Egypt's Minister of Planning and Economic Development launches the "Green Village" initiative

The activities of the National Conference for the National Initiative for Smart Green Projects were held on Thursday under the patronage of H.E. President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, in the presence of H.E. Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister, and H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development. During her speech, Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, said that the conference embodied a march of dedicated work.
This hard work appeared a few months ago with the issuance of the Prime Minister's decision to launch the National Initiative for Smart Green Projects. This decision set the organizational framework for this initiative and received the generous sponsorship of the President of the Republic. This initiative is a pioneering and unprecedented Egyptian effort that encourages creative thinking and innovative strategies in all parts of Egypt to cope with climate change.

El-Said added that the conference is the culmination of this process, which carries with it a wealth of tedious work so that the conclusion of this work is the right beginning for the launch of the most prestigious and largest environmental forum in the world hosted by Egypt on behalf of Africa, represented by the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP 27.

El-Said explained that the National Initiative for Smart Green Projects is a development initiative that is consistent with the Egyptian state's serious direction for green transformation and the achievement of comprehensive and sustainable development whose features were defined by Egypt's Vision 2030.

As El-Said explained, one of the main purposes of the project is to enhance full interaction between governorates and localities with issues of environmental justice, by developing an interactive map at the governorate level for green and smart projects, coordinating them with investment and financing from within and outside.  El-Said added that the initiative confirms the seriousness of the Egyptian state in dealing with climate change issues within the framework of its efforts to achieve comprehensive and sustainable development and digital transformation within the framework of the National Climate Change Strategy 2050. She further stressed the initiative's keenness to open the way for projects in different categories to achieve broader participation and inclusion. This comes in light of the initiative's categories of large-sized projects, medium-sized and small-sized projects, especially those related to the Decent Life Initiative, start-ups, non-profit community initiatives, and participation, in addition to women's projects.
 This is a new confirmation of the active role played by women in all areas of development, especially in issues related to climate change. In addition, it also reinforces the development of solutions and remedies for this challenge.

El-Said added that the initiative enhances what the Egyptian state aspires to by raising Egyptian citizens' awareness of the phenomenon of climate change and its challenges, and sustainable development issues in general in the various governorates.

El-Said also talked about the value of cooperation and teamwork witnessed by the initiative's activities in its various stages. Participants participated in the stages of preparation and working teams for all stages. 
This was at the level of the national organizing committee for the initiative or the level of executive committees in the various governorates.

The announcement of the winning projects in the initiative, following up this considerable work and the fruitful cooperation witnessed by the development partners, embodies the approach that the Egyptian state believes in and is keen on, which is the participatory approach and the golden triangle of development.

El-Said explained that Egypt is seeking, through the National Initiative for Smart Green Projects, to present an unprecedented development initiative that focuses on the implementation and practical application of innovative environmental treatments, in preparation for their adoption at the international level, especially in the context of Egypt hosting COP27.  
Dr. Hala El-Said stressed the keenness to take into account all the reasons for success; When implementing the initiative, including investing in the human element, to ensure capacity-building, governance, and sustainability in achieving the desired goals.
She referred to the organization of several training programs for the executive committees to explain the tasks required of them, and to define what green and smart projects are, as well as how to use the electronic platform and how to submit projects on it.

El-Said added that the evaluation and selection process among the present projects of the initiative took into account the availability of several criteria, most notably ensuring the presence of the green component as well as the smart technological component in the project, in addition to empowerment and equal opportunities to enhance women's participation in economic activity and support the state's orientation in the transition to a green economy.

El-Said also continued that the selection of the eighteen projects that were morally and materially honored represents the culmination of creative ideas whose owners succeeded in turning them into a tangible reality.

Moreover, El-Said announced the launch of the "Green Village" initiative, during the conference activities, which aims to rehabilitate the villages of the presidential initiative "Decent Life" to comply with the latest international environmental standards, in a fruitful partnership between the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development and the governorates, the Econsult.

She explained that this cooperation began by defining a set of objective criteria for selecting one of the villages in which the initiative can be implemented, and to be a model that can be generalized to 175 Egyptian villages during the coming period.


El-Said indicated that the village of Fares was chosen in Aswan Governorate, where work was carried out during the past six months to rehabilitate the village to obtain a certificate of "Rationalization" for green communities.
 Fares village was the first Egyptian village to obtain this certificate.