12 October 2016 — The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) achieved a milestone in its Sentro Rizal initiative by inaugurating the first Philippine cultural center of its kind in Africa and the 20th abroad at the Philippine Embassy in Cairo.
The launch was followed by a presentation by NCCA Chairman Felipe M. de Leon, Jr. on Dr. Jose Rizal’s connections to Egypt. On his first trip abroad, the Philippines’ national hero spent five days in Egypt, passing the Suez Canal from June 02 to 07, 1882 en route to Spain. The waterway, which drastically reduced travel time between Asia and Europe upon opening in 1869, also hastened the influx of liberal ideals to the Philippines.
In diary entries and letters to his mother, Rizal, ever the prolific writer, described the desert environs in Egypt with great detail. Of the Suez Canal itself, he wrote that it was “the work which immortalizes [canal developer Ferdinand de] Lesseps and yields incalculable benefits.”
While in Cairo, Chairman de Leon also met with Mr. Helmy El Namnam, Minister of Culture of Egypt, and Ms. Iman El Farr, Assistant Foreign Minister for Cultural Relations. The meetings reaffirmed the desire of both the Philippines and Egypt to further strengthen cultural cooperation and increase cultural exchanges. END
