided entertainment for the guests. 

The runway show was only accessible to about 400 guests with an invitation or press pass. The selected fashion-lovers gave the event a lively and extravagant vibe. According to Nayrouz Abouzid, editor-in-chief of Alter Ego Magazine and one of the PR managers of the event, the guest list included fashion enthusiasts as well as diplomats from the Mexican and Swiss Embassies who attended the event ‘’to really monitor and see what the fashion scene is like.” 

Abouzid also believes that the role of her PR company is to “make sure that the international media and the regional media are aware that Cairo is a fashion capital and is becoming more and more so with time.”

One Egyptian fashion designer in particular got extra attention from the media as she was part of the London Fashion Week. Farida Temraz, an AUC graduate, received an honorary award for her outstanding work in London as she successfully showcased her new collection there. Temraz said that she’s “very proud of all the Egyptian designers [who participated]’’ in the event.

Egypt, Morocco and Turkey, From Transit States to Destination Countries

By Doaa El Banna, Rawan Ibrahim and Yasmine Hassan

 

Cairo, Egypt - Kelsey P. Norman, a doctoral candidate at The University of California, Irvine, gave a seminar on migration and citizenship on Wednesday, October 22, 2014 at The American University in Cairo, AUC, to discuss the treatment towards migrants and refugees in Egypt, Morocco and Turkey.

   The seminar, “Receivers By Default: Determinants of Host State Policy toward Migrants and Refugees in Egypt, Morocco and Turkey,” was hosted by the Center for Migration and Refugees Studies, at the AUC Tahrir campus in downtown Cairo.  

  "What I am presenting is a work in progress and not a conclusion," said Norman, as she explained that she is still in the middle of doing the field research for her Ph.D.

 In the seminar, Norman discussed the case studies of Egypt, Turkey and Morocco based on preliminary field studies conducted in the three countries, in addition to interviews with international migration organizations like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), public servants from relevant ministries, international and local non-governmental organizations, and community based organizations. "I will be talking with individual migrants and refugees," Norman added.

   Norman stated that almost 50 percent of the world's migration today is from one developing country to another, even though most of the available literature focuses on the experience of the traditional settlement states in the West. She explained that "it is becoming increasingly difficult and costly and dangerous for regular migrants to successfully cross from North Africa into Europe."  

  Concerning the treatment of Syrian refugees in Egypt, Norman explained that some Syrians harbored an "anti-Morsy" sentiment after former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy was forced out of office by the Egyptian military on Sunday, June 30, 2013. Following that historical moment in Egyptian History, there appeared to be a media campaign defaming Syrian refugees; who were referred to as "terrorists," and were accused of allying with the Muslim Brotherhood and the ousted president.

“Syrians, who had been welcomed under Morsy and were able to access services that other refugees could not have, became very affiliated with Morsy and even rallied with him,” Norman explained.

 Norman ended the seminar by presenting some causal mechanisms which can determine the relationship between the host state and the migrants or refugees. These include political economy factors, new institutional factors, post national factors, cultural factors and domestic factors.

  “The lecture was good and I benefited a lot from it,” said Farida, a student at Ain Shams University. Farida stated that she wanted to know about migration and its levels nowadays, and said that she got what she wanted from the lecture.

A2K4D Discusses Research, Advocacy and Policy at AUC

Thursday, June 19, 2014

By Nourhan Abdel Hamid, Tarek Beltagy, Nora Seweify and Mahmoud Elsaeid

 

 
   Cairo, Egypt - On Monday, June 16, 2014, three diverse scholars discussed Research, Advocacy and Policy during Access to Knowledge for Development’s (A2K4D) fourth Annual Workshop. The workshop was held at the American University in Cairo’s Moataz El-Alfi Hall, and consisted of five sessions.

    
The fifth and final session of the workshop included three speakers who each gave their own insights about the topic. The three speakers were: Heba Ghannam, a community outreach manager at Tahrir Academy, Pranesh Prakash, an Access to Knowledge Fellow at the Yale Information Society Project and Tobias Schonwetter, director of the Intellectual Property Law and Policy Unit at the University of Cape Town's law faculty.

 Schonwetter mentioned during the session, “Policy makers don’t necessarily come from the same area,” and seeing how diverse the panel at this session was; his point was proven right.

 The three critical thinkers spoke about the importance of research and what each of them are doing or aim to do in order to reach their initiative. All the speakers adopted different techniques and had diverse approaches towards their research; however they each made compelling arguments.

 Prakash mentioned how he believes that his approach is much more research oriented; not to say that advocacy is not important. However, he explained that achieving thorough research is the main aspect in his point of view.

 “Our dream is to have a new Egyptian generation of critical thinkers,” Ghannam said. She then went on to discuss how she wants her project to influence every child in the country, as one can’t expect to have new innovators if the material being taught to them is outdated. Her initiative has adopted new and fun ways of teaching kids, which have enabled children to learn in diverse ways.

 Another important point was one raised by Schonwetter, which was “Don’t preach to the choir.” This point was emphasized throughout the entire conference, seeing as what good would it make if one addresses people who already have an idea.

 Schonwetter also mentioned how fixing instead of solving is the main aim that should be achieved. Throughout this session, there were several questions, such as; does the law have to change before research is done? How can these scholars influence the government? And how long will it take for an actual change to happen? These questions were certainly answered by the panel with emphasis on research, advocacy and policy.

