By Manal Abdel Fattah
The Slovenian Embassy in Cairo announced the launch of an initiative in cooperation with the Egyptian Fair Nile Foundation as part of Slovenian development cooperation with partner countries.
The six-month partnership will enable the Egyptian Foundation to expand its ongoing efforts in developing local capabilities, creating job opportunities, and protecting the environment by valorizing plastic waste.
The project is centered on Qarsaya Island, where the Egyptian Foundation and the Slovenian Embassy are working on three main outcomes: developing the capabilities of local craftsmen, establishing a recycling workshop for plastics sorted and collected from the Nile River, and supporting the production and launch of final products.
Through this partnership, the Egyptian Foundation aims to engage at least five women from Qarsaya Island, and enable the sustainability of jobs already created for six local artisans by producing and marketing a new line of products from recycled plastic waste collected from the Nile River.
This requires developing new processes, techniques, equipment, molds, and tools to improve the quality and efficiency of production, in addition to conducting technical capacity development and personal skill capacity development to ensure that the project objectives are achieved within the planned period.
Ambassador Saso Podelsnik, Slovenian Ambassador to Egypt, stressed that the main goal of development cooperation is to help eliminate poverty, reduce inequality, and achieve sustainable development in partner countries.
Through this project, the Slovenian Embassy in Cairo wants to contribute to achieving the sustainable goals of the 2030 Plan in Egypt, as the project promotes gender equality and environmental protection, which are two comprehensive topics of Slovenian development policy.
Commenting on the project, Salma El-Laqani, from the Fairy Nile Foundation, said: This is a great opportunity to increase the impact of the project, whether in terms of creating more income-generating activities for local residents or in creating a greater impact on the environment by reducing the opportunities for waste disposal in… The Nile River, highlighting the importance of the Slovenian Embassy’s contribution to the long-term development of the Egyptian institution and its effects.
For his part, Alban de Menonville, the founder, said: The commitment of the Slovenian Embassy to support the Egyptian Foundation in its global efforts to address plastic pollution once again demonstrates the necessity of working with the utmost urgency to prevent further damage to the environment that will affect societies for generations.
