Government works on boosting tourism, archaeological awareness in schools

Passion needed among school students to learn more on Egypt's tourism, antiquities, says Education Minister

Egypt's Minister of Education Tarek Shawky has met with Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled El-Anani to discuss a number of cooperation projects.
The cooperation will particularly focus on increasing tourism and archaeological awareness, and enhancing "ethical tourism" among school students.
At the beginning of the meeting, Shawky stressed his ministry's support for raising student awareness on the importance of the tourism and antiquities sector.
The minister said that this will contribute to motivating students to learn more about the Ancient Egyptian history. It will also help in creating a passion for these important sectors, which is in line with the broader goal of the new education system.
He added that the Ministry of Education is looking to add materials serving this purpose to the educational curricula at the basic education level. This aims to clarify how to deal with tourists and welcome them as guests in Egypt, whilst also instilling the values of acceptance and respect for others.
The material will be aimed at students at the kindergarten and basic education stages. It will be put together through the review of the curricula used in schools to teach students about hotel tourism with the aim of enlightening them.
In addition to this, a number of promotional awareness materials will also be published on the EKB, the educational channels and electronic platforms launched by the Ministry.
For his part, El-Anani said that his ministry is working to revitalise Egypt's internal tourism movement by organising trips for school students to various tourist governorates. This comes in addition to establishing touristic, archaeological activities, and awareness programmes to raise tourism and archaeological awareness among all segments of society. It includes youth and adults, school and university students, and people with special needs.
The minister emphasised the importance of learning tourism ethics and how to deal with tourists. This is due to their having an important impact on forming a positive mental image of the Egyptian tourist destination and contributes to increasing the competitiveness of the sector.
El-Anani indicated that the meeting comes in line with strengthening the efforts made by the state and the interest of the political leadership in consolidating the principles of tourism awareness.
He said that his ministry has various awareness programmes and activities, such as the "Tourism Ambassador" and "Know Your Country" programmes. These aim to contribute to spreading tourism and archaeological awareness among school students.
The meeting dealt with the various methods of cooperation between the two ministries to work on enhancing and exchanging experiences to raise awareness.
The meeting was attended by Ministry of Education officials, including: Sherine Hamdy, Supervisor of the Minister's Office Sector; Randa Shaheen, Head of the Public Education Sector; Nawal Shalaby, Director of the Curriculum Development Center; and Elham Ibrahim, Head of Services and Activities Sector.
Officials from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities also attended, including: Yomna El Bahae, Assistant Minister for Technical Affairs; Soha Bahgat, Advisor to the Minister for Training; and Rasha Kamal, Director General of the Cultural Development and Community Communication Department.