"Akbar El Mahrousa" August 2012

Nahdet el Mahrousa (NM), or “Renaissance of Egypt”, seeks to

make a positive and lasting impact on Egypt’s cultural,

economic, and social development by activating and engaging

young Egyptians. NM’s flagship program, the “Incubator of

Innovative Social Enterprises”, leverages the ideas of high-

potential changemakers and empowers them to act as drivers of

social innovation in Egypt. Since its founding in 2003, NM has

incubated over 40 social enterprises – in areas such as youth

development, education, employment, healthcare, and culture –

which currently reach and impact over 10,000 individuals in

Egypt. NM is an Egyptian NGO registered with the Ministry of

Social Solidarity.

About Nahdet El Mahrousa INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

! Discover the 3 new social enterprises NM incubates on pages 2-3

! Get updates from inside the Incubator on page 4 -5

! Get updates on our mature social enterprises on page 6

! Find out about NM Partnerships on page 7

! Relive NM’s 9th annual Iftar on Monthly Monday on page 8

! Read about Egyptians who make us proud on page 9

Nahdet el Mahrousa (NM) leverages the ideas and power of social innovators to tackle Egypt's toughest challenges. By activating and engaging young professionals, we make a positive and lasting impact on Egypt’s social, cultural, and economic development and help Egyptians take ownership of their country.

The first incubator for “early stage” youth-led social enterprises in Egypt and the

region

Akhbar El Mahrousa August 2012, Issue No.8

Akhbar El Mahrousa P a g e | 2 SEPTEMBER 2ND, 2012

Studio Meem:

Another of NM’s newly acquired incubated projects is the unique Studio Meem. Studio Meem is a designer studio that aims to combine sustainability and everyday use with innovation and sophistication. Using materials from Egyptian everyday life and things directly taken from Egyptian culture, Studio Meem then applies its expertise and creativity to offer new and distinct products. Studio Meem aims to revolutionize the field of design in Egypt.

Info: Facebook: wwww.facebook.com/studiomeemcairo Website: www.studiomeem.net

Newly Incubated Social Enterprises

Over the past 8 years NM has supported more than 40 social enterprises from across the Education & Employment, Environment, Self-expression, Citizenship & Civic Engagement and Public Health fields and that in turn have been impacting over 50,000 beneficiaries annually.

.

NAHDET EL MAHROUSA

HAS JUST ACCEPTED 3

NEW PROJECTS!


Red Tomato – Outa 7amra:

Red Tomato is one of NM’s newest protégés. It seeks to create drama and culture practices and implement them in a way that helps marginalized Egyptian communities learn new things and express their views on different things. The program wants to help improve their lives with these opportunities, through performances – clown specifically – drama workshops, capacity building, cultural exchange as well as critical thinking skills, reflection and self-expression.

Info: Blog: http://outahamra.blogspot.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/outa7amra

Twseela:

Twseela is a novel application of carpooling, tailored to Egyptian culture and needs. Because in Egypt car owners exist in clear contrast to those who go through a lot of trouble to secure rides, Twseela wants to put both parties in touch with each other and help them save gas and transportation money, while considerably improving Egypt’s traffic problem. Twseela’s website allows both sides to coordinate their times and destinations, with very little effort or cost.

Info:

Website: www.twseela.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/twseela Twitter: www.twitter.com/twseela_web


Nabta is an online social media website offering opportunity for both physical and virtual engagement between different members involved in the civil society. The Nabta team have recently launched their twitter account @nabtame. Make sure you follow them to get their updates and news! Tell your friends, too!

Negotiations have also started between Nabta, Nawaya (2 of NM's incubated Social Enterprises), Green Peace and 360 to start a new environmental awareness campaign using Seed Bombs around the Squares of Cairo. We’ll keep you posted!

For more information please visit:

Website: www.nabta.me Facebook page: www.facebook.com/nabtame

Kherna.com is an online social platform for all good-cause organizations and individuals to communicate and keep track of all the new initiatives and activities.

