Just like the mediaeval Arab poets, who began their odes with forlorn lines about lost homes and forgotten times, Egyptian television is launching its own piece of nostalgia.

Last night at 7pm, on the same day 21 July, at the exact time when Egyptian television launched its first black and white broadcast 50 years ago, a saga of remembrance began.

Egyptian TV is planning a selective broadcast of old programmes for 21 days, eight hours per day. Viewers will be treated to rare footage shown through 15 years of broadcasting (1960 -1975). And this is just the beginning. The three week long festivities are only the opening shot, in a year long broadcast of reminiscences.

The Television Building is on the Nile Corniche, in an area often referred to as Maspero.  Masperro is the name of the French Egyptologist whose name was given to a nearby street. Just as Gaston Maspero is credited with protecting Egyptian heritage, Egyptian television is attempting to preserve its own past. Most of the footage that many viewers will have a chance to relive, will be new to the current generation.  The memory lane is all in black and white, since colour TV did not arrive in Egypt until the late 1970s. This relegates monochromatic programming to nostalgic memory and special effects.

A MAJOR celebration is to be held at the foot of the Giza Pyramids tonight ,to mark the passage of 50 years since the launch of Egypt's television service. The Information Minister - Anas El-Fiqi, together with Radio and Television Union Director - Osama El-Sheikh and other leading media figures, are expected to attend the event. Some of Egypt's icons of television broadcasting will also be there, says Ibrahim al-Aqabawi, Drector of the Recording Company - Sawt Al-Qahira and one of the organisers.

Since its inauguration on 21 July 1960, Egyptian television has gone through many changes, not only in style but in structure. For one thing, some of the original departments of television have become sectors or semi-independent operations. One is the News Sector, now under Abdel-Latif El-Minawi. Another is the Production Sector now led by Rawia Bayyad.

The TV sector, comprising Channels 1 and 2, is chaired by Nadia Halim. The Specialised  Channels Sector, including Nile Life, Nile Comedy, Nile Cinema, and Nile Sports is directed by Hala Hashish. The Mahrusa Sector, comprising Channels 3 through to 8, is run by Adel Maati.

Several veterans of television will be honoured at today's event, including former Ministers - Abdel-Qader Hatem and Mohamed Safwat El-Sharif, former Television and Radio Union Chiefs, such as Fathi El-Bayyumi, Amin Basiouni and Hassan Hamed, and former Television Chiefs including Samia Sadeq and Soheir El-Atribi.

Tributes are also planned for television personalities - Mamduh El-Leithi, Faruq Ibrahim  and Sawsan Moseilhi. Among those to be honoured, are well-known broadcast figures including Layla Rostom, Milad Besada, Ali El-Ghazuli, Zeinab El-Hakim, Mahmoud Soltan, Tareq Habib, Mofid Fawzi and Mona Gabr. Also on the tribute list, are director - Samiha El-Ghoneimi, actor - Samir Sabri, and directors Mohamed Fadel, Inaam Mohamed Ali and Ismail Abdel-Hafez. The writers - Mahfouz Abdel-Rahman and Wahid Hamded are also to receive special accolades, says RTU Chief - Osama al-Sheikh.

Nadia Halim, the current Television Chief, says that several documentaries have been prepared about television icons and will be aired to coincide with the Jubilee Celebrations.

The Television News Sector has held two seminars, one on the political role of television, freedom of speech, necessary reforms and objective reporting. The other was on television and its role in the modernisation of society, a topic that led to discussions on the issues of violence, the role of women, and the impact of the news media on Arab's sense of identity. News bulletins, advertising, and private ownership of the media all have a lasting impact on viewers and their precepts, and therefore on the pace of modernisation in society, says News Director - Abdel Latif El-Menawi.