Ashraf AboArafe
The European Union (EU) and the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) signed a Grant Agreement “National Children Empowerment Initiative” on Sunday. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Minister of International Cooperation Dr. Rania Al-Mashat. The Agreement was signed by Ambassador Christian Berger, Head of the European Union Delegation to Egypt and Engineer Nevine Othman, the Secretary-General of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood.
The EU funded Initiative aims to improve the provision of child protection services, promote positive behavioural change and provide supportive environment for girls and boys to develop their skills, access to services. This will be achieved through developing the capacities of stakeholders to provide child friendly services and the promotion of positive parenting techniques. The EU/NCCM Initiative will support 300 children, 70 parents and 70 teachers/and social workers from four governorates. The Initiative will also support in developing a standardized training curriculum to be used in training all personnel involved in child protection services.
Dr. Al-Mashat emphasized the depth of EU-Egypt relations and their importance for enhancing Egypt’s development efforts, particularly investment in human capital, which is a key priority for the government. She added that the Ministry works with relevant partners to enhance human capital investment programmes, empower youth, girls, and women, and protect children in ways that benefit residents and development efforts in general.
Ambassador Berger said that the EU and NCCM have been enjoying a long history of working together, with more than a decade of collaboration on issues such as safeguarding children from violence in schools, preserving the rights of children with disabilities and girls’ rights, particularly access to education. He continued “The EU Support to “The National Child Empowerment Initiative” reflects a strong commitment to improving child friendly services and promoting behavioural change through positive parenting techniques.”
In her remarks, Engineer Nevine Othman explained that this Agreement aims to strengthen and protect children’s rights by implementing the different components of the National Initiative for Empowering Children. The EU’s support is a crucial addition that enables the initiative to have a greater impact and reach more children across Egypt. This collaboration emphasizes the shared commitment to creating positive change and empowering children in Egypt. Othman added that the partnership with the European Union will provide an opportunity to expand the initiative’s implementation and extend its impact to reach a larger number of beneficiaries.
