Latest news with #AhmedMostafa
CairoScene
18-06-2025
- Business
- CairoScene
Esna Revived: Egypt Returns to Aga Khan Award Shortlist After Decades
Esna Revived: Egypt Returns to Aga Khan Award Shortlist After Decades The Revitalization of Esna by Takween has been rapped by the Aga Khan Awards due to its thoughtful bottom-up approach. In 2009, Takween - an Egyptian urban development company - began its venture in the ancient and then-forgotten Upper Egyptian city of Esna with a question: 'Can the future of medium-sized, underprivileged cities in Egypt be reimagined?' This inquiry led to a 15-year partnership with the city's people, working together to preserve and revitalise its built heritage. This year, these efforts have garnered international recognition, placing an Egyptian project on the Aga Khan Award for Architecture's (AKAA) shortlist for the first time in decades. Located 60 kilometres south of Luxor, Esna has long been overlooked by Egypt's cultural tourism map. The city's rich offering of Greco-Roman, Coptic, Islamic, and modern heritage was reduced to a single attraction: the Temple of Khnum. Everything beyond it - its caravanserais, local markets, Ottoman-era houses, and community stories - faced neglect, with some areas even slated for demolition. Aerial view of Esna with the Temple of Khnum at the centre © Takween ICD / Ahmed Mostafa What followed was not a top-down restoration project, but a community-driven transformation model. Takween conserved 20 heritage buildings, activated thousands of job opportunities, upgraded 17 community-managed services, and helped rebrand the city with a new visual identity all while centering local participation, especially women's involvement in tourism activities. The AKAA 2025 shortlist places among the architectural giants of our time. It's a meaningful return for Egypt, which last appeared on the AKAA shortlist in 2004 with the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Prior to that, Egypt had won the award seven times, including for the Nubian Museum in 2001. But what makes Esna's recognition all the more powerful is its bottom-up approach. Unlike iconic state-led structures, this project thrived through grassroots involvement, strategic partnerships, and support from institutions such as the US government, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and AECID (Spanish Cooperation). It is a compelling example of how heritage, when nurtured with care and vision, can become an engine for society to bloom. Revitalisation of Historic Esna. ©Takween ICD / Xenia Nikolskaya with Courtesy of Aga Khan Trust for Culture One of the most iconic sites of this initiative is Wakalat al-Geddawi, an 18th-century caravanserai that once pulsed with regional trade but had fallen into ruin. Between 2018 and 2021, Takween led a meticulous conservation and adaptive reuse project that reintroduced the structure as a cultural anchor for both residents and visitors. The building's mudbrick and wood architecture, with its decorative panels and inner courtyard, now stands restored as a record of local craftsmanship. The initiative also included upgrades to the historic Qisariyya Market and Bazaar Street, the restoration of the 19th-century Royal Guesthouse, and the rehabilitation of 15 other architecturally significant sites, collectively weaving Esna's built heritage back into daily civic life. As Takween celebrates this milestone, they continue to invite others into the journey: architects, city planners, policymakers, and citizens alike. As Takween said in their announcement celebrating the shortlisting—"Esna is not an isolated success. It's a prototype for what is possible when architecture serves people, stories, and place.'
Zawya
17-06-2025
- Health
- Zawya
Egypt issues nearly 20mln digital treatment approvals as health insurance digitalisation accelerates
Egypt's Ministry of Health and Population announced on Saturday that nearly 20 million electronic treatment approvals were issued during the 2024/2025 fiscal year through the General Authority for Health Insurance, marking a major step forward in the country's healthcare digitalisation efforts. Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, spokesperson for the ministry, described the development as a 'significant breakthrough' in digital transformation. He noted that over 13 million online appointments have been made across 250 clinics, with a further 120 clinics currently undergoing digital conversion and receiving new technical infrastructure. In addition, 160 clinic archives have been fully digitised, with work ongoing on another 247. The authority has also automated 239 medical warehouses, as well as several specialised medical committees—including those for cardiology, cochlear implants, blood, and growth hormone treatments. Hospitals have been integrated into the Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS), streamlining the management and sharing of medical imaging. Ahmed Mostafa, Head of the Health Insurance Authority, announced that the digital platform of the New Administrative Capital Hospital has been successfully linked to the National Unified Emergency and Safety Network. He added that preparations are underway to activate artificial intelligence (AI) services and upgrade the digital infrastructure across affiliated hospitals. Mostafa reaffirmed the Authority's commitment to Egypt's national digital strategy, emphasising that digitalisation is a central pillar of ongoing healthcare reform. He stressed that these efforts aim to enhance service quality, operational efficiency, and patient outcomes across the country.
