(L-R) Mrs. Ghada Waly, CARE  Egypt former Program Director, Mrs. Anne Goddard CARE Egypt's Country Director, Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Secretary-General Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Mr. Denix Caillaux Secretary-General CARE International

On 22 September 2004, CARE alongside 250 guests celebrated 50 years of work in Egypt. The first part of the evening started with the opening of a Photo Gallery by Anne Goddard, CARE Egypt Country Director, and Denis Caillaux, CARE International Secretary General who flew in especially for the occasion. The photos were selected to trace the evolution of CARE's work in Egypt from 1954 to 2004. They were accompanied by story boards outlining major events in the organization's history.

The importance of photographs and their impact was strongly highlighted during the second part of the evening when Dr. Ismail Serageldin, the Secretary General of The Bibliotheca Alexandrina used compelling photos, statistics, personal observations and provocative statements to describe the horrors of poverty, and challenged the audience to believe that if the world could eliminate slavery in the 1900s then we can also eliminate poverty. Dr. Serageldin's presentation was part of the Panel Discussion that featured him alongside, Denis Caillaux and Ghada Waly, CARE Egypt's Program Director. "This is the best presentation I have ever seen" said Anne Goddard referring to Dr. Serageldin's presentation, "I particularly liked his powerful argument about the importance of civil society in the fight against poverty. Civil society is the glue that keeps societies together and makes them work."

For his part, Denis Caillaux provided a summary of issues facing development organizations like CARE, and what it means to be a more rights based organization. Ghada Waly described CARE Egypt's history and the change in strategies over the years. Waly also outlined the organization's commitments for the future saying: "After 50 years of work in Egypt, CARE is still at the beginning of the road but the organization is standing on solid ground with its partners, supporting the poor and the marginalized, refusing all forms of discrimination, working transparently and adopting programs that can make positive and sustainable changes." All 175 seats of the auditorium were filled during the 90-minute session.

After listening to the three presentations, guests were invited to a lively reception constituting the third and finale part of the evening.