Ambassador Hisham Badr showcases the goals of the National Initiative for Smart Green Projects at the Arab League

General Coordinator of the National Initiative for Smart Green Projects Ambassador Hisham Badr participated in the special meeting organized by the General Secretariat of the Arab League’s Department of Sustainable Development and International Cooperation, in collaboration with the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development to learn about the initiative, its mechanisms, objectives, and its outcomes.

During the meeting, Ambassador Hisham Badr clarified that the initiative aims to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) by preserving the environment, improving the quality of life, facing climate change problems, using modern technologies, and generating income for its workers.

He also stated that the initiative is a model to be followed around the world, given that it stems from Egyptian citizens and not from the government. He also stated that the projects included in the initiative generate solutions to existing challenges, as the purpose of this initiative is to find real solutions on the ground.

Badr added that the initiative is keen on the participation of all segments of society in environmental projects that serve sustainable development. It contains 6 categories: small, medium, large, startups, non-profit, and women’s projects.

Furthermore, Amb. Badr indicated the initiative's team's readiness to transfer their experiences. He also indicated the possibility of implementing such initiatives in other countries around the Arab world or globally to benefit from the Egyptian experience. Then he explained that the initiative will continue its hard work to reach the COP-28 climate conference in the United Arab Emirates, where the winners of the second round of the initiative will present their projects, confirming the continuity of the initiative and its ability to reach practical and applicable solutions.

The ambassador then touched on the database that includes all the green smart projects participating in the initiative’s first round. He also touched on the significant role it plays in linking these projects with investors.

He further pointed out that the database produced a map showing the geographical location of each project and its nature. This makes it easier for the investor to access projects that meet his needs or fall within his circle of interest.

Moreover, Amb. Badr displayed some success stories from the winning projects and partnerships with international organizations and funding agencies, including a project to combat "palm mites" in Suez Governorate, as well as a winning project for the women category in Fayoum (Golden Hands), a project in Alexandria for computer waste and converting it into metal cutting machines, in addition to The "Bab Rizk" project in the College of Applied Arts for the manufacture of women's jewelry from scrap, where women are trained in this craft, as well as a project in North Sinai by a woman by growing plants that absorb oils and water pollutants, which is a project that companies operating in the field of oil have adopted.

For her part, Dr. Nada Al-Ajizi, Director of the Sustainable Development and International Cooperation Program at The Arab League expressed keenness to support the efforts of the Arab Republic of Egypt for the success of the National Initiative for Green Smart projects and to discuss the possibility of enhancing cooperation and strategic partnership with operating Arab institutions in the field of sustainable development.

She also added that the Egyptian initiative will be circulated to Arab countries because of its profound impact on raising the level of awareness of Arab societies about the phenomenon of climate change and its challenges, and about sustainable development issues in general.

Al-Ajizi said that the aim of today's meeting is to get acquainted with this initiative, which was praised by the United Nations as a pioneering initiative in the field of sustainable development, by developing a map at the governorate level for green and smart projects, linking it to financing agencies, and attracting the necessary investments for it from home and abroad.

The attendees, and representatives of Arab countries, also expressed their interest in learning about the elements of the initiative, its projects, and its outputs, and the possibility of applying it and benefiting from it in reaching local solutions to climate change issues through the use of technological factors, which leads to job creation and thus improving the quality of life.

During the meeting, a delegation from the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development in Egypt gave a visual presentation on the elements of the initiative, explaining that the initiative aims to maximize the use of information and communication technology within the framework of the state’s plan for digital transformation, empower all governorates of Egypt, reach out to various social and geographical groups, and spread community awareness about the challenges of climate change, the capabilities of modern technologies, the empowerment of women in facing the challenges of climate change and the environment, and the integration of all segments of society to find solutions to the challenges of climate and environmental change.