THE biggest room in a swanky downtown hotel was packed with expensively perfumed guests and journalists, enjoying a leisurely seminar over lunch about the horrendous sufferings of Egypt's poor. As they tucked into their delicious food, they watched a grim documentary film featuring people living in abject poverty, which did nothing to suppress the appetites of the cutely dressed ladies and gentlemen. Nor did a shocking statement made by a single mother living with her large family in one of the poorest villages in the country distract the audience from the tea they were drinking after the plates had been cleared away. “Why doesn't [the Government] save us from our unbearable Hell?” asked the single mother in the film, screened at a meeting held last week under the auspices of the Minister of Trade andIndustry Rashid Mohamed Rashid. The purpose of the meeting was to launch what the organisers called Egypt's first ‘Social Responsibility Map', which highlights poor villages, as well as their potential, their human resources and projects, which could make them prosperous. These organisers included the Egyptian Businessmen's Association,the Egyptian Junior Business Association and the Federation of Egyptian Industries. Big names, who were elegantly arrayed and shining on the podium, including James W. Rawley of the UN Development Programme; Maged Osman, the Chairman of the Cabinet Information and Decision-Support Centre; and a constellation of kindhearted people from the business community. The people being targeted (the nation's poor) were, unfortunately, only represented in a documentary film, while the key speakers kept telling each other how much money and effort they (or their organisations and businesses) have spent on charitable, save-the-poor projects. To tell the truth, they were optimistic that the poor would receive more help to overcome their misery, becoming better integrated into society. But one always wonders why conferences and seminars concerned about the poor are always held in very expensive hotels. These ‘galas', organised round the year, cost millions of Egyptian pounds, which would surely be better spent on the poor. The focus should be on visiting these poor villages: the VIPs themselves should go there and see whether anything is being done for them. The VIPs should actually meet with the poor and discuss things with them. Meanwhile, journalists should write sincere reports about them, encouraging the rich to step forward and see how they can contribute to the ‘social revolution'. However, it was good that a number of key speakers disclosed that they had upgraded their strategies to improve the living conditions of the poor and guarantee their children a better future. I was also happy when these people stressed that poor families have the right to enjoy good healthcare, as well as a good education and good employment prospects for their children. The newly launched Social Responsibility Map is a springboard for achieving an economic partnership and integration between the haves and the have nots. Another good thing is that the map pinpoints poor areas, which could be goldmines for the private sector and investors. The map highlights the economic, natural and social potential of different poor villages, which could be exploited for the benefit of their inhabitants by private-sector companies and investors. These inhabitants could be trained to run small businesses, which could help change them from being recipients of handouts to positive contributors to the national economy. The Social Responsibility Map has been created by the Social Contract Centre, a joint initiative launched by the Egyptian Cabinet and the UNDP. The SCC was favourably referred to in 2005's Human Resources Development Report.
