On the 4th of March 2018, The Belgian Embassy and Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo successfuly opened the photo exhibition of "150 Years of Belgian Royal Visits to Egypt". The exhibition will stay on view till the 27th of April at our NVIC main hall.
Three students of the Arabic/Islamic BA programme seem to enjoy the Arabic class assignments.
The Cairo semester of MA Archaeology/Egyptology for students from the Netherlands and Flanders has unfortunately come to an end.
The Netherlands-Flemish Institute is offering an internship in Cairo from March 2018 onwards. If you are interested please apply before February 15, 2018. (See the details in Dutch only)
Dr Amany Soliman joined the NVIC as a postdoctoral research fellow in October 2017. She is a lecturer of modern history and international relations at the Mediterranean Studies Institute at the Faculty of Arts, Alexandria University. For her PhD thesis, she examined the nationalist movements in Spain, specifically in Catalonia and Basque regions and their journey in the 20th century. She has been awarded a research fellowship in the War Studies Department of King's College London as well as the Gingko Library scholarship for East-West Dialogue. Her research and teaching interests include social and political history of modern Egypt, nationalism and nationalist movements, history and politics of marginalized groups, the Great War in the Middle East, as well as political, social and cultural history of the Mediterranean and the Middle East region. In 2017, she was selected as a research fellow in the Leiden University team working on the ERC project "Rethinking Disability: The Global Impact of the International Year of Disabled Persons 1981 in Historical Perspective". The research team is led by Prof. Monika Baár and Dr. Soliman's research focus will be on the issues, debates, (dis)engagement, organization and main concerns and socio-political issues of the persons with disability in Egypt and the Arab World. Her research will focus on the multiple perspectives on how to empower the persons with disability and how their rights in the MENA region are perceived from philanthropic and charity support to a human rights and inclusive citizenship approach.
Arriving at a new workplace has never been as easy as it was in the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo. I’m very grateful for the nice colleagues who helped me in the first few days to settle down in Egypt and start to work in the office. Although I spent the last 3 years on site as a field archaeologist in different deserts, adjusting to the new environment, having a desk, sticky notes and clean clothes, was very easy in the NVIC. The first thing that amazed me in the institute is the well-equipped library which is calling you to read and work there. It is very helpful for a bookworm PhD student and I feel very lucky to be surrounded by these amazing books. I’ve already attended a fascinating movie event organised by NVIC which was a very heartwarming night realising how many people were interested in the program. As an archaeologist, it is truly a dream come true to live and work in Egypt and spend every day with archaeology in this highly inspiring environment. I look forward to start teaching and working on my PhD here! Virág Pabeschitz
For the students of our Dutch institutions, the Netherlands Embassy supported an ‘academic retreat’ at hotel Stella de Mare in Ayn Sukhna. During this two-day retreat, our students discussed with students of al-Azhar University in Cairo on various topics. It was an open exchange of ideas and feedback from our students and also of Azhar students has been very positive. We look forward to organizing similar meetings with students of al-Azhar University in the future and also to further cooperate with the Netherlands Embassy in such future events.
Dear friends of the NVIC,
On Thursday the 14th of December, the sad news reached us that our dear friend professor Gino Schallenbergh of KU Leuven had passed away on that day in Jette (Belgium), after a two-week illness. Gino worked for our institute for eight years as our assistant director for Arabic Studies/Islam and was much loved by all who knew him. On Thursday the 21st of December, a modest memorial service will be held at our institute from 4pm until 6pm. Those wanting to share their condolences are invited to do so on this occasion.
Like every year, the NVIC with the support of the Netherlands Embassy in Cairo, organised a Cleveringa lecture to commemorate the courageous speech by Professor Rudolph Cleveringa on the 26th of November in 1940, in which he protested the 'Berufsverbot' imposed on his Jewish colleagues by the Nazi occupiers of the Netherlands.
