Partner: Ministry of Youth and Sports & WHV initiative managed by the UNESCO
Year of Implementation: 2017
Historic Cairo Youth Camp program focused on reviving the cultural heritage of the historic Cairo area representing a cultural property inscribed on the List of World Heritage since 1979. The program was a part of the “World Heritage Volunteers Initiative 2017 (WHV)” in the framework of the UNESCO efforts in the resuscitation and the preservation of the world heritage.
Derived from the UNESCO’s leading concept that World Heritage sites belong to all people of the world, irrespective of the territory on which they are located, The program focused on the universal application of the world heritage by bringing together international volunteers from different countries (Brazil, France, Japan, Switzerland, Romania, England) as well as local volunteers to attend the Historic Cairo Youth Camp that lasted for 12 days.
The camp included different activities such as: training sessions, site visits, workshops. By the end of the camp, the participants designed and implemented two initiatives that aimed at raising awareness of young people about Cairo’s historic monuments and encouraging the local community to get involved in the process of continuous preservation of the site.
1-Hold Cairo Initiative:
The participants created a hashtag called #hOldCairo, which contained the three words (hold), (old) and (Cairo). To activate the hashtag they created an Instagram photo frame and 3 boards placed in strategic locations along El-Moez Street, containing a collection of pictures and information about historical Cairo sites. In this way, the team succeeded to conduct interviews and inform a large number of passersby about the project. On the other hand, the team has organized an awareness day in “Al Mowasla” Youth Center in cooperation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports to raise awareness of the children through different interactive activities and games that shed the light on the value of historic Cairo monuments.
2- Bringing Cairo Back Initiative:
After conducting surveys in El Moez Street, participants decided to focus on the solid waste management representing a crucial problem affecting heritage preservation in urban areas. Therefore, the team has contacted several companies who have developed a specific system to collect wastes, recycle them, and give money in return. Those companies are a tool for motivating people and business owners (such as restaurants, shops, and companies) to care about waste-sorting in the Old Cairo area. The team organized an awareness day in El Moez Street having the slogan “Bringing Cairo Back”. They distributed brochures to the passersby about the solid waste management, the importance of the recycling, and the responsible companies for recycling wastes in Cairo. They also prepared recycling baskets that was distributed among the shops and restaurants in Old Cairo to encourage them to sort their waste and become ambassadors of this initiative.