Dr. Sohair Wastawy Inaugurates the First Distinguished Lecture of the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa
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Alexandria—
Dr. Sohair Wastawy, BA Chief Librarian, was invited to inaugurate the first distinguished lecture of the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. “The University Library distinguished lecture is series designed to bring to the university persons whose work has made significant contribution to libraries, society and academia to deliver inspiring lectures to academics, librarians, students and associated communities”.
Dr. Wastawy’s lecture took place on 4 March 2008 and was titled “Libraries and Information: Past, Present and Future” .Dr. Wastawy spoke of the Bibliotheca Alexandria’s predecessor, the ancient library, and the new library’s concept of learning where she explained how different BA Centers and departments integrate and complement each other to better accommodate all learning styles.
The lecture was attended by prominent figures, including HE Ambassador Mona Omar, the Vice Chancellor of Witwatersrand University, his deputy, faculty members, national, academic, and public library directors, librarians, and senior diplomats from the Egyptian Embassy in Pretoria.
Attendees were impressed by the BA’s accomplishments and the new approach to learning led by the BA. Following the lecture, Dr. Wastawy answered several questions on the functionality of the many center of the BA and the projects undertaken by the library.
Owing to the success of the lecture, Dr. Wastawy responded to several invitations to give lectures at the University of Johannesburg and Johannesburg Public Library. She also gave a special lecture to directors of different libraries in Johannesburg and Pretoria.
As part of her visit to South Africa, Dr. Wastawy also met with members of the BA International Friends Association in Johannesburg.
It is worth mentioning that Dr. Sohair had recently given a number of lectures in several countries including Algeria, Greece, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates.