One of the projects sponsored by the Goethe Institute in Cairo is the Tahrir Lounge launched shortly after the 25 January Revolution in April 2011 that helps Egypt's young people to discover their talents and enrich their creativity. The project organises various activities in many fields and curates cultural activities and workshops that enrich the Egyptian cultural scene. It has launched partnerships with different governmental agencies as part of a wider agreement between Egypt and Germany. Al-Ahram Weekly talked to founder and director of Tahrir Lounge Mona Shahine, who explained one of the ways in which the project was helping by encouraging Egyptian scientists abroad to inspire the country's young people to follow careers in science. “Many Egyptian young people may lack positive role models, and the prestige of science and scientists in Egypt has declined. The project has been working with young people for the past five years and has more than 80,000 followers on its Facebook page. While we can't always offer high quality training to large numbers of young people, we can work with the government, which has the facilities, to encourage international cooperation with young people,” Shahine explained. Recently, it has launched a new project called Al-Molhem, or “I Inspire”, which is a partnership between the Tahrir Lounge and the Supreme Council for Culture (SCC) to open cooperation with young people. Coordination and communications manager for civil society organisations and concerned bodies for culture Rasha Abdel-Moneim said the project was presented to the SCC as a focus for possible cooperation, and this was agreed by SCC Secretary-General Amal Al-Sabban. At present, it aims to help motivate young people to follow careers in science by presenting role models of scientists who have excelled in their fields and opening up community dialogue about the importance of science and education. “It is important for young people to gain from the success experience itself. Egyptian young people sometimes miss the presence of positive role models. Prominent scientists are too often working abroad and do not always receive media coverage at home,” Abdel-Moneim said. For Shahine, “there is no hope without a real scientific renaissance in Egypt. I asked myself why we did not invite Egyptian scientists who have become prominent figures abroad to visit to talk to young people about careers in science.” As Shahine started to develop the idea with her team at Tahrir Lounge that includes Dina Abul-Maaref, Sarah Al-Rawi, Mahmoud Al-Zohari and Mina Salib and are affiliated to the German Cultural Centre funded by the German government, she thought about the idea of inviting Egyptian scientists residing in Germany to come to Egypt. Germany has made many very significant achievements in science, education and research, and Germany's higher education system is one of the best in the world. The choice of scientists to be invited to Egypt has been based on certain rules. The scientist has to be Egyptian and has to have lived and been educated in Egypt, he or she facing the same challenges as the targeted young people. He or she has to have experienced success abroad and achieved a high scientific position in a foreign country. The group started to contact such individuals and organise their visits. They found a large number of Egyptian scientists not only in Germany but also in many other European countries who were willing to participate in the project. “We chose 12 Egyptian scientists residing in Germany from different fields. Four have confirmed their visits,” Shahine said. The scientists include Hani Sweilam, an expert in sustainable development and water resource management from the RWTH Aachen University in Germany, Mosaad Megahed, professor and head of the Department of Dermatology at RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Khaled Abdel-Rahman, head of the Geotechnical Engineering Institute at Hanover University, and Victor Rizkallah, former vice-president of the University of Hanover and former president of the German Engineers Chamber. Sweilam's visit was from 2-5 October. He did his doctoral degree in Germany after a Masters in London and received the German Best Doctoral Dissertation Award in 2002. He has been director of the Department of Engineering Hydrology at the RWTH Aachen University in Germany and director of the UNESCO chair for Hydrological Changes and Water Resources Management from 2002 to 2010, also at the RWTH Aachen University. He has managed capacity building projects in 21 countries. In 2002, Sweilam began projects in Egypt in cooperation with Egyptian universities and the National Centre for Water Research. In 2008, he established the first North African Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development (RCE Cairo), acknowledged by the United Nations University and winner of an award for Best Development Project. Megahed's visit took place from 8-12 October. His scientific work is in dermatology, where he has worked particularly in the diagnosis of diseases, among them diseases that can start in the skin and then spread throughout the body. He has made discoveries in autoimmune diseases and the formation of blisters of the skin. He has also worked in the treatment of psoriasis, a skin condition, and wrote an encyclopaedia on dermatological diseases. Abdel-Rahman's visit took place from 22-25 October. He has specialised in electricity generation from wind power for more than 20 years and was a member of the Alpha Ventus Project in the North Sea where 12 wind turbines now generate enough electric power to illuminate a small city. This was the first offshore wind farm to be built in Germany and is situated in the North Sea 45 km north of Borkum. Abdel-Rahman has earned the title of “king of the windmills of the North Sea” due to his major contributions to designing wind turbines and understanding the factors determining their efficiency. Rizkallah's visit to Egypt is scheduled from 19-22 November. He is a member of the Presidential Advisory Council of Egyptian Scientists and Experts formed by President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi in September 2014. Rizkallah is also founder of the Victor Rizkallah Foundation at the Leibniz University of Hanover in Germany and a consultant engineer. Among his most important designs is one for the biggest container port in the world.
