Ashraf AboArafe
Three categories, six awards and a night of inspiring Egyptian achievers from all walks of life
15 February – On Thursday the British Embassy opened its doors to inspiring Egyptians in an Oscars-themed event to celebrate their work. The British Ambassador was joined by Minister of Social Solidarity Ghada Waly, Member of Parliament Anisa Hassouna, Founder of Flat6Labs Ahmed El-Alfi.
For the last month, the embassy has held a public vote on the most inspiring Egyptians in three categories; equality, social enterprise and youth. The polls opened through the Embassy’s official Facebook page for Egyptians to vote on which projects and individuals they found the most inspiring. MP Anisa Hassouna held initial short-listing of candidates for the Equality category; which included projects and individuals working to promote gender equality and disability rights. Ahmed El-Alfi did the same for the social enterprise category; which included clean technology and food and agriculture. Hazem Emam picked the top contenders for the Youth category.
The polls closed as the ceremony began, and the winners, chosen by the public, were:
• In the Equality category: Soraya Bahgat won the prize for gender equality; and Irlen Egypt won the prize for their work on disability
• In the Social Enterprise category: Taggadod won in ‘Clean Tech’; and Egyptian Hydrofarms won in ‘Food and Agriculture’.
• In the Youth category: Egyptian paralympian Amr El-Sohagy won the prize for the most inspiring in Sports; and Educate Me won the trophy for education.
The British Embassy kicked off Inspire Egypt in September 2016 to celebrate inspiring Egyptians from all walks of life. Through the campaign, the embassy has held a series of events, workshops, activities and competitions that shed spot light on successful Egyptians innovating in fields including agriculture, education, sports, and social enterprise, particularly those working on building an more inclusive and equal society. The initiative aims to invest in their potential to make a difference.
The nominees for the Inspire Awards included founder of BuSSy Project Sondos Shabayek, award-winning cartoonist Doaa el Adl, education platform for disabled Ta2heal, Visually impaired multi-Solution (VIMS) company, up-cycling company Reform Studio, social-enterprise incubator Cleantech Arabia, food and agriculture companies Nawaya Egypt and Habiba Organic Farms, sports company The Trifactory, Egypt’s first Premier League certified coach Fayza Haida and award-winning educational video platform Nafham.
British Ambassador to Cairo John Casson said: “Tonight we celebrate role models whose voices deserve to be heard, and this is exactly why we launched Inspire Egypt over a year ago. We wanted to give these dedicated and innovative Egyptians a platform to represent their country. This is also why we continue to be Egypt’s partner in enabling its youth, including through a EGP 50 million fund for enterprises, and our work with the Egyptian government to bring world-class education to all Egyptians. We’re doing this because we believe that the future of this great county lies in its ambitious young population, and that they deserve the opportunity to achieve their dreams.”
About Inspire winners:
Soraya Bahgat: Advocate for women and girls in Egypt and founder of Tahrir Bodyguard, non-profit organization that seeks to empower women and promote the safety of female protestors in Egypt.
Irlen Egypt: The first and only centre in Egypt to offer identification and solutions for Irlen Syndrome. It’s the latest addition among numerous centres in 46 countries worldwide, where the science of colours transforms lives.
Egyptians Hydrofarms: Using locally developed hydroponic growing technology, they grow lettuce and herbs directly in PH-balanced water that is enriched with the perfect amount of nutrients, giving high quality food and dramatically reducing the amount of water needed for farming.
Taggadod: A renewable energy and waste management start-up which was founded in February 2013 and operates in Cairo. Currently focusing on clean fuels, Tagaddod is working on bio-diesel production from Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO).
Amr El-Sohagy: Paralympian El-Sohagy won golden medal in the World Swimming championship last July in Berlin (2017).
Educate Me: Educate Me is a registered Egyptian non-profit foundation that aspires to redefine education in Egypt through a progressive learner-centred and skill-based education model.
