The first-ever Egyptian-American selected as the new chairman of the International Friends of Bibliotheca Alexandrina
IFBA Chairman
The International Friends includes 22 member countries and was established before the Library formally opened in 2002
“When I was a boy, I ate fish pulled from the Mediterranean across from the site of the library on one side and attended college across the street on the other side”, said Mr. Abouraya, reminiscing...”
ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, UNITED STATES, October 26, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- International Friends of Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Maryland Virginia Washington, D.C. Chapter— Tharwat Abouraya
The first-ever Egyptian-American has been selected as the new chairman of the International Friends of Bibliotheca Alexandrina (IFBA). The International Friends includes 22 member countries and was established before the Library formally opened in 2002. The Friends raise funds, donate books and research materials, and support the mission of the Alexandria Library to be “a center of excellence in the production and dissemination of knowledge and to be a place of dialogue, learning and understanding between cultures and peoples.”
Tharwat Abouraya, who co-chairs the Friends chapter in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C. as well as the Baltimore Luxor Alexandria Sister City Committee. He is also currently President of Baltimore Sister Cities, Inc. He will now serve for two years as Chairman of the international Friends. Mr. Abouraya emigrated to the United States in 1978, where he worked for many years as a Senior Director in the Travel Division of American Express.
“When I was a boy, I ate fish pulled from the Mediterranean across from the site of the library on one side and attended college across the street on the other side”, said Mr. Abouraya, reminiscing about his childhood in Alexandria.
“Now I get goosebumps as I begin chairing the International Friends of this unique and marvelous institution right in my birthplace…with the possibility of continuing and expanding support for the Alexandria Library on its journey to be so much more than a library. I hope to establish new Friends chapters on every continent. The future is unknowable, but the past accomplishments of the IFBA should give us hope,” he concludes.
Gloria S. Pérez del Valle, who leads the Asociación de Amigos de la Biblioteca de Alejandría México (Friends Chapter in Mexico), was elected Vice Chairman. Perez del Valle has been an active member of IFBA since 2003, frequently bringing Mexican cultural performers to Alexandria for the annual meeting of the IFBA.
Professor Sahar Gamal, who teaches at Al Azhar University in Cairo, is the first Egyptian elected to the IFBA Scribe-Secretary position. She is based in Alexandria, Egypt, and is also active in Graduate Women International and the Federation of University Women Africa (FUWA).
Contact: Karen Leggett
email: co-chair-alexandrialuxor@baltimoresistercities.org
Karen Leggett
International Friends Of Bibliotecha Alexandrina
+1 202-595-4867
email us here
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