CAIRO: For the second consecutive year, The American University in Cairo (AUC) School of Continuing Education is hosting a summer program on the New Cairo Campus, open to children from the greater Cairo community. The program, Discover and Explore, is designed for children ages 6 through 15, and offers a variety of activities, including theater, film studies, ballroom dance, art, model United Nations, sports, as well as programs designed to help young people understand their potential to contribute to their communities and their world. “This program is unique from other programs for youth in that it gives young learners the freedom to express themselves,” said Noha Khafagi, senior English instructor at AUC and manager of the Discover and Explore program. “It is an experiential program that doesn't depend on lectures. Most of the activities are hands on and are done by the students themselves. We empower them to discover everything – their interests, passions and abilities, even in arts and dancing,” Khafagi said. The three session program presents activities to equip children with competencies and skills that help them in both their academic and social lives. Children engage in hands-on activities with titles such as The Young Scientist, The Young Entrepreneur and A Better You. “Every hour there is something different – something that delivers astonishing facts in different areas,” explained Khafagi. “Through the Young Entrepreneur class, for instance, students are introduced to the secrets of starting a business and the way to market it. The session on Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens teaches them how to write their personal mission statements; the debating sessions show them the strategies to discuss the pros and cons of certain issues such as using cell phones in classrooms. “Additionally, the critical reading activities enable them to read between the lines and then connect what they read to real life. They are taught how to go beyond the text and think outside the box,” added Khafagi. AUC's New Cairo campus offers amenities such as the food court, the Sports Complex, the Desert Development Center, the art studio in the AUC Center for the Arts, and the physics lab where children learn the rules of gravity and do scientific experiments presented as games. This year's camp also offers community service. Campers go to the Day Care Center to read books to children. “This helps them discover the rewards of volunteer work, which they will then extend to their communities,” added Khafagi. During the arts and crafts class, children sit around a table and draw certain themes. “Everybody loves the class and do not want to leave; they even want to skip lunch,” said Dina Younes, part-time art teacher, with a master's degree in architecture and a diploma in art from Paris. The School of Continuing Education Youth and Special Studies Division operates two other junior summer programs on Downtown Campus and in Heliopolis. AUC established the summer programs nearly 25 years ago to provide Egyptian children with educational, cultural and recreational activities during the summer holiday. In addition to serving children, the program also offers leadership and management training to high school students and AUC undergraduates who are hired to serve as camp counselors and teaching assistants. BM
