Commemorating 78 years of the Nakba, join us tonight at 7pm for the screening of A Fidai Film, a documentary by filmmaker and artist Kamal Aljafari. By interrogating archives and their absences, the film reflects on memory, image-making, and the reclaiming of histories at risk of disappearing. The screening will be followed by a conversation with writer @eslam.sq Eslam Elsaqqa, co-founder of @gazafilmunit We look forward to having you with us!
Dear library friends,
These are our opening hours this week:
- Sunday: 9 to 4
- Monday: 9 to 5
- Tuesday: 9 to 5
- Wednesday: 9 to 5
- Thursday: closed
To make an appointment for a visit: [email protected]
See you soon!
Our students had an Arabic calligraphy class with the wonderful teachers from @alqalm.co . Special thanks to ustaz Mahmoud Atef and ustaz Reda alAnwar!
We're looking forward to seeing you all tonight for Yasmin Shafei's talk on the history of care for the mentally ill in Egypt. The lecture starts at 6 pm. We work on a first-come, first-served basis as the number of seats is limited. We open our doors at 5:30 and close them at 6:15 or earlier when the lecture room reaches its full capacity.
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"The study of mental illnesses and asylums have emerged as fundamental areas of historical inquiry. Research on disability studies and the histories of mental health are growing fields encouraging a rethinking of the cultural, social, economic, and political histories of the Middle East. The history of mental asylums reflects the multiple ways in which colonial governments and modern nation-states defined their national projects and relationships with their subjects.
Studying colonial asylums, psychiatry, and constructions of mental illnesses is central to understanding Egypt’s history, shedding light on significant historical processes such as colonization, state building, modernization, medicalization, and professionalization.
Using mental health as the lens through which to examine the colonial state and its engagement with various actors, the study examines a wide range of primary and secondary sources, including citizen petitions (‘arḍaḥāls), referral memoranda (tadhkaras), Ministry of Interior reports, Reports of the Lunacy Division and the Department of Sanitary Services and Public Health, as well as government and Foreign Office correspondences. The study investigates the history of Egypt’s asylums and their relationship with the state, interrogating their significance to the British occupation and their role in the maintenance of order and security. It also moves beyond the asylum itself, focusing on the experiences of the asylum’s patients and their families."
Last week our advanced level Arabic students had the chance to meet the author Muhammad alHajj. During class, Muhammad spoke about his process of writing. Students also read and analysed excerpts from Arabic novels and short stories.
Snippets from our evening at @nvicairo ✨🎬
Some evenings feel less like a lecture, and more like walking through the memory of a city.
Through film excerpts and conversations around heritage, identity, and Cairo on screen, From Sites to Sights of Memory opened a space to rethink why we turn to cinema, and how films continue to shape the way we see and remember our cities.
The event featured a discussion around the book Cinema.. Why?, edited by @omarzahran25 and @taher.abdelghani and presented by Taher Abdel Ghani at the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo
Dear library friends,
These are our library's opening hours for this week:
- Sunday: 9 to 4
- Monday: 9 to 5
- Tuesday: 9 to 5
- Wednesday: 9 to 2
- Thursday: closed
To come visit, please send us an email: [email protected]
🎉55 Years of Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo🎉
Last week, we celebrated this milestone in the history of our institute (28 April 1971-2026). A warm thank you to everyone who joined the celebration, and congratulations to our incredible NVIC team for making it all possible!
Here comes the official part...🙏Luc Sels, Angelina Eichhorst, Bart De Groof, Eva Witteman, Reis Amar al-Amir, ابراهيم الشلتوتي🙏
Special thanks to Matjaž Kačičnik and Insaf Idrissi for the wonderful photographs. 📸
Last week, we had the honour of welcoming the President of Leiden University @universiteitleiden , Luc Sels, to Cairo. Together with Melissa Koops and Hungwah Lam of Leiden’s International Office, we had a full week of exploring new and strengthening existing relations between Leiden and Egypt, while also celebrating the 55th anniversary of our institute together.
Engagement with key academic partners, including The American University in Cairo @auc_egypt and Cairo University @cairo__university opened exciting conversations about deepening collaboration and expanding joint initiatives. There was also a valuable exchange with the European Union in Egypt @euinegypt , particularly in light of Egypt’s association with Horizon Europe.
The visit further included discussions with the ambassadors of the Netherlands, Belgium, and the European Union, highlighting the vital role academic institutes abroad (Leiden’s “Fourth Campus”) play in fostering global knowledge exchange, science diplomacy, and strengthening Leiden University’s international vision.
Rounding out the program were meetings with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities @ministry_tourism_antiquities and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research @mohesregypt reinforcing the importance of academic and cultural cooperation.
A truly productive and inspiring visit, paving the way for stronger partnerships and shared knowledge between Egypt and The Netherlands!
📢 Lecture at NVIC
🗓 Wednesday, 6 May 2026
⏰ 6:00 PM
The Emergence of the Cinema Crisis in 1950s Egypt
🎤 Tamara Maatouk (American University in Cairo)
This talk will trace how a group of Egyptian film administrators and professionals in conversation with fellow artists, critics, and other intellectuals debated the problems facing the film industry in the mid-1950s, posing them as a crisis and proposing state intervention, including socialist solutions, as a remedy.
Tamara Maatouk is an assistant professor of film studies in the Department of the Arts at The American University in Cairo. She is a historian of the modern Middle East and North Africa, with a focus on film as an art form, an industry and a social practice.
1, Dr. Mahmoud Azmi Street, Zamalek, Cairo
Attention: We open our doors at 5:30 and close them at 6:15 or earlier in case the lecture room has reached its full capacity. Coming in early is advised as the number of seats is limited.
