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The Goethe-Institut Kairo is set to launch the Outside Cairo Festival,
an event which is a culmination of Outside Cairo, , 2023 and 2024. Aiming to decentralise Egypt’s cultural landscape, and to support the cultural diversity, the project encouraged the artistic exchange across Egypt, provided empowerment to cultural professionals and supported financially their local projects.
The festival showcasing the vibrant results of Outside Cairo, will take place between 18 and 22 November across three cities in Aswan, Minya, Port Said with each day including welcome speeches by Frederike Berje Head of Arts for the MENA region, and Doaa Ahmed, culture programme coordinator – outside Cairo, presenting the project and screening of the film about Outside Cairo, and time for networking.
This will be followed with a large plethora of events showcasing the creativity of cultural practitioners from the Outside Cairo’s network, from cities such as Aswan, Damietta, Minya, Monofia, Assiut, Sohag, Ismailia, Port Said, Siwa, among others.
The events including theatre, dance and music performances, storytelling, and discussions, showcase and/or discuss the fruits of the Outside Cairo initiative’s funding art, an initiative that offered financial support to 14 local cultural projects in the governorates. Chosen from 114 applications, those projects address the need for preservation of heritage, highlight social issues, encourage cultural engagement through exploring new forms of artistic expression and creating a strong impact on local communities.
The festival will kick off in Aswan’s Krouma Cultural Center on 18 November. The highlights of the day include a panel discussion on filmmaking outside Cairo and a storytelling performance by Hassan El-Geretly in cooperation with the Nebatya project from Aswan, and a Semsemia concert by the Sohba Semsemia band from Port Said to conclude the day.
One of the projects funded by Outside Cairo, Nebatya, a podcast by
Nawal Mahmoud, was created with an aim to train young girls from Aswan in the basics of film criticism and analysis within the context of the podcasting industry.
On 20 November, the festival will move to Minya with events taking the stage of the Jesuit Culture Center. The day’s programme will include panel discussion on “Theatre: Decentralization and the Pursuit of Excellence,” a theatre performance by Teatro Alsaeed, yet another initiative funded by Outside Cairo. Led by Beshoy Saber, Teatro Alsaeed provides performance spaces, training, and equipment for artists in Minya.
The day will conclude with a concert by Sawt Al-Aseel, a project presented by Amin Shahin and featuring the traditional Arghul instrument. This unique creative initiative seeks to preserve ancient Egyptian folk music by teaching young people to play the Arghul, as a form of revitalization of the region’s musical traditions.
Last day of the festival, 22 November, will take place at Port Said’s Misr Public Library. The day will highlight a panel on cultural heritage, followed by a dance performance, Memory of the Shore by Nermin Habib who has been working with women from Damietta. The show incorporates body expression, photography, and urban heritage, inviting women to celebrate their region’s unique cultural identity through contemporary dance.
The festival is a culmination of Goethe-Institut Kairo’s Outside Cairo and its projects; a two-year work that included a series of steps in fostering cultural development and supporting artists across Egypt’s governorates.
The initiative offered three comprehensive axes designed to support cultural managers, cultural journalists, and cultural actors, through a combination of training programmes, workshops, and funding opportunities, Outside Cairo
helped the participants develop skills, expand their networks, and bring innovative cultural projects to life across Egypt.
Workshops that took place in cities such as Damietta, Mansoura, Luxor, Ismailia, Port Said, Aswan, Minya, and Alexandria, brought together two groups of 15 cultural professionals, who engaged in five multi-day workshops covering key areas such as proposal writing, financial planning, design thinking, legal regulations for cultural organisations, social media use, and public relations.
In addition to the cultural management program, Outside Cairo also hosted a cultural journalism program, attended by 13 journalists from across Egypt. They were offered workshops covering topics such as photo and video journalism, the ethics of reporting, and arts and culture analysis. As part of the programme, participants have also had the opportunity to visit cultural events outside Cairo, deepening their understanding of regional cultural practices.
With Outside Cairo, the Goethe-Institut Kairo is reaffirming its commitment to supporting cultural diversity and promoting creative exchange across Egypt. By empowering cultural professionals and supporting local projects, the initiative is helping to decentralise Egypt’s cultural landscape and foster a rich, vibrant artistic community beyond the capital city.
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