Africa-Press – Mauritius. Winners of a painting and essay competition on the theme ‘Egypt in the Eyes of Mauritian children’, organised by the Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt, were rewarded, this afternoon, with certificates and gifts during a prize giving ceremony, held at the seat of the Embassy in Ebène. A reception was also held in the margins of the competition.
The Vice President of the Republic of Mauritius, Mr Eddy Boissezon, and the Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Dr Alya’a Samir Borhan, were present.
Launched in March 2021 in the margins of Mother’s Day and International Women’s Day, the competition aimed to promote cultural and tourism ties between Mauritius and Egypt. It targeted students from primary and secondary schools. It could be expressed in the form of an essay type or a painting as regards what Egypt means to every student or their point of view about Egypt. A total of 288 paintings and 50 essays were received. The winners were awarded prizes under several categories including the Ambassador’s favorite, most creative, best portrait, best techniques used, poster worthy, card worthy, best cartoon, T-shirt worthy, and merit award.
In his speech, Vice President Boissezon recalled that Mauritius and Egypt share friendly and warm ties. Diplomatic relations between the two countries date back to 1972 and the diplomatic ties have strengthened over time, he said. Furthermore, he highlighted that Mauritius aspires to benefit from Egypt’s considerable experience in different fields, including countering climate change, industrial crafts, handicraft and leather industries.
Speaking about Egypt’s powerful transformation, Mr Boissezon stated that since it emerged from a difficult period in its history, the country’s performance has been aided by economic reforms, favourable demographics, and a stable inflation rate. The country has achieved significant progress in various economic, social, security, and environmental indices. It is acknowledged that Egypt is first in Africa in terms of attracting foreign direct investments, he added.
He also dwelt on Government’s firm intention to further collaborate with Egypt to strengthen both bilateral and friendly ties as well as explore new avenues of cooperation for the mutual benefit of the two countries. We are keen to lure more Egyptian investments in the fields of infrastructure, renewable energy, blue economy, textiles, tourism, water desalination, handicrafts, and agricultural industrialisation, he said.
Speaking about the competition ‘Egypt in the eyes of Mauritian Children’, the Vice President underlined that it aims at educating the children about Egypt’s civilisation, while giving them the chance to show their views about Egypt. According to him, such a competition will help students develop as global citizens and encourage them to look beyond Mauritius as well as recognise the incredible opportunities that are created by diversity and the richness of culture that there is across our planet.
For her part, Dr Borhan expressed satisfaction as to the positive response and participation from Mauritian students in the competition. She underlined that the competition, seen through the eyes of young, aspiring, talented and creative young people, has given her a sense of purpose and made her view her country through fresh and untainted eyes.
She lauded the creativity, talent, dedication and willingness of the young students who participated in the competition as well as the quality of the work and the authentic creativity that it demonstrates
