June 14, 2006
CONTACT: Media Relations
Phone: (202) 530-1000
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ICAF joins Cultural Delegation to the UAE

The International Child Art Foundation will be part of a high-level cultural and business delegation visiting the United Arab Emirates on June 17-20, 2006.

The delegation is led by Mrs. Louise T. Blouin MacBain, CEO and President of LTB Group of Companies – a global media business with a commitment to the arts and culture. The Group produces around 50 magazines and 130 titles in total each year and its website www.artinfo.com is intended to be the premier online destination for the arts. Mrs. MacBain is also and Founder of the Louise T Blouin Foundation, which promotes culture and creativity and their strength in making societies stronger. Recent Foundation projects include an investment in cultural exchange projects between China, the Middle East and the West, an OECD research initiative measuring cultural investment across the world and the development of a new arts Centre in Notting Hill, London.

The delegation includes Mr. Peter J. Tichansky, President and CEO of the Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU), an organization founded in 1955 at the initiative of President Eisenhower. Over the past fifty years, BCIU has brought together heads of states and governments, senior diplomats and chairman and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies to promote commercial diplomacy and business development. BCIU is co-organizer of the U.S. Middle East Free Trade Coalition and the Task Force for FTA with the UAE.

“We are honored to be part of this important delegation to an important country that is encouraging quality education and tourism and cultural development,” said Dr. Ashfaq Ishaq, ICAF’s Executive Director.

The delegation will meet with H.E. Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, UAE’s Minister of Economy, who was ICAF’s guest of honor at the European Children’s Festival. The delegation will meet with H.H. Sheikha Ahmed bin Saeed, Chairman of the Emirates Group as well as with other prominent business and cultural leaders. A meeting and press briefing will take place on June 18th at the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce. U.S. Ambassador to the UAE, H.E. Michele Sison will host a reception for the delegation.