The British Egyptian Society is delighted to announce
The winner of the Peter Mackenzie Smith Book Prize is
The Buried: Life, Death and Revolution in Egypt by Peter Hessler.
Published by Profile Books.
The Prize of £5000 was given at a reception of 100 people held at the prestigious
Army and Navy Club on 28th March 2022
The society was honoured to introduce
His Excellency the Egyptian Ambassador to the Court of St. James
Mr Sherif Kamel and Mrs Heba Ismail to the Society
Welcome to the British Egyptian Society.
We are a non-political private, non-profit society
We are a diverse society with members in many countries.
Our common bond is our interests in Egypt and Great Britain.
We focus on the Culture, Education and History of both countries.
The Society is committed to working with universities, institutions of fine art, religious and research institutions, museums, theatres and Egyptologists.
We offer inspirational talks, presentations, debates, seminars emphasizing subject matters that contribute to intellectual enrichment and foster bi-lateral understanding.
In 2021 we have launched 2 exciting initiatives
The Book Prize for the book that best improves understanding of the history, economy, culture, arts, music, literature, religions, beliefs and practices of Egypt
An Essay Prize The general topic of the essay is ‘Egypt in the 21 century – the constituents of the future’.
Please explore our website to discover more about our society, which we hope you will consider joining.
About Us
The British Egyptian Society (BES), a registered UK charity, has existed since 1990 and was created by Ambassador Mohamed Shaker and Sir Michael Weir. The charity is run by 6 Trustees and a Supervisory Board of 16 members.
BES was set up in 1990 by Ambassador Mohamed Shaker and Sir Michael Weir to further British Egyptian relations outside politics. We hold regular public meetings, lectures, debates and events in the UK in support of this aim and we often contribute grants in support of Egyptian scholars of Egyptian museum specialists and conservators on attachment to the British Museum. Our mission is to exchange ideas and knowledge, and to improve understanding of the history, culture, arts, music, literature, religions, beliefs and practices of Egypt.
The Society and charity is run by 6 Trustees and a Supervisory Board of 16 members.
Mission Statement
The BES enables Egyptian and British people in the UK to exchange ideas and knowledge, and to improve understanding, of the history, culture, arts, music, literature, religions, beliefs and practices of Egypt.
What we do
We rely on our member’s enthusiasm and contribution to keep our society unique and continue its high-quality events. We trust you’ll have a great time connecting with us.
Our members benefit from our unique annual cultural visits to Paris and Turin to view the Egyptian museums, and have an excellent relationship with the British Museum. For the past, several years we have collaborated with the Curators from museums in Egypt to attend the British Museum for a fellowship summer training program. The Society, whose funds come from annual membership subscriptions and private donations, makes an annual contribution to the British Museum to enable this fellowship summer program for Egyptian archaeologists to study in the Museum. The Keeper of the Ancient Egypt and Sudan Department has been on our Board since we were founded and continue to have a big impact on our societies exposure.
We have had Private Views of major exhibitions at the British Museum, launched books by major authors and continue an excellent working relationship with Egyptian related sites including the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, the University of Cambridge, The Louvre in Paris, a private view of the Book of the Dead Exhibition, the Hajj Exhibition and Ancient Lives at the British Museum.
Apart from attracting quality speakers to our Annual Flagship Lecture, the Sir Michael Weir Lecture which takes place in December. We are starting in April the first in a series of annual debates with a Middle East theme, lead by 6th formers from 4 important secondary schools from the State and Independent sectors.
The British Egyptian Society (BES), a registered UK charity, has existed since 1990 and was created by Ambassador Mohamed Shaker and Sir Michael Weir. The charity is run by 6 Trustees and a Supervisory Board of 16 members. The society was set up to enhance the Cultural and Educational links between the United Kingdom and Egypt in the belief that it would strengthen the understanding between these two Nations.
Friends of the British Egyptian Society
