Alashanek ya Baladi for sustainable development

With the aim to raise awareness on the importance of women’s civic engagement, and to advocate for women’s inclusion in public life, UN Women Egypt – in the context of the implementation of the EU-funded regional programme: Spring Forward: Regional Programme for the Economic and Political Empowerment of Women in the Southern Mediterranean Region, collaborated with the ‘Alashanek ya Baladi for Sustainable Development’ (AYB-SD) organization that has a wide base of students’ franchise models at different universities in Egypt, in order to:

• Establish a center for civic engagement within Alashanek Ya-Balady for Sustainable Development (AYB-SD) to promote civic values, knowledge and skills among students and similar non-governmental organizations;
• Raise awareness through the capacity development and training on civic values of 1,500 university youth with equal representation of women and men in 11 universities across Egypt;
• Promote the to the engagement of men and boys in combatting violence against women, and embrace a more gender-responsive approach in the structural framework of the “students’ franchise models” at their universities;
• Implement activities that use art as a medium for community engagement on gender justice and socio-economic issues for 5,000 residents of marginalized districts.

This partnership has resulted in student community initiatives in five disadvantaged areas in Greater Cairo, Ismailia, Alexandria and Port-Said governorates, to promote the empowerment of women by locally tailored and gender-sensitive development interventions. With these initiatives operating on the ground, the five communities are broadening their understanding and acceptance of women’s political and economic participation in their communities.