A Lighthouse in the Community: House of Cultures and Abouleish Museum

With various influential songs, the SEKEM choir inaugurated a workshop entitled: “The establishment of the House of Cultures”. Next to Heliopolis University staff, high profile guests attended the event, which was held on the 31st of July at the campus of the University.

After the artistic opening, the workshop was allocated to an open discussion between the guests and the Board of Directors of Heliopolis University. Various ideas from the participants followed a presentation of Dr. Kadria Abdel-Motaal, the Director of Research & Development. The ideas included strategic planning advices in regards to building the House of Cultures. The participants agreed that the House of Cultures shall serve as a hub for an open cultural exchange resembled in an east-west dialogue. Hence, it shall promote synergies and develop a cultural dissemination among all groups of people, especially the youth.

A space of cultures

The workshop highlighted that the House of Cultures shall integrate a huge central library, which shall be the center for knowledge and research, with an outreach to other Egyptian and international libraries. The library is also planned to host cultural exchange events and sessions presented by famous authors as well as young aspired ones. Besides, an opera house is planned to be included with an arts academy and gallery as well as an exhibition hall. This space of cultures shall be supported by joint activities with various initiatives from huge institutions, whose representatives and founders already attended the event – for instance the Cairo Opera House, El-Sawy Culture Wheel and Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

Helmy Abouleish with the participants at the location of the House of Cultures.

Ibrahim Abouleish Museum

In his memory, the House of Cultures shall encompass a museum for the SEKEM Founder Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish. “It was a dream to my father lately, to establish a lighthouse in the community to connect the people of various cultures,” said Helmy Abouleish, SEKEMs CEO. “The House of Cultures will be a complementary to SEKEMs 40-years-old vision of building a sustainable community in the desert.” The museum will exhibit Dr. Abouleish’s collections and showcase his life journey.

Noha Hussein

Fundraising for the Core Program of Heliopolis University
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