Spirit of Gandhi brings Egyptian to India

AHMEDABAD: Gandhian values have reached every part of the world today and the proof of that lies in the fact that an Egyptian student has won a trip to India for his thought-provoking painting that depicts Mahatma Gandhi's message of peace in the context of the Egyptian revolution.
The Indian embassy in Cairo was quick to spot the rising fame and popularity of Gandhi among young Egyptians during and after the Egyptian revolution that overthrew former president Hosni Mubarak's long-time rule in 2011.
Seizing the opportunity, the embassy in Cairo supported by INDIAFRICA: A Shared Future and the Public Diplomacy Division, ministry of external affairs, Government of India, announced a competition for children: 'Did you sense the spirit of Gandhi in Tahrir Square?'
More than 150 students from India and Egypt participated and Egypt's Ahmed Hassan Aba Yazeed, a student of architecture from the Alexandria University and currently employed with the National Association for Urban Harmony, Cairo, won the special grand prize, including a trip to India. "Yazeed will meet the winner of the grand prize from India and will spend a week at the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad. He will also visit Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad," said Indian ambassador Navdeep Suri. He will visit the various design disciplines in NID, have a glimpse of campus life and visit architectural sites in the city.
Said Pradyumna Vyas, director, NID, "We will give the winner an insight into the design education in India. NID is very happy to establish a relationship with Egypt culturally via education."
Yazeed's entry depicted Gandhi's spectacles with a shadow of the peace symbol underneath it. The student is very excited to come to India.