Photo Slideshow: Sham El Nessim Gathering

Produced by Hania Elkady

My theme narrates my personal Egyptian family tradition during the national holiday of Sham El-Nessim that takes place at the beginning of the spring which always falls on the day after the Eastern Christian Easter, yet shared and celebrated by all Egyptians alike.

As a family, we are always invited to my grandparents' house to celebrate this occasion together. As they have always taken care of the responsibility of buying the salted fish "feeskh" and Herrings fish altogether with onions, salad and Tuna fish. Actually, their long-lived housekeeper takes care of that process; beginning with buying the fish from the market, cleaning it and preparing the table and definitely, takes care of the smell afterwards. Normally, my aunt would be invited as well, but she was travelling this time. So, it was just my family consisted of my mother, younger sister and older brother in addition to myself, or the photographer in this case.

The funny thing about this Sham El Nessim; that the older generations like my grandparents are the ones who enjoy this occasion the most, while the younger generations like my siblings and cousins who hated the smell and ate pizzas or something else. So, I never thought about that before when I used to eat with them, I just realized that when I played the photographer role.

Photo Slideshow: The Chocolate Devil Cake

Produced by Sarah Hassan

Hello there chocolate lovers! Finally the weekend is here to bake my father's favorite dessert dish; chocolate cake covered up all over with chocolate frosting, namely, The Chocolate Devil Cake.

I've always loved to bake this cake ever since my grandma taught me when I was a kid. Its chocolate temptation makes you just want to keep eating it. So I decided to share my grandma's recipe with you!

Photo Essay: The Unique Abaza Lentils Dish

Produced by Nora Elbadawy

     Long time ago my mother family ‘Abaza’ created their own dish of lentils, which no one can make expect them so they called it ‘The Abaza Lentils’. There are different stories that circulate around the family about the history of this unique dish. As the Abaza family is formerly originated in Abkhazia, which is a small country next to Russia; it is said that back in time a member of the family created a new recipe using lentils to keep them warm and energetic during the cold winter, and called this dish “the Abaza lentils.” And since then this recipe is kept secretive between the family members and passed on from generation to another. Even after the family migrated to different countries the Abaza lentils recipe kept closely guarded and never changed. Another story about this dish’s history, also known within the family is that long ago when the Abazas came to Egypt they where located in Sharqia governate; and one day an Abaza men unexpectedly invited guests over for lunch and the wife was not prepared so she decided to put all –food- available together and at the end she created the Abaza lentils, which afterward became famous among the family.  As growing up the Abaza lentils was the main dish that is always severed in almost all family gatherings – in different family members' homes .- Every women in the Abaza family knows and should know how to do this dish. That’s why my grandmother taught my mother the recipe and my mother decided to pass it on to my sister and I. This dish is unique because it is only known among my family and no one can make it perfectly as my family members.

Photo Essay: The Glorious Moment of Katb El Kitab

By Youmna El Sherbiny

Katb el Kitab, the official marriage ceremony, is a tradition of the Prophet Muhammed, peace be upon him, so that the couple doesn't find difficulties in interacting with one another but rather to be legally married. It is such a bittersweet occasion for the father of the bride as he feels that she will be someone else’s responsibility and will go away; yet, happy because she is starting a new life with her beloved.Although I am not married yet but this event relates to me very much as ever since I lost my father, I imagine how he would have felt on such a special day, particularly because we always had talks about such events and related ones. This event was one of the closest to my heart as it is the marriage of one of my dearest friends;Rana Ibrahim getting married to Mohamed Rashed.

View all

Get your own

Photo Essay: Cooking Koshary, The Egyptian Tradition

Author: Alaa Adel Elsayed

     Koshary is one of the dishes that is invented entirely by Egyptians. Its history of invention is what makes it unique. Egyptians are said to collect all the remaining uncooked food ingredients at the end of every month and cook them all together. This historical story, in my opinion, has an economic value as well as a cultural and traditional value. Economically, the story highlights a way through which middle-class households sustain their living during the last days of every month when their monthly salary is over as the case with almost all working classes. It also served as an investment in what they have remaining instead of throwing it away in the trash.  The story of inventing koshary has also a strong cultural meaning as it shows how working-class Egyptians tended to handle their living when they are almost out of money at the end of each month. Additionally, it highlights some of the differences between social classes in Egypt. It would not be surprising for upper-class people to throw these ingredients away and not to care much about their possible uses. But the perceptions that the working classes have for things are always different, which is shown through the Egyptians’ investment that yielded in a new Egyptian dish.

     Although koshary was originally invented by middle-class Egyptians, it has gained huge popularity and become one of the favorite dishes for all Egyptians. In specific, it is one of my family’s favorites. It is a family tradition that my mother cooks koshary for special events, such as Eid al-Fatr and Sham El-Nassem (the spring day). Although it is common for Egyptians to eat a certain type of fish during this last feast, my family eats koshary, the tradition that has become a traditional celebration of Sham El-Nassem. Accordingly, this year my mother has decided to cook koshary for us as part of our celebration of this day.

    Furthermore, the process of cooking koshary is interesting to examine. It is one of the dishes that has many components used to decorate the final dish. Not only that, these decorative components are also to be cooked first as the cooking process starts before cooking the main ingredient which is rice.

    The presented slideshow shall illustrate more closely the process of cooking koshary for lunch for my family in celebration of Sham El-Nassem.