Marina Sarruf*
São Paulo – The economy and culture of the Arabs will be the theme of the "Seminar of Business, Investment and Arab Culture", to take place tomorrow (29) in the city of Campinas, in the interior of the state of São Paulo, starting at 09:00 am at the Plenary of the Campinas City Hall. One of the organizers of the event is Jerusalem Institute of Brazil with the support of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. "The objective is to promote, spread and integrate the Arab culture," stated the superintendent of Jerusalem Institute, Ali El Khatib.
According to him, for the last 25 years the city of Campinas has been promoting events about Arab culture. The Arab influence in the city is such that there is even a law stating that every year there must be at least one event turned to Arab culture. "The Arab week has already become part of the official event calendar in the city," said El Khatib.
The opening of the event will be hosted by city mayor Hélio de Oliveira Santos and by the president of the City Council, Dário Saadi, among other authorities. Among the talks in the seminar will be one by the secretary general at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Michel Alaby, who is going to talk about negotiating with the Arabs. "I am going to present the part played by the Arab Brazilian Chamber, to speak about the potential of the Arab countries, to speak about the most demanded sectors, the events that the organization has already participated in and about those in which it is going to participate," stated Alaby.
Apart from him, the president of Trade Point, Carlos Rocha Gaspar, will give a presentation about the economic and social part played by the Arabs in Brazil. Trade Point is an organization connected to the Ministry of Foreign Relations to help companies establish bases in the foreign market. Another speaker will be the president of Futuro Institute, Suheil Yamout, who is going to talk about Lebanon and its reconstruction.
At 10:30 am there will be a coffee break and a dance presentation. After that, the president of the Brazilian Halal Food Company, Mohamed Hussein El-Zoghbi, will give a talk about Halal procedures. Another speaker will be the president of the Water Supply and Sanitation Company of Campinas (SANASA), Luiz Augusto Castrillon de Aquino, who is going to talk about the exchange of technology.
Other speakers include the dean of extension studies and community affairs at the University of Campinas (Unicamp), the Egyptian Mohamed Habib. He will give a talk about the Arab influence in Brazil. Ending the seminar, there will be a debate with Dário Saadi, head of the City Council. "The event is already greatly awaited in the city," stated El Khatib.
He also stated that Campinas is the only city in South America that has an Arab tourist and cultural route, prepared by Tourism students at the Pontifical Catholic University (PUC) in 2002. The Arab influence in the city is present in architecture, like that of the Palace of Tiles and in the Municipal Market, as well as in gastronomy, trade and culture.
The event will also count on Arab folkloric dance and music presentations. The seminar is open to the public, who must enrol in advance.
Service
Seminar of Business, Investment and Arab Culture
Date: August 29
Time: 09:00 am to 01:00 pm
Site: Plenary of the Campinas City Hall
Address: Avenida Anchieta, 200 – Campinas
Tel: (+55 19) 3736-1402
Admittance is free
*Translated by Mark Ament
