The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

As some of you will know, October the 11^th was the International Day of the Girl Child, which began in 2012. But today’s piece is more focused on how it was celebrated and the mastermind behind it.

Today’s featured international organisation, Plan International Egypt, was established in Egypt in 1981, in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Solidarity. Currently, it works with over 40 community development associations in Greater Cairo, Giza, Kalubiya, Alexandria, Beheira, Damietta, Soha, Quena, Sharkaya, and Assiut, to promote a child-centred community development approach, according to its Facebook page.

Back to the project, which roughly translates to ‘Girls in Leadership Positions’. It started back in 2016, and since then, has been supported by many international and local figures, including the Canadian Prime Minister, the Belgian Ambassador to Egypt, and Dr Ghada Waly, Minister of Social Solidarity. The idea is that young girls step into the shoes of prominent Egyptian leaders and run their associations for a day in order to gain leadership experience and prove that gender quality is recognised in many high-profile organisations.

According to a news report by dmc, over 200 girls took part in this campaign, in more than 75 countries worldwide. Coincidentally, the news reporter for the dmc clip was one of the Egyptian participants, Mariam Adel, who was filling in for Ramy Radwan.

Out of more than 60 girls, just like Mariam, we came across other inspiring youngsters, in different fields,who temporarily took over the jobs of several prominent figures, such as Shaimaa, Donia, Samar, and Noura whose stories you can hear in the upcoming links.The role models included 19 ambassadors; Richard Dictus, the UN Resident Coordinator in Egypt; Minister Waly; Dr Azza El Ashmawy, Secretary-General of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood in Egypt; and the editor-in-chief of  El Watan newspaper, Mahmoud Musalm.

It’s such an amazing step forward for our aspiring girls and our country as a whole to ensure a better future for female empowerment.