Ismail Serageldin started his tenure as DG of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina
with an open meeting with all the staff from the Janitors to the Directors.
The meeting lasted for almost three hours, with all the time taken up with
questions and answers following the opening 20 minute presentation by the
new Director General a.i. While staff remained uneasy that there were no
absolute guarantees of continued employment, they welcomed the open and candid
style in which the meeting was conducted.
We asked Ismail Serageldin about the meeting
and he said that he felt it was the beginning of a new relationship with
the staff, and that it was going to be a major transition for many as they
moved towards a new style of doing business, one more compatible with the
demands of the new phase of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina's existence. He
said:"There is no doubt that the months ahead will be an important period
of transition, to a system where communications with the rest of the world
are going to be extremely important. This requires changes in the way we
do business and the manner in which we communicate."
Those of us who know him well, or have had the
occasion to work with him in the past are confident that he will be able
to communicate his infectious enthusiasm to the staff of the Bibliotheca
Alexandrina as he has done so many times before in so many different areas.
Along with his many other friends, we wish him much success in the months
ahead. More to the point, however, all those of us who think that this is
a great project, pray for Serageldin's success for that is what will help
the Bibliotheca meet the very high expectations that the world has of
it.
