The Martin Bodmer Foundation invited serageldin to give a lecture at their exhibition entitled Alexandria the Divine held from 5 April to 31 August 2014. He was specifically asked to give the same highly applauded lecture he had given at the University of Geneva in celebration of its 450th anniversary, in March 2009. Serageldin’s presentation at the Martin Bodmer Foundation “Réinventer les centres culturels au XXIe siècle” (Reinventing the Cultural Centers of the Twenty-first Century) was equally well received as the first and was most relevant to the occasion and the exhibition.
The Martin Bodmer Foundation, the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana and the Fondation Gandur pour l’Art, joined forces and combined their treasures to portray the ancient glory of the city of Alexandria at the exhibition Alexandria the Divine. The event was jointly organized by the Bodmer Foundation and the Association Culturelle Egypto-Suisse (ACES). The displays include a wide range of papyri manuscripts and prints, archaeological objects and gelatin silver photo prints of major archaeological sites.
Among the attendees were Swiss Egyptian members of ACES who retained memories of a previous meeting with Serageldin on a boat in the lake by Geneva, where he had recreated the inspiring story of the ancient Library of Alexandria and the rebirth of the new Bibliotheca Alexandrina, carrying the audience with him on a journey of nostalgia and discovery.