Focus on education: The main focus of the SCC and the Tahrir Lounge is education, which is why the scientists' schedules include visits to schools and universities and an open meeting at the SCC open to all young people. The “I Inspire” Project includes open meetings with young adults at the SCC in Cairo and at the university from which the visiting scientist originally graduated. Each scientist will also visit one of the schools he attended during his or her education in Egypt. “We are organising open meetings between the scientists and young people to talk about his or her experience, the challenges or obstacles he or she faced, and how he or she overcame them,” Shahine said. “Each scientist will give a televised interview to maximise the audience for the visits,” she added. Each will participate in a discussion on the development of education in the country with experts in Egypt. “We will listen to their points of views on how to develop and improve the quality of education in Egypt. How can we motivate young people to love science? What are the latest innovations in the field of science and technology? These are the kinds of questions we will be asking,” explained Shahine. At the end of each visit, each scientist will have meetings with a wide range of experts on education. “Their recommendations will be written up and sent to the presidency,” said Shahine. “The estimated number of the beneficiaries of the project is 4,000 people,” she added. “This project is directed to young Egyptians in general and to those interested in the fields the scientists specialise in,” added Abdel-Moneim. The continuation of the project next year will be determined by its results this year. It began in October and will last until December in its first phase. Other phases are planned, including evaluation. “If the results are positive, we will begin a second phase in which we will look at the social sciences, art and literature,” explained Abdel-Moneim. The SCC will honour the participating scientists with certificates recognising their contributions. “A booklet will be published containing details of all the visits to Egypt, including the events that took place and upcoming initiatives in reference to the visits,” he added. Cooperation between the SCC and the Tahrir Lounge began two years ago, Shahine said. “This is the third year. We have previously offered training courses for employees in the culture sector, helping them to increase their skills. At the beginning of each year, we make an assessment of training requirements for each department and then decide the appropriate training programme for each individual or group of employees,” she added. “We have organised almost 40 workshops up to now in culture management, social media, fast reading and mind mapping, along with communication skills and reading body language, building online radio networks, and solving problems in creative ways,” said Abdel-Moneim.
Participant experiences: Ahmed Al-Sabban, an employee at the SCC, attended the social media, communication and body language workshops. “I learnt skills on how to handle situations well and create spaces of understanding even if you are in conflict or under pressure working in a group or with difficult people. I also learned how to use social media effectively in marketing and for promoting various types of events or conferences,” he said. Amira Salah works in the technical office of the SCC and is responsible for strategy and making plans for council activities. She took part in several workshops, including on the skills of the cultural journalist, social media, creativity in solving problems, communication skills, digital marketing and electronic marketing. “The majority of young Egyptians don't know much about the different activities of the council. They may think it is only for intellectuals, but these workshops have shown that this is not true,” she said. Among the activities have been free workshops for young people in creative writing, literary criticism and drama writing. “There was a big response from young people on the council's Facebook page. Already more than 1,000 young people have registered for the workshops. For the first time, we have tried to identify young people with the council's activities,” added Salah. Abdel-Moneim said that the “I Inspire” Project will help evaluate the effect of training on employees' efficiency and identify the advantages of working on the project. Those who have already undertaken training will participate in the project with the Tahrir Lounge team. “It is a good chance for the council team to gain practical knowledge through direct contact with the other team, allowing them to collaborate and exchange their experiences,” Abdel-Moneim said. “The main focus is improving the quality of education in Egypt, what we have and what we need. Good education and culture can help fight corruption and terrorism and may help society to become more tolerant and accepting of others,” commented Shahine. “One of the main objectives of Tahrir Lounge is to raise the number of youth participants by 2017 and help them participate in the Egyptian cultural scene. There is the idea that culture is only for the elite. However, culture should be available to everybody and reach everybody in different ways. It is an essential aspect of life and non-formal education, and it is an integral part of lifelong learning that ensures that young people and adults acquire and maintain the skills and abilities needed to adapt to the changing environment. Formal educational systems alone cannot respond to rapid and constant technological, social and economic change,” she added. Shahine now hopes to organise an annual science fair in Egypt in cooperation with the SCC and the Ministries of Culture, Education, Youth and Sports and with the participation of Egyptian schools, helping to open young people's eyes to the latest discoveries in science and technology. “I hope to see this dream come true by 2018 and to have Egyptian scientists supported by professional institutions in promoting their inventions and discoveries,” she said.
