Young people from 30 Arab and Islamic states had a work-holiday in Port Nuweiba, reports Mahmoud Bakr The Arab Union for Youth and Environment organised the first Arab-Islamic environmental camp from 19 to 25 July. Founded in cooperation with the Islamic Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO), the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs, and the National Council for Youth, the seven-day camp hosted a hundred young male and female participants from 30 Arab and Islamic states. Magdi Allam, the union's president, says the youth planted trees and beautified Nuweiba's port as a part of a programme to develop Arab ports and to plant a billion trees adopted by the union in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Transportation. This activity, Allam says, was also part of the union's celebration of World Environment Day with the aim of limiting carbon emissions by increasing green areas. Allam reports that the youth planted 1,000 trees and 50 palms at the port and Nuweiba Hospital, in addition to the youth centres of Nuweiba and Al-Tarabin. They also painted wall murals, spruced up buildings, and undertook basic repairs. The participants insisted on devoting two days to beautification and maintenance of the Youth City as they consider it a home for all Egyptian, Arab, and Islamic youth. Mamdouh Rashwan, the union's secretary-general, says that the camp aimed to beautify the area because it is an important sea port that serves pilgrims throughout the year. It is an excellent opportunity for cultural exchange among youth in Arab and Islamic countries. Rashwan stresses the importance of Arab youth activities in support of the environment. Rashwan reports that the camp included a cultural and tourism programme for participants that included several awareness-raising seminars held with experts specialised in the environment. These seminars focussed on the role of youth in the Islamic world in addressing climate change, and the role of volunteering in the development of Arab and Islamic societies. The programme also included an event called "Present your nation" in which youth from each participating nation showed films and talked about some of the most important heritage sites and tourism attractions of their countries. The programme further included visits to Pharaoh's Island, Salaheddin's fortress in Taba, and Sharm El-Sheikh -- the city of peace, as well as the Ras Mohamed nature reserve. Participants also took a glass-bottom boat ride to view the coral reef, and visited the border with Palestine. Rashwan says that 1,000 trees were distributed to Bedouin families in the city to plant as they like, and that Bedouin sheikhs insisted on inviting the camp participants to a party in the Sinai mountains. At the end of the camp, participants issued a statement condemning the intervention of European states in the internal affairs of Arab and Islamic states, especially the pressure currently being placed on Sudan and its president.
