To celebrate the spirit of the Season and the coming New Year, the International Women’s Group- Kuwait (IWG) held its annual Seasonal Dinner for members and honored guests, including H.E Sheikha Soad Al Sabah and the ambassadors of Sierra Leone, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Indonesia, Guyana and Türkiye,
on Sunday, 04 December 2022 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.
Mrs. Ghada Shawky, wife of the Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the State of Kuwait, and President of IWG 2022-2023 opened the event by welcoming the attendees to the beautiful atmosphere of the festive celebration, saying that the importance of this time of the year is the message of peace, love and spending time with family and friends. During this special event, Mrs. Shawky mentioned that the guests will enjoy celebrating the end of the season through the performances of dances from different parts of the world, featuring the varied traditions and culture of the countries.
At the end of her speech Mrs. Shawky wished the attendees a Happy New Year filled with health, peace and prosperity.
The celebrations started with the screening of a beautiful video of Christmas in Bethlehem and the chant “ Ya Mariam” performed by Palestinian singer Lina Sleibi – لينا صليبي from inside the Church of Nativity, provided by Mrs. Rima Khalidi, wife of the Ambassador of the State of Palestine.
With the participation of the embassies of the Republic of Armenia, Kingdom of Eswatini, Arab Republic of Egypt, Republic of Indonesia, the Indian Anjali school of dance, and the Spanish performer Mrs. Genoveva, the guests were treated to traditional dance performances under the title “Dances From Around the World”. They started with the Armenian dance “Mogats Harsner” translated as “the Brides of Mog” (an ancient Armenian province). Today, this dance is often performed by females during Armenian weddings. Followed by “Kudigza” a Swazi traditional dance, where its song means welcoming ‘Gogo’ the granny (Matriarch) of any traditional home, performed by Swazi women.
“Kathak” a semi classic fusion style dance originated from the northern part of India – Utthar Pradesh – which has brisk rhythmic movements and mild facial expressions.
The “Nubian – Aragid” dance is one of the oldest and most famous Nubian dances in Egypt, which is performed in Nubian weddings. Nubian means joy, and joy and dance in the life of the Nubians is the language that does not die.
The “Cilinaya” Dance is one of the traditional Balinese dances which symbolizes beauty with smooth gestures depicting the cheerfulness of the girls’ youth.
Finally, with the Spanish touch and the flamenco passion, the performer Genoveva thrilled the members and guests with her goal to bring Kuwait closer to her country, Spain.
In closing Mrs. Ghada Shawky thanked the performers and all sponsors for their invaluable contribution to add joy during the festive season.
She also thanked the Crowne Plaza Hotel for its permanent cooperation with the International Women’s Group, and thanked Santa Claus for bringing joy and happiness to the audience.
Lucky draws and raffles were conducted with many wonderful items which also included special prizes kindly offered by the generous contribution of ABYATT, Zain, Best ElYoussfy, Excite el Ghanem, Fly dubai, Pharmazone, Sebamed, Sears, Ace, BSK, Snap Gym, Balsamic, Hassawy and Maria Fuenmaye.
The hotels were also thanked, the Sheraton and Regency hotels for their kind contribution of dinner invitations; the Grand Hyatt, Four Seasons, Jumeirah and Crowne Plaza hotels for their kind contribution of two-night stays.
The evening ended with a fabulous festive dinner prepared by the chefs of the Crowne Plaza.