In the spirit of the Holy month of Ramadan, Kherna have launched a new initiative on their Facebook page to raise awareness and promote community work, getting 300 registered members and more than 300 likes so far.

They also made a deal with Cobone.com, a daily deal website, to launch some of Kherna.com's activities on their page.

Lastly, Kherna is currently planning a trip to Aswan after Eid El Fitr where they are expected to meet many NGOs and other Aswani social entities to add them to their huge network. Info: Website: http://www.kherna.com E-Mail: [email protected] Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Kherna Twitter: @KhernaME

The Incubator of Social Enterprises


Nawaya (seed/intention) is a not-for-profit social enterprise that promotes sustainable agriculture and is a platform that works with small-scale farming communities to transition them to organic, sustainable agriculture, improve rural livelihood through the formation of eco-villages, and change water and arable land use, toward sustainable, productive, and financially viable systems.

The roof top garden at Bamyan Media in down town Cairo has recently needed restoration and in collaboration with Nawaya, it is being renovated and re-built, implementing techniques to build cheap gardens for fruit security and production.

Nawaya is also Partnering with the NGO Shabab Abu Sir for stronger impact on local committees, working with them to redesign the Abu Sir canal. Furthermore, Nawaya is running its summer studio to design a demonstration center for sustainability and a prototype eco village at Abu Sir.

For more information please visit: http://www.nawayaegypt.org Or watch a video on the project: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ADb5jiFqv4

HarassMap is a volunteer initiative that works to end social tolerance for sexual harassment through community outreach programs and internet- and sms-based reporting. They are also winners of the BOBs (Deutsche Welle Blog) award for Best Use of Technology for Social Good.

With the escalation of harassment cases on the streets of Egypt, HarassMap are taking serious steps towards tackling the issue and making Egypt safe. The team has reached an agreement with Sarmady to add HarassMap’s awareness ads on their websites. Sarmady.net is an Vodafone company operating in Egypt since 2001, that specializes in digital publishing and marketing, helping young startups and non-profits along the way.

To help make Egypt’s streets safe, contact the team on: Website: www.harassmap.org Facebook: HarassMapEgypt/info Email: [email protected]


MATure social Enterprises

The YIA Program aims to positively impact the scientific culture in Egypt, and to produce more equipped scientists in the future by helping undergraduate, graduate and PhD students gain access to training, funding, information, equipment, and supplies that may better meet the needs of their research

projects at Egyptian national universities.

YIA winners received their checks on July 17th and celebrated at the closing ceremony at the Civic Center for Education in Zamalek. Students, sponsors and university staff were all honored. Almost 200 students from different universities across Egypt attended the ceremony, which started with registration and was followed by a motivational introduction by Endeavor Egypt’s Chairman and SySDSoft’s Founder and CEO Dr. Khaled Ismail to celebrate students' success and and encourage them to become entrepreneurs. After refreshments, Dr. Ahmed Morsy, associate professor of engineering at Cairo University and founder of Nebras Technology, gave a lecture on intellectual property rights, why they’re important and how they can be registered.

The ceremony continued with the showing of the YIA Success story Video then speeches by Nahdet El Mahrousa’s representative Mohamed A. Shehab El Din and Executive Director of the Sawirus Foundation Professor Dr. Gannat El Samalouty (Gold Sponsor). Another YIA Success Story Video followed shortly after which Ms. Ghada Serry, Mobinil’s representative (Gold Sponsor), Mr. Michael Mouris, Sadko’s representative (Silver Sponsor) and Mrs. Manal Maher from Al-Korra Foundation (YIA Supporrters) all gave speeches to encourage the young innovators to continue on the path of scientific excellence. Info: Website: http://www.nahdetmasr.org/yia E-Mail:[email protected] Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/yiaprogram Twitter: @YIA_Program

Career Entrepreneurship & Development Office (CEDO) bridges the gap between the products of the educational system and the input needed for the job market. The office provides a fair chance for youth to build capacity, be empowered and advance in their careers.

