CAIRO: A “Construction train” leaves Cairo on Thursday, traveling to a number of Egyptian governorates, to connect with the masses in cities and villages, in order to raise participation in public life at the level of political and social development. The grassroots initiative is the first of its kind and organizers are expecting a large turnout. The “construction train” initiative was launched by a group of January 25 revolution youth who aim at communicating with the public in the different provinces of Egypt, especially slum-like areas and poor villages. The initiative relies on a variety of means, including public conferences in different areas in the governorates and awareness tours carried out by youth groups in order to raise the rates of participation in public life, political, cultural and religious development, according to those in charge of the initiative. The construction train also started the preparation of a television program that will be displayed soon to reflect the marginalized and the successful experiences that the media have not shed light on them. The organizers of the initiative prepared training programs for hundreds of volunteers in communication skills to know how to commune with the masses and how to convince them. The programs will be taught through a group of specialists in the field of political communication and public relations so that the volunteers would be eligible to participate in the initiative. According to al-Sharouk newspaper, the organizers said that the door is open to all Egyptian young people to participate in the activation of the initiative and to access Egypt's geographic depths that need more time and attention from the youth. A number of artists and political activists will participate in the first stage of the initative including Amr Shubaki, an expert and political analyst at al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, Moez Masoud, religious scholar, Mustafa el-Nagar, political activist, Ahmed Helmy, actor, and Mohamed Diab, film director. The train's first stop will be in the province of Beni Suef on Thursday. El-Beheira governorate will be the second governorate that will witness the start of the initiative which will almost be on a weekly basis, BM
