EU Delegation to Egypt Head Christian Berger Participates at AIWFF Opening Ceremony

Yesterday, the eighth edition of the Aswan International Women Film Festival kicked off. The opening ceremony witnessed a huge presence of artists, cultural figures, and filmmakers.

During the opening ceremony, Ambassador Christian Berger, the Head of the EU Delegation to Egypt, delivered a speech.

He started her speech: "Let me express my thanks and appreciation to the management of the festival for honouring the European Union. It is a big honour for me to receive this recognition on behalf of my staff in the delegation. Thank you so much!"

After that, he talked about the suffering of women in war and conflicts, and how various screened films at the festival represented them, describing: "Two years ago we spoke of threats to peace. The world has not become better since, with Sudan and Gaza. Please allow me to pay tribute to all the women and girls around the world in the midst of hardship, conflicts and wars. Women and children are always the most vulnerable and most affected groups. Film and art are powerful tools to shake us up and remind us of the importance of peace."

Next, he talked about the partnership between Aswan festival, and the EU, saying: "This is the fifth year of partnership with the festival. Promoting the role of women and raising awareness about gender equality, and women issues at large, is at the heart of EU priorities everywhere in the world. We wish to be frontrunners in promoting women, especially through art, culture, and cinema, to create empowerment and participation in all walks of life.

The European Union enjoys a longstanding cooperation with Egypt, through joint programmes and initiatives that touch upon the lives of many Egyptian women through access to education, work opportunities, social and health services, and access to leadership positions in public life and the private sector."

He continued: "Once again we are happy to have supported young talents in making films and scriptwriting. More than 65% of these young artists are women. And we have partnered with the festival to initiate the creation of a digital platform for all films made by young talents with the support of the festival. I hope that this initiative could be developed further and become a real digital archive of the festival’s great productions.

And again this year, the we have dedicated a special prize to the best film in the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean Competition. I am extremely pleased to see a strong participation by films representing EU Member States and other countries of the Mediterranean region."

Berger asserted: "As a premier, the European Union is contributing to the Nut Civil Society Forum through a new project that promotes women rights and participation."

He concluded: "I would like to commend all dedicated contributions, special thanks to everyone working in cinematography and culture present with us tonight.

A great appreciation goes to the Government of Egypt for supporting the Aswan International Women’s Film Festival, and to the Board of Trustees and the management of the festival.

It is an honour to be with you and wishing for a successful new edition of the ‘Aswan International Women Film Festival."