The first conference aimed at empowering young Egyptian university students was held at Wekalet Al-Ghoury, Ghada Abdel-Kader attended The ancient building of Al-Ghoury in the heart of Islamic Cairo was abuzz with the back and fro of young members of the Advanced Business Community (ABC) celebrating their first annual conference. ABC was founded two years ago by Hala Makhlouf, a senior at the Faculty of Commerce, Cairo University. The organisation's primary aim is to serve the community at large through developing students' skills in various fields prior to their graduation. Through training, ABC offers to incubate ideas, enhance objectives, as well as provide sponsoring, advice and supervision from university professors. Among the fresh ideas advanced by ABC was that of Maza team. "We noticed that most T-shirt designs are derived from foreign cultures. So, we tried to make T-shirts with oriental designs that capture the spirit of our culture instead," explained Ali Taha, a member of the team. "We shall start our project after graduation." "Every year, 12,000 students graduate from the Faculty of Commerce and can't find a job although the field of commerce is very wide. So we try to help students apply what they study in their lives in some useful way," explained Elham Mohamed, president of ABC's academic committee . "This year, 110 students graduated from ABC, most of whom are seniors at faculties of commerce, while the rest are from different faculties in Cairo University, such as agriculture, arts, medicine and mass communication," Mohamed said. He believes that jobs are actually available, but that young people often lack the experience that qualifies them for such jobs. The ABC programme includes one year spent in applying academic data from research to studies of business and various projects under the supervision of university professors. Training sessions are held every Friday and, on the second lecture, students are divided into teams, each of which is asked to conduct its own economic study, as well as a marketing strategy and design. Eventually, they acquire the basic information required for starting any project and, at the end of the training course, various companies are invited to evaluate their work. "Cairo University's Faculty of Commerce is paying particular attention to developing the students' skills in order to enable them to work in the public and private sectors. The faculty is supervising 10 models that are held under the supervision of the Research and Commercial Studies Centre [RCSC]," elaborated Osama El-Ansari, RCSC consultant at the faculty. Time management, stock markets, employment fair and community service models are held and run by students, while RCSC provides them with halls for their meetings and computer equipment. The centre also takes care of the financial aspect as well as provides links to the business community. ABC runs three councils that correlate to the Egyptian market's main three sectors: business, insurance and banking. Business for Life (B4L) is augmenting the business sector through developing small projects created by 40 student members. "Business is essential for life and we help people open new businesses," Yomna Ahmed, moderator at B4L and a senior at the Faculty of Commerce, told Al-Ahram Weekly. "I believe that anything starts with small steps." Insurance for Progress (I4P) focuses on new ideas in the area of improvement of insurance activities presented by 30 students. "Insurance represents 0.8 per cent of the trade industry in Egypt while, in other countries, it accounts for up to 10 per cent. Many people know little about insurance services," Mohamed explained. "Garbage is a great wealth that we can use in many industries," said Alaa Wael, president of the Insurance Committee. "During the conference, we were able to join efforts with Al-Sawah non-profit organisation and have agreed to recycle garbage into paper, then sell it to factories to raise funds for underprivileged families." Finally, Money Talks Council (MTC) is where 40 students are taught how to create the best possible way to generate and transact money. ABC has numerous other committees, through which they produce multi- media documents, design their website and print their own magazine. In the spotlight A few examples of ABC's nine projects: Swansh Is a Human Resources Training and Creative Thinking Centre. Derived from the initials of its team members, Swansh targets people aged between 17 and 30. "First of all, we will work in the field of HR for a while until we gain experience, then, we'll start our own project," member Heba El-Gasmi explained. Diet side Is a restaurant for healthy food and beverages with average prices ranging between LE7 and LE40. The project is to depend on the delivery orders to start with, with a long-term view to cater to children and fitness centres. EAH Is a project that promotes the insurance of cell phones against robbery. Ripples of change "EACH one of us is like a brick; on throwing it in the river, it makes some waves. Thus, it affects itself and its surroundings," said 21-year- old Hala Makhlouf, founder and current president of the Advanced Business Community (ABC) to Al-Ahram Weekly. Makhlouf is a senior student at the Faculty of Commerce, English Section at Cairo University, whose major is business administration. "I've always loved commerce, as well as politics. I believe that Egypt won't have a leading role unless it has a strong economy, education, faith, will power and determination." Hence came the idea of ABC. Watching so many young people depressed and frustrated, Makhlouf decided to help her peers make better use of their spare time by turning all the faculties' theoretical studies into practice. Despite her and her colleagues' enthusiasm, the idea did not attract many students, so they postponed it for two school years. Another obstacle was to convince her professors with the idea. "Our professors were not enthusiastic until the Research and Commercial Studies Centre agreed to help us transform the theoretical studies into applicable ones in the world of reality," explained Makhlouf, adding that they also tried to develop new ideas that could help young people change their way of living and raise awareness. "Our dream is not only an advanced community in business, but also in all aspects of life." This enthusiastic and determined young lady takes after her mother who, despite being worried that such activities might affect her daughter's studies, has always supported and encouraged her. "I have a very small family. I have one brother and my father passed away. My mother is a mathematics teacher." In her spare time, Makhlouf loves reading in all fields, be it poetry, sociology, history or politics; as well as travelling. Her favourite poets and writers are Farouk Goweida, Farouk Shusha, Mustafa Mahmoud and Youssef Al-Qaradawi. Chicken Soup for the Soul is her favourite book. "My two role models are Amr Khaled and Sayeda Khadiga. Khaled wants young people to stop being passive and take action in the reformation and revival of their countries; while Sayeda Khadiga is the first wife of the holy Prophet Mohamed and is considered the first astute businesswoman in the history of Islam." Makhlouf aims to attain her Masters degree and establish a non- governmental organisation to carry out ABC's work on a larger scale. Democracy game A FEW weeks ago, Al-Sawy Culture Wheel hosted a press conference to announce the results of the Win Your Rights contest, the first Egyptian competition aimed at reinforcing the concept of citizenship among the young generation as well as introducing the definition of democracy. The exercise was directed mainly at students in preparatory schools. The project was the result of cooperation between the Ministry of Education, the African Egyptian Human Rights Organisation, the Egyptian Educational Resources Association and USAID. Win Your Rights is divided into four stages. The first includes four training courses for trainers and teachers who then ask their students to write an essay titled Why I Want to Live in a Democratic Country. Phase two is Treasure Hunt where participants apply theories of democracy to the status quo and match it against the pillars of democracy. Phase III is called Summer Camps, where students are divided into teams that practise special activities by playing them out. The best students who apply the concept of democracy effectively are chosen. In the final phase, Real Television Show, students learn how to discuss and debate critical thinking and democratic principles, to participate in a televised interactive show. The winning team will be the Egyptian national team and will compete against other countries. The show will be broadcast on satellite TV. Win Your Rights started in mid-February 2008 with some 1,500 students from 95 schools in 11 governorates. The best 10 trainers, 10 teachers and 10 students were awarded for their outstanding performance. The competition ends in September 2008. For more information visit www.eksab7a2k.com Egyptian youth centres meet international standards A FEW weeks ago, Egypt hosted the 47th international conference on the International Youth Hostels Federation (IYHF). Mamdouh Mandour, international commissioner of the Egyptian Youth Hostel Association and IYHF board member, said Egypt has 15 youth hostels in Alexandria, Port Said, Ismailia, Cairo, Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada, but that only seven had met IYHF standards. The good news is that by the end of 2008, all youth hostels in Egypt will reportedly meet the standards set by Youth Hostelling International. For more information visit www.egyptyha.com
