Washington
November 4, 2009

Washington — On November 4, First Lady Michelle Obama presented the 2009 “Coming Up Taller” award to the Egyptian organization Alwan wa Awtar and 19 other youth programs from the United States, China and Mexico. The ceremony took place in the White House.

“These awards remind us of what the power of arts and music and dance can do in the lives of our young people,” said Mrs. Obama, the honorary chairman of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH), which sponsors the Coming Up Taller awards in partnership with three federal agencies.

Mrs. Obama told representatives from Alwan wa Awtar and the other recipients, “Each of your programs is using achievement in the arts as a bridge to achievement in life.. You help them see beyond the circumstances of their lives to the world of possibility that awaits them. And for that, we honor you.”

Recipients of the Coming Up Taller Awards, the nation’s honor for after-school arts and humanities programs for underserved children, receive $10,000 each.

Alwan wa Awtar was established in 2005 and exposes youth in Muqqatum to art, workshops and field trips to museums, concerts and exchange programs and tries to inspire them to embark on their own voyages of artistic self-discovery. The PCAH focuses on arts and humanities education, cultural diplomacy and economic revitalization through the arts and humanities. The committee includes both government officials and private individuals. It works primarily with the White House, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services to connect the people of the United States with each other and with the rest of the world through dance, music, literature, painting, sculpture, and heritage and cultural tourism.