Dec 30, 2021

Yasser Badry 12-29-2021 Today, the International Volunteer Day celebration was held at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization under the slogan “We Volunteer for Our Common Future,” in the presence of Dr. Nevin Al-Kabbaj, Minister of Social Solidarity, Ms. Elena Panova, the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in Egypt, Ms. Nada Nagah, the United Nations Population Representative in Egypt, and Dr. Heba Wafa. Representative of the United Nations Development Programme, Dr. Naima Al-Qaseer, representative of the World Health Organization in Egypt, Sheikh Hassan Bou Hazza, President of the Arab Volunteer Union, Major General Mohsen Al-Numani, former Minister of Local Development and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Life Makers Foundation, Dr. Mohamed Kamal, Director of Plan International Egypt, and Dr. Talaat. Abdel Qawi, member of the House of Representatives and head of the General Union of Civil Associations, Mrs. Heba Nosair, coordinator of the United Nations Volunteer Program in Egypt, Mrs. Enas Hamad, a representative of the United Nations Volunteer Program, and a group of representatives of civil society organizations in Egypt. Al-Qabbaj said in her speech that a draft of the national strategy for volunteer work had been launched, which included expanding the concept of volunteering to include all age groups, and creating a mechanism to coordinate efforts between volunteers and volunteer opportunities, while using artificial intelligence technology tools to facilitate finding and applying for volunteer opportunities, as well as promoting digital volunteering. Opening the door to volunteer initiatives, the strategy also included developing a charter for volunteer work in Egypt to guarantee the rights of volunteers and correct practices for volunteer work, as well as equal opportunities among volunteers, especially females, ensuring the protection and support of volunteers in remote areas, developing laws to support volunteers in their activities and allowing the calculation of volunteer hours for university students. And schools, and integrating volunteer topics into school curricula in order to encourage and raise the percentage of volunteer work within university and school categories. In her speech, Al-Qabbaj emphasized the role of Egyptian civil society and that it is the third part in the development process that is based on the public and private sectors and civil society. Ms. Nevin Al-Kabbaj, Minister of Social Solidarity, also announced the launch of the National Volunteer Award, which will be an annual tradition, during which the best volunteers will be honored in terms of effectiveness and influence on one of the important issues facing Egyptian society. Al-Qabbaj added that the award will be allocated next year 2022 for the best volunteer activities that preserve the environment and limit climate change. The celebration witnessed the announcement of the winners of the National Volunteer Award for the current year 2021, for which 206 volunteers applied, as its main topic was “National Volunteer Efforts to Reduce the Effects of the Coronavirus Pandemic,” and six volunteers won. The celebration concluded with a singing concert in which the great artist Hisham Abbas participated, celebrating International Volunteer Day.