The Mosaic Foundation, a charitable and educational organization based in Washington DC and founded by the spouses of the Arab Ambassadors accredited to the United States, yesterday held its Eighth Annual Benefit Gala, West Looks East: The Influence of Traditional Arab Design on Contemporary Western Fashion.  First Lady Laura Bush was honorary chairwoman of the Gala.  In a statement on the occasion, Princess Haifa Al-Faisal, President of the Foundation's Board of Trustees, expressed Mosaic’s interest in supporting programs that take care of mothers and children in the Arab world, and that benefit from the transfer of advanced medical expertise.

Since its establishment in 1998, the Foundation has given donations totaling over seven million U.S. dollars. This year's donation goes to Mosaic’s tele-medicine initiative in collaboration with the National Center for Children’s Medicine in Washington DC. The project is scheduled to commence its first phase by linking pediatrics specialists in Morocco with their counterparts in the United States. Mosaic also announced plans to set up an Arab Cultural Center in Washington DC aimed at enhancing cultural ties between the United States and the countries of the Arab world.

Last night’s event, which in addition to a dinner featured an exhibition of traditional folk costumes and Arab fashion designs, was the culmination of a six-month cultural season on the topic "the west looks to the east" during which nine lectures on the values and heritage of the Islamic civilization and its impact globally.

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