The Big Read Egypt-U.S. project is a global collaborative cultural initiative organized by the U.S. Department of State and the National Endowment for the Arts, in partnership with Arts Midwest, the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, and the Institute of Museums and Library Services. The Big Read Egyptian partners include the American University in Cairo, the Egyptian Association for Educational Resources (E-ERA) and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.
The project includes many cultural events varying between lectures, seminars, film screenings, play readings, literary and artistic competitions, online activities, as well as distributing free of charge books.