World Refugee Day 2004: Egypt
World Refugee Day 2004: Egypt
On 4 June, a gala dinner was held to commemorate World Refugee Day and celebrate 50 years of UNHCR in Egypt. The event was attended by high-level officials from the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior, the League of Arab States, the diplomatic community, refugees, representatives from implementing partners and other UN agencies.
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Adel Imam co-hosted the event, which received extensive media coverage. Several interviews were conducted with Imam, who was guest of honour, as well as UNHCR staff. Almost 400 guests enjoyed the open-air atmosphere of Club Mohamed Ali by the Nile. Guests danced to the music of the famous Nubian singer, Mohamed Mounir.
The UNHCR gala dinner kicked off to a month of events to commemorate World Refugee Day.
On 19 June, UNHCR participated in the 2004 World Refugee Day Festival. The festival, which took place at the American University campus, was organised by STAR - Student Action for Refugees - with the support of UNHCR. The aim of the festival was to promote awareness of refugee issues in Egypt by celebrating the diverse talents of the different refugee communities living in Cairo. Art, music, theatre, dance and food from Palestine, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia were much appreciated by over 1,500 persons attending the festival and reflected some of the countries of origin of refugees in Egypt. Special attention was given this year to refugee children who had spent the past weeks designing their own activities for the day.
A football tournament for the Sudanese refugee community was organised by the Sacred Heart Church Sports Committee with the support of UNHCR. Twenty-two teams representing the different districts of Cairo competed over a period of two months starting on 14 March and ending on 6 June. Matches were played every Friday and Sunday afternoon on the grounds of the "College De La Salle" French School.
The award ceremony was held at the school, where the winning teams were given medals. A large number of the Sudanese refugee community in Cairo gathered to watch the finals and cheer for their teams. The gathering was a chance for UNHCR staff, Sakakini church and the refugees to jointly celebrate World Refugee Day.