Ministry of Planning Launches Sustainable Universities Initiative with Cairo University

The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development has launched the "Sustainable Universities" initiative under the patronage of the Prime Minister, in collaboration with Cairo University in its first edition. The launch took place at the Grand Celebration Hall of Cairo University, with the participation of Ambassador Hazem Khayrat, Advisor to the Minister of Planning and Economic Development for International Cooperation, representing Dr. Hala El Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Mohamed Othman El-Khashab, President of Cairo University, Dr. Tarek Shawki, former Minister of Education and Technical Education, Ambassador of the Sustainable Universities Initiative, Dr. Mohamed Alaa, Deputy Director of the International Cooperation Office and Head of the Human Rights Unit at the Ministry, the General Supervisor of the Sustainable Universities Initiative, as well as several executive and academic leaders from the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, Cairo University, parliamentarians, senior experts, public figures, and students from various faculties at Cairo University and Egyptian universities.

Ambassador Hazem Khayrat announced the launch of the "Sustainable Universities" initiative in his speech, affirming that the launch of this initiative embodies the Egyptian state's belief that investing in human capital and building the Egyptian individual is the core of development and its goal. He explained that the initiative aims to encourage youth participation through promoting volunteer work to serve their communities, raising awareness of the Egyptian state's vision in various development fields. The initiative also seeks to open channels of communication between youth and decision-makers through two tracks: community service and scientific research.

Khayrat added that the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development is working on several programs and initiatives aimed at raising awareness among Egyptian youth about the strategies, programs, and policies pursued by the state. These initiatives include those launched by the Human Rights Unit at the Ministry, such as the "Youth for Development" initiative, which started at the beginning of the academic year 2021/2022 in partnership with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, represented by the Supreme Council of Universities. The initiative involved 14 government, private, and non-profit universities during the academic year 2022-2023.

Dr. Mohamed Othman El-Khashab explained that the Sustainable Universities initiative has two pillars. The first pillar focuses on raising awareness of the importance of development issues and empowering university youth to play their roles through activities, training, convoys, and other initiatives where they express their capabilities, interests, and concerns. The second pillar aims to enrich scientific research related to sustainable development goals and link education to various development issues. He confirmed that Cairo University has been aligning its research and educational plans with the sustainable development goals of the United Nations for years.

Dr. Mohamed Alaa stated that the "Sustainable Universities" initiative complements other initiatives launched by the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, including the "Youth for Development" initiative, which aims to encourage youth activity through student competitions in policy writing and presenting initiatives for implementable development projects. The ministry, in partnership with the Information and Decision Support Center, published two policy papers that won in the first year of this initiative, from Cairo University and Port Said University. The ministry is also working on following up on the winning projects to ensure that the ideas and innovations of youth come to light. Another initiative the ministry is working on is "Be an Ambassador," which aims to raise awareness among youth about sustainable development goals.

Alaa also emphasized that what distinguishes this initiative is opening up opportunities for youth creativity without restricting them to specific contributions within the framework of the initiative. The coordinators of the initiative at the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development and Cairo University have set criteria for judging the activities of students, such as conducting research projects, awareness-raising activities, women's empowerment, etc., without limiting these activities. One of the most important judging criteria is the number of participating students, gender representation, and achieving developmental impact related to Egypt's Vision 2030 and/or the National Strategy for Human Rights, among other criteria aimed at encouraging youth to contribute effectively to development efforts and building awareness of their ability to develop their communities.

As an ambassador for the initiative, Dr. Tarek Shawki clarified that the main goal is to encourage educational institutions to positively engage in serving development issues and to provide guidance to the initiative's implementers on how to achieve its goals optimally, develop them, link participating youth with stakeholders in public work fields to expand the benefits of their contributions, and market the initiative globally in the best possible way.