The 12th annual meeting of the International Friends of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina , 2009. The various heads of the Freinds from all corners of the globe, meet in Alexandria on a regular basis. The enthusiam of the individuals at this gathering radiates from this photograph.  Dr Ismail Serageldin is in the centre of the photo.  Australia's Ambassador to Egypt, Her Excellency Stephanie Schwabsky, is standing next to him. Chaurs and Friends from countries from around the world industriously collect books to "gift" to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina on an on-going basis.

In keeping with its policy of collecting unique publications from around the world,

the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA) now counts, I ZOI EN AUSTRALIA (Life in

Australia), amongst its collection. First published in Sydney in 1916, this historic

book has been re-published, with a companion English translation.

This is the first time Australian Hellenic publications have been donated to the

Bibliotheca Alexandrina, a joint venture of the United Nations’ Educational,

Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the Government of the

Arab Republic of Egypt. Aside from being an important first chronicle of Hellenic

involvement in Australian history and culture, it provides snapshots of life in

Australia in 1916.

Dr Ismail Serageldin, Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, gratefully

acknowledged the donation of the historic books as a fitting tribute from the

Australian Hellenic community. In particular, he noted I Zoi en Australia as being

symbolic of the ties between Hellenism, Egypt, and Australia.

Ismail Serageldin, who is the Director of the Library of Alexandria, also chairs

the Boards of Directors for each of the BA’s affiliated research institutes and

museums. He serves as Chair and Member of a number of advisory committees

for academic, research, scientific and international institutions and civil society

efforts which includes the Institut d’Egypte (Egyptian Academy of Science),

TWAS (Academy of Sciences for the Developing World), the Indian National

Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the European Academy of Sciences and

Arts. He is former Chairman, Consultative Group on International Agricultural

Research (CGIAR, 1994-2000), Founder and former Chairman, the Global

Water Partnership (GWP, 1996-2000) and the Consultative Group to Assist the

Poorest (CGAP), a microfinance program (1995-2000) and was Distinguished

Professor at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. Serageldin has also

served in a number of capacities at the World Bank, including as Vice President

for Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development (1992-1998),

and for Special Programs (1998-2000). He has published over 60 books and

monographs and over 200 papers on a variety of topics including biotechnology,

rural development, sustainability, and the value of science to society. He holds

a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from Cairo University and Master’s

degree and a PhD from Harvard University and has received 25 honorary

doctorates. (http://www.serageldin.com/Index.aspx)

Also in attendance was the Former Foreign Minister of the Republic of Greece,

Mr Andreas Zaimis, in his capacity as the President of the Greek Friends of the media release Page 1 of 3

Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Andreas was absolutely captivated by the Greek edition

of the book, Life in Australia, and couldn’t put it down, once he began to read it. He

described the book as “extraordinary”.

The books Life in Australia were personally transported to Alexandria by the

Chairman of the Australian Friends of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Mr. Lorenzo

Montesini. He also gifted to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina the book Τα Τεσσερα

Σπιτια, (My Four Homes) by Mr Jim Saltis. Very appropriately, this book, written

in Greek, is an account by Jim Saltis of his formative years, growing up in the city

of Alexandria, as a Greek-Egyptian, in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Jim is a resident of

Randwick, NSW.

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina

Generally known as the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, it is a revival of the famed ancient

Library of Alexandria. Founded by Alexander the Great in the 320s BC, it was a

universal center of culture, science and academic research for seven centuries. The

Library, together with the Mouseion, served as the world’s first university, attended

by such luminaries as Euclid, Eratosthenes, Theocritus and Archimedes.

The reincarnation of Alexander’s vision aims to be a meeting place for the culture of

East and West, dedicated to recapture the famed Alexandrian spirit of scholarship

and exchange.

Although there is no exact record, the Library is believed to have housed some

700,000 scrolls. It catalogued all the works in its collections, and enjoyed ‘legal

deposit rights’, being entitled to make a copy of every book that entered the country.

While the Library ceased to exist in the 400’s BC, Alexander’s city and its Library

represented the point where the ancient civilisations of the East (Egypt and

Mesopotamia) met those of the West (Hellas and Rome). Analogously, Life in

Australia resonates with the odysseys of Hellenic migrants who created a bridge

between Western European culture, and the “Antipodes”, and the Asia-Pacific

region. They created not only a new life in Australia, they helped, in the ensuring 93

years, to create a new life for Australia.

The idea of reviving the old library dates back to 1974, when a committee set up by

Alexandria University selected a plot of land for its new library, between the campus

and the seafront, close to where the ancient library once stood. The notion of

recreating the ancient library was soon enthusiastically adopted by other individuals

and agencies. One leading supporter of the project was current Egyptian President

Hosni Mubarak; UNESCO was also quick to embrace the concept of endowing

the Mediterranean region with a center of cultural and scientific excellence. An

architectural design competition, organized by UNESCO in 1988 to choose a design

worthy of the site and its heritage, was won by Snohetta, a Norwegian architectural

office, from among more than 1,400 entries. At a conference held in 1990 in Aswan,

the first pledges of funding for the project were made: USD $65 million, mostly from

the Arab states. Construction work began in 1995 and, after some USD $220 million

had been spent, the complex was officially inaugurated on October 16, 2002.

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina now stands as a beacon of knowledge and

enlightenment, beaming from Egypt around the world; a meeting place for dialogue

between civilisations.

http://www.bibalex.org/English/index.aspx

The magnificent book, Life in Australia, in both a Greek and English editions,

will be launched at MacLaurin Hall, Sydney University, on Wednesday 9

December 2009 at 6pm for 6.30pm start. Invitation open to all. Admission is

free. RSVP Tuesday 1 December Kathy Samios phone: 61 2 9349 1849 or

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