The Nile International Child's Song Festival opened in Cairo yesterday at the Cairo International Conference Center with the participation of 35 countries.
At the inauguration ceremony of the festival, Vice-president of the festival Magdey Refaae welcomed more than 100 delegates from 35 countries around the globe, expecting the Children's songs to bring pleasure to people's life.
The annual festival for children and teenagers is organized by the Egyptian Society of Children's Culture and Arts under the auspices of Egypt's First Lady Suzanne Mubarak, wife of President Hosni Mubarak.
Children compete by age group and are judged on their writing, singing and composing performances, according to organizing officials.
Refaae told Xinhua that the festival aims to provide a way for children to learn from each other and communicate with each other and promote peace through music.
For his part, the Festival Artistic Director Hany Shenoada expressed his hope that every one will win in the competition, adding that, "however, if you lose this time, you will win next time, because you can learn something from this time."
Comprising of seven girls with the ages from 10 to 15, a Chinese delegation headed by Zheng Dan attended the Festival.
The Chinese delegates' performance during the rehearsal earlier in the day was applauded by juries and organizing officials, Zheng said.
The closing ceremony of the Festival is slated for Feb. 3 with the attendance of Suzanne Mubarak.