Ramsco's Women Empowerment Initiative Recognized Among Top BRICS Businesswomen Practices for 2025    Egypt, Elsewedy review progress on Ain Sokhna phosphate complex    Gold prices end July with modest gains    Pakistan says successfully concluded 'landmark trade deal' with US    Egypt's FM, US envoy discuss Gaza ceasefire, Iran nuclear talks    Modon Holding posts AED 2.1bn net profit in H1 2025    Egypt's Electricity Ministry says new power cable for Giza area operational    Egypt's Al-Sisi, Italian defence minister discuss Gaza, security cooperation    Egypt's FM discusses Gaza, Nile dam with US senators    Aid airdrops intensify as famine deepens in Gaza amid mounting international criticism    Health minister showcases AI's impact on healthcare at Huawei Cloud Summit    On anti-trafficking day, Egypt's PM calls fight a 'moral and humanitarian duty'    Federal Reserve maintains interest rates    Egypt strengthens healthcare partnerships to enhance maternity, multiple sclerosis, and stroke care    Egypt keeps Gaza aid flowing, total tops 533,000 tons: minister    Indian Embassy to launch cultural festival in Assiut, film fest in Cairo    Egyptian aid convoy heads toward Gaza as humanitarian crisis deepens    Culture minister launches national plan to revive film industry, modernise cinematic assets    Rafah Crossing 'never been closed for one day' from Egypt: PM    I won't trade my identity to please market: Douzi    Two militants killed in foiled plot to revive 'Hasm' operations: Interior ministry    Egypt's EHA, Huawei discuss enhanced digital health    Egypt, Oman discuss environmental cooperation    Egypt's EDA explores pharma cooperation with Belarus    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



CEDEJ library closure causes discontent
Published in Almasry Alyoum on 29 - 12 - 2009

For over 40 years Egypt's premier French research center has been been housed in the heart of downtown Cairo. The Centre d'Etudes et de Documentation Economiques, Juridiques et Sociales (CEDEJ) has been a hub of dynamic academic activity since 1968, but by the beginning of 2010 things will change dramatically for the center.
The CEDEJ will relocate its premises by next year, but perhaps more DRAMATIC for scholars will be the closure of its library, which is home to no less than 48,000 books, two thirds of which are in Arabic, as well as the collection from the French School of Law, and a press archive dating back to 1976 and indexed by 1200 issues. The closure will also entail firing seven employees who have worked at the library for years.
The CEDEJ's leadership has a new vision for the center, but it's not one that always appeals to researchers. “We need to modernize our tools,” says Marc Lavergne, head of the CEDEJ, who believes that the CEDEJ can play a central role in international understanding, particularly regarding controversies like the Swiss minaret ban and niqab in France. “The CEDEJ will fall very short if measures are not taken right away.”
Current research themes in the CEDEJ include waste management, pollution, Cairo's urban development, the future of the Muslim Brotherhood, Internet laws, workers' movement, women's issues, globalization and patriarchy.
Modernization starts with the library, according to Lavergne. “The press archive is particularly specific to CEDEJ, because it involves the thematic classification of media clips. But this process is becoming incomplete and obsolete. On one hand, it's expensive to hire staff to do this process. On the other hand, there is information that comes through other means than print media.”
That the archive can only be accessed on the premises of the CEDEJ makes it impractical, according to Lavergne. “We have to rethink all that. We have to find alternative methods with young intelligent people who are university graduates. Some of the current employees are not.”
On 14 December, employees working in the library of the CEDEJ were told that their term had come to an end. French ambassador to Egypt Jean Félix-Paganon told employees that the library will be closed altogether and that the center may be transferred to Alexandria, where it could engage more in Euro-Mediterranean projects.
According to the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights, negotiations were arranged on 21 December between the seven employees, lawyers, and representatives of the CEDEJ and the French embassy. After the meeting, the employees were granted some financial compensations and a three-month notice. But certain issues are still pending, such as the exact value of the severance package and the question of arbitrary disbanding, which CEDEJ originally wanted to make a two-month salary for each year of service.
“Since the last meeting, the staff and their representatives are formulating their demands. I have little hope that our voice will be heard and that our colleagues will manage to have a better departure,” says Iman Farag, a sociologist who worked with the CEDEJ for 20 year and today represents its employees.
Academics, researchers, and former managers at CEDEJ have written petitions to the French ambassador in Cairo over the closure of the library.
“Shuttering any kind of library in Egypt is a real loss… In the spirit of knowledge building that CEDEJ has embodied for so many years, we strongly urge you to reconsider the decision and keep the library doors open. Generations of past and future researchers will be grateful,” reads one of the petitions.
But according to Lavergne, the library's closure will only be temporary since the French Embassy will sell the CEDEJ building, along with the consulate. While the consulate will move to the embassy premises in Giza, CEDEJ has the option of relocating to the premises of the French consulate in Alexandria or renting a new space in Cairo.
“So far, CEDEJ does not have the money for rent. We've been hosted by the embassy for free,” says Lavergne. Finding a proper space is a challenging task with the library acquiring as many as 1200 titles every year and 5000 un-indexed books in storage. “Where to put all this? We are strangled and we have to find a proper space.”
Most of the CEDEJ's funding comes from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. This mainly covers salaries. “This funding has been decreasing year after year, as has been the case with all French cultural and scientific establishments abroad. The financial crisis is not a secret,” says Lavergne. “We only survived through the reduction of our researchers. A research center without researchers is impossible.” Much of the current research at CEDEJ is funded through external partners.
The closure of the library and relocation of the CEDEJ are seen as part of a larger political and cultural policy shift. Malak Labib, a former intern with the CEDEJ and current PhD candidate in history in the Institut de Recherches et d'Etudes sur le Monde Arabe et Musulman, expressed her disappointment. “It's very sad that the French Foreign Ministry is opting to stop spending on research in Egypt and the Middle East in general. It's a disaster to transform the CEDEJ into a practical, business-oriented establishment.”
The possible relocation of the CEDEJ to Alexandria, with the aim of transforming it into a hub for Euro-Mediterranean research, is similarly problematic for many. “Is it normal to impose a research axis on a research institution as part of a political agenda? Can an establishment reduce its means and increase its field of activities at the same time?” reads the statement of one group of petitioners.
Lavergne maintains that he is fighting for the CEDEJ's survival, and is accordingly planning for its re-conception. “I understand the nostalgia to the CEDEJ of the 1980s and 1990s, but Egypt is changing and many people do not know the CEDEJ. I am interested in those people.”


Clic here to read the story from its source.