Film industry & technology Hackathon training camp kicks off its activities

The activities of the intensive training camp for the winning teams in the Film Industry and Technology Hackathon, which will continue until September 30, 2021, were launched in cooperation with the National Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development(NIGSD) - the training arm of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, Gemini Africa, the Business Incubator of the Faculty of Economics and Political Science at Cairo University, the Egyptian Exporters Association and the United Nations Program (UNDP) Development.
The launch of the camp comes under the umbrella of the Sustainable Innovation Lab project, whose first activity was the Hackathon for the Cinema Industry and Technology, which was very popular with young people interested in the film industry. The training camp provides a specialized incubation course for the winning teams of 25 participants from the governorates of Cairo, Alexandria, and Aswan, representing 8 projects, to help them develop their ideas and projects.During the opening of the events, Dr. Sherifa El-Sherif, Executive Director of the National Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development (NIGSD) said that the sustainable innovation lab project contributes to completing the link between the outputs of the "Be an Ambassador" initiative, which prepares young people to absorb and adopt the ideas and goals of sustainable development.El-Sherif added that the film and technology industry hackathon aims to contribute to raising the efficiency of young entrepreneurs interested in the film and technology industry and support their projects, to advance the film industry, which is one of the most important creative industries that characterize the Egyptian state.El-Sherif stressed that the cultural industries, including the film industry, are an important source of growth and a basis for Egypt's soft power, noting that the hackathon achieves four goals of the sustainable development goals, namely the fifth, eighth, ninth, and tenth, related to economic growth, decent work, and reducing inequality, innovation, industry, and gender equality.



The Executive Director of the National Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development reviewed the history of the institute's establishment, the training programs it provides, the areas of research and consultancy in governance and sustainable development, and the most important partnerships it has with regional and international bodies to provide training content at the highest level.El-Sherif also reviewed the objectives of the "Be an Ambassador" initiative offered by the Institute in cooperation with the Ministry of Planning, stressing that a large number of the projects of this incubator are mainly from the projects of trainees in the various groups of the "Be an Ambassador" initiative.For his part, Eng. Adly Touma, CEO of Gemini Africa, said that what we are launching today is the first business incubator for Cinematheque in the history of Egypt and the Arab region.Touma praised the launch of the incubator and the participation in the development processes undertaken by the state with all its organs, and the participating youth who were trained through various activities such as the SI Labs Hackathon and the Aswan Festival on the basics of "cinematics" and the rules of entrepreneurship and how to promote their projects until they turn into facts on the ground and actual projects whose wheels revolve within a comprehensive framework.It is noteworthy that the Sustainable Innovation Lab is the first project of its kind in the Middle East and Africa, launched in April 2021 in cooperation with the National Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development and the Business Incubator of the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University, targeting young people in the age group of 18-45 years.The laboratory consists of four creative laboratories, each representing the main pillars of sustainable development, namely the Green Economy Laboratory, the Creative and Cultural Industries Laboratory, the Digital Economy Laboratory, and the Governmental Innovation Laboratory. Each lab provides many aspects of integrated technical and financial support for start-ups targeting sustainable development goals, starting from the stage of generating ideas and helping to integrate these companies into global value chains.