By Manal Abdel Fattah
The United Nations Human Settlements Office in Egypt, in cooperation with the Cairo Governorate, launched the “Cairo Urban Week” as part of the activities of the 12th World Urban Forum, which Egypt will host next November.
The Cairo Urban Week was launched from the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization on “Sustainability in Art from Ancient Egyptian Civilization to the Modern Era” in the presence of a number of ministers, the Governor of Cairo, officials, Rania Hedeya, Regional Director of the UN-Habitat Program, Ahmed Rizk, Director of the Egypt Office of UN-Habitat, and Elena Panova, Resident Representative of the United Nations in Egypt.
According to UN-Habitat, the event explores the enduring legacy of sustainable art over thousands of years and its pivotal role in shaping sustainable cities and communities today.
The event covers topics from the greatness of ancient Egypt to contemporary urban landscapes, as art is a means of expression, preservation and innovation, while attendees will tour the museum and the Urban Week offers a range of events concerned with urban development, and this year’s Urban and World Forum encourages participants to think and explore the cultural, social, economic and environmental dimensions of urban life.
For her part, Rania Hadiya, Regional Director of the United Nations Habitat Program “Habitat”, confirmed that the ancient Egyptians were among the first to use art to document their stories, inventions and history, pointing to the trend towards sustainable construction, noting that in various countries of the world, art is often used to beautify specific urban contexts such as neighborhoods and informal areas, and art is also used as an attractive design solution.
The Regional Director of Habitat pointed out that art is used as a tool for building cities and sustainability by adopting tools and methods from our roots, stressing that Cairo and Egypt as a whole have enormous potential to become recycling centers, with an abundance of materials that can be transformed into sustainable art.
Ahmed Rizk, UN-Habitat Representative in Egypt, praised the ongoing cooperation with the Egyptian government in supporting urban development, explaining that the goal of Cairo Urban Week and the events that will be held during it is to introduce participants, visitors and our people to the momentum and unique opportunities that Cairo embraces.
Cairo Urban Week will witness more than 15 events on different topics and places, starting today from the Museum of Civilization, and there is a major important event on November 1 at the Grand Egyptian Museum, during which discussions and the history of urbanization in Egypt will be held, and we will address many interactive activities from handicrafts with the participation of youth.
Rizk added that Cairo Urban Week will consist of various activities and experiences, ranging from urban exhibitions to tours in the city, and it will be festive, comprehensive and rich in activities, creative works and participatory events, followed by an event on November 1 at the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) that includes various dialogues, and the opening of a special exhibition on sustainability in Cairo between the past, present and future, followed by an art show.
The following day includes events at Founder Spaces in the heart of Cairo on November 2, while there will be a celebration day that includes many events, sessions, discussion forums, and storytelling of Cairo to engage all visitors.
The week will conclude on November 3 at the Asmarat site, which represents the legacy of developing public spaces, where the launch of the legacy project for hosting Cairo for the exclusive global forum in the Asmarat area will be celebrated, and an art workshop for children will be held to commemorate the ongoing cooperation with Cairo in the field of urban development.
Randa Fouad, visual artist and head of the Arab Media Forum for Environment and Development, said: “We are ahead of the global trend in linking art to development and emphasizing the art of recycling and climate awareness,” noting that we have 80 ambassadors for sustainable art.
She confirmed that work is being done through the Bedaya and Ebdaa initiatives for sustainable art by recycling remaining building materials, stressing the participation of youth in various governorates to participate in artistic initiatives to raise awareness of sustainable development, praising the ongoing cooperation with Habitat in the field of sustainable development.
