Freedom to Create, a renowned international organisation that was  established in 2006 to harness the power of art and culture to build more creative and prosperous societies, has selected Cairo to host the annual awards ceremony to announce the winners of the

2010 Freedom to Create Prize. The award ceremony will include a vibrant music festival to be held

at the Salah El Din Citadel on 26 November. 

Announcing the event in Cairo, Priti Devi, Freedom to Create spokesperson said, “Prosperity today is generally thought of in economic and material terms. However, we have long believed that human fulfilment comes from a more holistic definition of prosperity, one that encompasses ‘human flourishing’. We believe A Creative Society is a Prosperous Society.”

Explaining the choice of Cairo to host the 2010 Freedom to Create Prize event, Ms. Devi said, “We hold our award celebrations in places where there is an established history of the transformational impact of arts and culture.” She added, “The cities of Egypt including the capital Cairo, have been renowned for centuries as centres of art, learning, culture and commerce and therefore, a fitting choice as the place to celebrate the 2010 Freedom to Create Prize awards.”

The Prize is open to artists from all creative fields. The Prize money of US$125,000 is awarded across three prize categories, Main, Youth and Imprisoned Artist. This year’s prize attracted more than 1700 entries from over 100 countries that included: performance theatre in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, female rappers in Iran, Hip Hop artists from the Inuit communities in Northern Canada, young filmmakers from Bolivia, rock bands from Afghanistan and six entrants from Egypt.

The hosts for the Prize event on 26 November, are leading Egyptian actor Amr Waked, who is also the UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador in the Middle East and North Africa region, and Ms. Femi Oke, former CNN broadcaster and journalist. The performers at the Prize event include Egyptian superstar HAKIM, the first Arab singer to perform at the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony, Hip Hop artists Arabian Knightz, Namibian artist Eric Sell, and folk artist Donia Massoud. Senior public figures and civil society organisations working to encourage creative expression in Egypt will also be present at the ceremony.

To celebrate the creative vitality of women, Freedom to Create is hosting the Freedom to Create Forum,

a panel discussion on the challenges and opportunities for women in building creative and prosperous lives, families and communities. The Forum will be held at The American University in Cairo on

24 November. Former First Lady of Egypt, Mrs. Jehan Sadat will be the opening speaker and will be joined on the panel by five other distinguished international female role models.

The Cairo Opera House will host the 2010 Freedom to Create Prize Exhibition, showcasing works by highly commended entrants for this year’s Freedom to Create Prize.  The exhibition will be opened by the Honorable Minister of Culture, Mr. Farouk Hosny, accompanied by Dr. Abdel Moneim Kamel, Chairman of the Opera House, Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities and

Dr. Ahmed Megahid, Head of the General Authorities of Cultural Palaces. The exhibition will remain open until 11 December 2010 before embarking on a global tour.