Daily News Egypt
16-06-2025
- Health
- Daily News Egypt
Egypt issues nearly 20 million digital treatment approvals as health insurance digitalisation accelerates
Egypt's Ministry of Health and Population announced on Saturday that nearly 20 million electronic treatment approvals were issued during the 2024/2025 fiscal year through the General Authority for Health Insurance, marking a major step forward in the country's healthcare digitalisation efforts. Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, spokesperson for the ministry, described the development as a 'significant breakthrough' in digital transformation. He noted that over 13 million online appointments have been made across 250 clinics, with a further 120 clinics currently undergoing digital conversion and receiving new technical infrastructure. In addition, 160 clinic archives have been fully digitised, with work ongoing on another 247. The authority has also automated 239 medical warehouses, as well as several specialised medical committees—including those for cardiology, cochlear implants, blood, and growth hormone treatments. Hospitals have been integrated into the Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS), streamlining the management and sharing of medical imaging. Ahmed Mostafa, Head of the Health Insurance Authority, announced that the digital platform of the New Administrative Capital Hospital has been successfully linked to the National Unified Emergency and Safety Network. He added that preparations are underway to activate artificial intelligence (AI) services and upgrade the digital infrastructure across affiliated hospitals. Mostafa reaffirmed the Authority's commitment to Egypt's national digital strategy, emphasising that digitalisation is a central pillar of ongoing healthcare reform. He stressed that these efforts aim to enhance service quality, operational efficiency, and patient outcomes across the country.
See - Sada Elbalad
24-04-2025
- General
- See - Sada Elbalad
Renewing Religious Discourse.. Seminar at RIBF
Mohamed Mandour As part of its cultural program at the 30th Rabat International Book Fair, the Muslim Council of Elders hosted a seminar titled 'Analyzing the Discourse of Renewal: Muhammad Abdullah Draz as a Model.' The seminar was moderated by Dr. Samir Boudinar, Director of the Al Hokama Center for Peace Research, and presented by Dr. Ahmed Mostafa, a specialist in religious discourse analysis at Al-Azhar. In his opening remarks, Dr. Boudinar emphasized that renewing religious discourse is a matter of pressing importance in the contemporary world, given the urgent need to develop scholarly and methodological tools of expression. He noted that Dr. Muhammad Abdullah Draz stands out as one of the leading figures in the renewal of religious thought in modern times. For his part, Dr. Ahmed Mostafa stated that Sheikh Dr. Muhammad Abdullah Draz represents a continuation of a prominent intellectual current within Al-Azhar—namely, the 'revival and renewal movement,' which emerged in the modern era with figures such as Sheikh Muhammad Abduh, Sheikh Hassan Al-Attar, and other distinguished scholars of Al-Azhar. These scholars combined a deep, comprehensive understanding of the rich and diverse Islamic heritage, with all its complex issues and profound intellectual insights, with a constructive engagement with modern Western methodologies. They built upon these methods in a way that served the interests of the Arab and Islamic worlds and addressed the pressing challenges they continue to face. He added that Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah Draz had a unique relationship with the Qur'an. His writings and intellectual contributions reflected his bold engagement with the text, using logic and rational analysis to explore its meanings and speak directly to the modern mind. His treatment of the Qur'an's miraculous nature was both creative and comprehensive—going beyond its linguistic and rhetorical brilliance to include psychological, intellectual, moral, historical, reformative, and ethical dimensions. He possessed a sharp renewalist vision, which earned him wide recognition among scholars and intellectuals as one of the most influential figures in modern Islamic thought. read more New Tourism Route To Launch in Old Cairo Ahmed El Sakka-Led Play 'Sayidati Al Jamila' to Be Staged in KSA on Dec. 6 Mandy Moore Joins Season 2 of "Dr. Death" Anthology Series Don't Miss These Movies at 44th Cairo Int'l Film Festival Today Amr Diab to Headline KSA's MDLBEAST Soundstorm 2022 Festival Arts & Culture Mai Omar Stuns in Latest Instagram Photos Arts & Culture "The Flash" to End with Season 9 Arts & Culture Ministry of Culture Organizes four day Children's Film Festival Arts & Culture Canadian PM wishes Muslims Eid-al-Adha News Egypt confirms denial of airspace access to US B-52 bombers News Ayat Khaddoura's Final Video Captures Bombardment of Beit Lahia Lifestyle Pistachio and Raspberry Cheesecake Domes Recipe News Australia Fines Telegram $600,000 Over Terrorism, Child Abuse Content Arts & Culture Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's $4.7M LA Home Burglarized Videos & Features Bouchra Dahlab Crowned Miss Arab World 2025 .. Reem Ganzoury Wins Miss Arab Africa Title (VIDEO) Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Sports Neymar Announced for Brazil's Preliminary List for 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers News Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly Inaugurates Two Indian Companies Arts & Culture New Archaeological Discovery from 26th Dynasty Uncovered in Karnak Temple
