CAIRO: Dressed in ancient Roman costumes, a group of young teenagers got up on stage to take part in a political debate for and against Julius Caesar. Each side had strong, well-researched arguments that they presented confidently before an audience, who were given the chance to vote for the side they agreed with. This democratic exercise is the outcome of a year-long program organized by the Afro-Egyptian Human Rights Organization (AEHRO). The first ever KiDmocracy event was held at the Geneina Theater of Al-Azhar Park on Monday night, presented by prominent journalist Bothaina Kamel. It is also the launch of three programs related to democracy for school students between ages of 12 and 14. The AEHRO group is a non-profit civil society organization led by apolitical professionals. "We, the people, have chosen democracy as our preferred form of governance - seeking a society that honours freedom, embraces diversity, and protects human rights - we must start immediately by living democratic values and instilling them in our children. The pilot project, KiDmocracy 2007, started with a competition between 148 students from nine schools, who signed up online. The requirements were an academic research paper stating the five most important pillars to achieving democracy along with a comparison between four countries. Sixteen students were selected for participation. The selection criteria focused more on the quality of their research than on the ideas themselves. "We had to write an eight page-long essay. It was tough, but it was worth it. It was a life changing experience, said Monica El Sheikh, one of the participating students from Modern Education School. The winners traveled to the United States for two weeks. The first week they spent in Massachusetts where they lived with American families that have children their age. They also attended classes in the organization's partnering school Mount Everest Regional, where they took classes in patriotism, tolerance of other countries and democracy. "I made friends that live on the other side of the world - which is amazing. I learned how to say my opinion without being afraid . Everyone has that right and this is probably the best thing I have learned, said Alia El Makady, another student at Modern Education School. The second week the children traveled to Philadelphia, Boston, Washington DC and New York where they met congressmen like John Kerry and the Chairman of National Endowment for Democracy John Weber. They also met with the Egyptian Ambassador to the US Nabil Fahmy. "The feedback was amazing; from the US, from the people they met, from the teachers, from the parents and from the students themselves, says Hadia El-Banhawy member of the AEHRO Group. Due to the success of the pilot, the KiDmocracy project is now an annual project. Laura Smith, one of the American students from Mount Everest Regional School that hosted some of the Egyptian students told The Daily Star Egypt, "I thought they would be different, all wearing like traditional dresses and everything. But it was just amazing. I had no idea that they where so similar to us. So friendly and welcoming. We got along as soon as I met them. Smith was one of two students chosen to make speeches at the event. Their words touched the audience as they spoke of how humanity is a universal value, no matter what the culture is. The event included the launch of KiDmocracy 2008. The alumni of KiDmocracy 2007 also inaugurated "Iksab Ha'ak (Win Your Rights), an Arabic program that will be implemented as an extra curricular activity in four governorates: Cairo, Giza, Aswan and El Sharqeya. "We want to show its benefits, so the Ministry of Education would agree to make it part of the core curriculum, explains El-Banhawy. The event closed with a concert by local band Eskandrella, ending the inspirational night on a soothing note.
