African Currency Forum Announced for Luxor and Cairo in January 2023

The venue and date for the African Currency Forum has been announced. It will take place from 15-18 January in Luxor, and concludes on 19 January with a visit to the Central Bank of Egypt’s new printing works and cash centre in Cairo’s New Administrative Capital.

This will be the fourth event African Currency Forum, following successful events attracting around 300 delegates, first in Cape Town in 2014, then in 2016 in Sharm El Sheik, Egypt and lastly in 2018 in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

The conference is hosted in turns by the eight members of the Association of African Banknote and Secure Document Printers (AABSDP) and managed by Reconnaissance International, co-publishers of Currency News™ and Cash & Payment News™. The upcoming event in Luxor, originally scheduled for 2020, was postponed due to COVID.

The Forum is being sponsored by leading industry suppliers and there will be an exhibition to accompany the three days of business, technical and educational sessions. Social events also play an important role in the Forum, allowing all delegates the opportunity to mix freely in a relaxed environment to exchange ideas and discuss business and industry developments and other issues, at the same time as learning something of the host country’s unique attributes.

Luxor was chosen for the Forum for its unique history and natural surroundings. The name, Luxor, derived from the Arabic word for ‘palaces’, was once known as Thebes, the capital of the Egyptian Empire. It gained importance around 3,000 BCE, becoming the political, military and religious capital for a period of over 1,500 years.

Today Luxor is a beautiful city situated on the banks of the river Nile and known as the world’s greatest open air museum, being home to some of Egypt’s most important monuments. These include the 3,400-year-old Luxor Temple, the Karnak temple, the Valley of the Kings, The Valley of the Queens, and the Colossi of Memnon. The social events in Luxor will provide a unique opportunity to see some of these monuments.

In contrast, the (optional) final day of the Forum takes place in Egypt’s New Administrative Capital (NAC) on the outskirts of Cairo, a breath-taking, vast new city, which has been under construction since 2015 and which many describe as a modern wonder of the world.

Two of the NAC’s major new facilities will host delegates for the final day: the Central Bank of Egypt’s ultra-modern, recently completed, combined printing works and cash centre featuring the latest in technology, design, and function, and in contrast, the New Cairo Opera House, the venue for the Forum’s concluding celebration dinner.

The first delegate from each central or national bank can attend the African Currency Forum free of charge, with their accommodation paid for. There will be a nominal charge for subsequent central bank delegates, and for members of the AABSDP. Flights and travel costs to and from the Forum are the responsibility of all delegates, with the exception of the flight from Luxor to Cairo for those attending for the final day of the Forum, which will be free of charge.

The programme for the African Currency Forum is now being compiled, and will cover topics such as currency design, specifications, security features, substrates, production, durability, circulation, cost efficiency and sustainability. Anyone interested in giving a presentation is invited to contact the organisers with a proposal.

More information can be found at www.africancurrencyforum.com. Alternatively, contact events@recon-intl.com.