CAIRO: Under the motto “We have to get to know each other better . it makes us understand one another better, trust each other more, and live together more peacefully, 138 Buddy Bears – each representing a member state of the United Nations – will give Egypt’s capital city a new and most of all – different – look.
From April 11 to May 19, 2007, they will be exhibited on the Nile Corniche of Cairo’s island ‘Zamalek’. First Lady Suzanne Mubarak will open the exhibition at 6 pm on April 11 under strict security measures. The First Lady as well as the Governor of Cairo Abdel Azim Wazir, the German Ambassador Bernd Erbel and former Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher are patrons of the exhibition.
But what exactly are the “Buddy Bears ? Each bear was created in a different style to express the uniqueness of the individual artists’ native countries – and together the Buddy Bears represent a complete work of art. The idea for this exhibition was created in 2002 by the Germans Eva and Klaus Herlitz.
Various activities – mainly taking place within the context of the exhibition – will raise money for children in need. So far, almost $1,750,000 have been generated in aid of Unicef and local charity organisations.
Cairo is a key stop-over on a five-year-long world tour by the Buddy Bears , which were already exhibited in Berlin, Vienna, Hongkong, Seoul, Istanbul, Tokyo and Sydney.