On Wednesday, July 11th 2012, CEDO helped organize Cairo University Computer Science and Information Technology’s first employment fair to widen the students’ prospects and offer them new opportunities as well as give different employers access to fresh talents and new potentials. The fair came after the huge success of the Engineering Faculty’s annual fair. Around 200 students attended the fair, and several companies were present, including Hewlett Packard (HP), IBM, Sigma IT and the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (TIEC). The fair was also attended by the Faculty’s Vice Dean Dr. Fatma Omara and Dr. Abeer Mohamed El-Korany, Associate Professor at the faculty. Info: website: www.cedoegypt.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/cedoegypt


The International Youth Foundation and Nahdet El Mahrousa in partnership with The MasterCard Foundation are implementing Egypt@Work. This four year program will collaborate with local implementing partners to provide 10,000disadvantaged youth with the skills, knowledge, and opportunities needed to find and maintain employment or to start new enterprises

During the month of July, the team continued to review and shortlist the proposals submitted for the Targeted RFA. The team asked for full proposals from 3 NGOs and conducted in depth technical and financial meetings with them to further discuss their projects. The E@W team also finalized the first draft for the Labor Market Assessment report which highlights the methodology of the assessment, along with the key findings. It is expected that the report will be finalized and available for distribution by early September. Finally the team has been successful in meeting potential members for the E@W Advisory Committee, which will be comprised of prominent representatives from the private sector, civil society and youth. The Advisory Committee’s role would be mainly to support the expansion and replication of successful E@W models; assist in educating key decision makers and support groups about E@W programs; and assist in identifying and engaging prospective leverage partners from the public, private and civil society sectors. It is expected to hold the first Advisory committee meeting in early September. For any questions, please e-mail the team at: [email protected]

NM Partnerships

CEDO National Program Management Unit (NPMU)

The CEDO National Progam will serve as the national umbrella for all Career Entrepreneurship and Development Offices in Egypt. It will also serve as a hub for different resources that are to be shared among the different CEDOs to fill the dire need to bridge the gap between education and employment.

CEDO is on the rise!

The Career and Entrepreneurship Development Office is witnessing a lot of progress with the addition of its newest three team members: Maya El Boghdadi, Sara Eid and Abeer El Kayaty. The team is almost done with the first phase of its labor market assessment and it has managed to meet up with 15 key opinion leaders in both Minya and Assiut. Interviewing those leaders about the labor market and what they need from youth was very enlightening as they were from different sectors including the public, private, development and educational sectors.

CEDO team is also paving the road to opening two more centers. Stay tuned for more information!


NM’s 9th Annual Iftar

This month’s monthly Monday was August the 6th, and was an Iftar gathering in honor of Ramadan. All of NM – staff, social entrepreneurs, members and board members – was invited to the new NM office to eat together, old friends connecting and new members getting acquainted into the NM family. The iftar was an organized dish party, each one bringing up something to make up the buffet.

After Iftar, there was also entertainment, as a band played for the attendees. A special night for a special place.

NM Monthly Mondays


Egyptians Who Make Us Proud

Could they have finally solved Egypt’s ever-growing traffic problem? A group of Mansoura University students have come up with a project that could be a huge help to Egypt’s traffic and congestion problem, making themselves one of the winning YIA groups. Their project “Ihsan” would be able to minimize a lot of problems at once. It uses Radio Frequency Identification to create vehicle IDs that have all the vehicle’s information stored in its database for future reference. It can also be charged with credit, to make paying tolls easier and to automatically deduct any fines. The IDs will be able to detect the vehicle’s last locations, helping find lost and stolen cars.The project aims to further lessen traffic related problems, in creating a map of the streets that updates the user on the traffic status as well as provide him with the easiest and quickest routes, bearing in mind both distance and congestion. Ihsan is also able to locate nearby services, such as gas stations, markets, emergency services…etc. If implemented, this project is sure to be one of the best things that could happen to Egyptian traffic, lessening, if not solving, it. This is the group’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/STIS.2012

"Akbar El Mahrousa" August 2012

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Transcript of "Akbar El Mahrousa" August 2012