CAIRO: An estimate of 2,500 youth activists, political party members and others will participate in the “First Conference of Egypt: The People Protecting their Revolution” scheduled for Saturday, the organizing committee said. The committee said in a press conference on Tuesday that they received positive feedback regarding the participation of different political and social powers in the conference scheduled to take place on May 7 at the Cairo International Conference Center. Those who have officially announced that they will run for Egypt's presidency have confirmed their attendance of Egypt's First Conference, organizers said. During the conference, participants will nominate a National Council of 60 members, representing different political ideologies that believe in a civil state, that will be working on maintaining the achievements of the January 25 Revolution. It will also address the remaining objectives in order to fulfill the ambitions of Egyptians in change and building a society based on freedom and social justice. Attending the press conference were four members of the organizing committee: renowned engineer Mamdouh Hamza; Deputy Head of the Supreme Constitutional Court Tahani El Gebaly; journalist Hussein Abdel Ghany, and Gamal Fahmy, head of the Arab Affairs Committee at the Journalists' Syndicate. Hamza explained that the elected National Council will be working with the government and the ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) to achieve the remaining objectives of the revolution. It will primarily include the young people who actively participated in the revolution, not only in recognition of their role as the catalyst for change but also due to their promising potential in the future, he added. The Council will also issue the ‘Revolution Document' and have a unified list of the candidates they'll support at the upcoming parliamentary elections, Hamza added. “The National Council will be a representative body which will be like a continuity of the conference, as it includes experts from different specializations. They will be carrying out discussions all over the country,” he said. Abdel Ghany pointed out that they will work on a unified vision for the elections. The conference will include four sessions; first, the basic principals for the upcoming constitution; second, a future vision for development and social justice; third, unifying the political and national powers for the upcoming legislative elections; and fourth, electing a National Council to aid the SCAF. As for the religious movements in Egypt, Abdel Ghany said that they were all invited. The Muslim Brotherhood apologized for not attending, he added. Furthermore, they have invited the entire cabinet of ministers and have sent 23 invitations to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, of which seven accepted so far.
