I. Other Stakeholders

neighbourhood, the initiative has not only become an actor within the neighbourhood (via its projects and activities that have a direct impact on the neighbourhood), but has itself become simultaneously affected by this interaction with the community. The activities of the initiative are driven by the local community’s needs and are developed through time in order to be sensitive to the local context. The initiative is also seen by the community as a local actor that can lobby within governmental networks.

Community Based Organizations (CBOs): There are some CBOs that do not have a legal entity registered at the Ministry of Social Solidarity (MoSS). These groups are mostly service groups belonging to the mosques and shrines of the neighbourhood. They work throughout the year to serve the followers of religious figures buried within the area, and their services revolve around the mawlids, which are the yearly celebrations of certain religious figures. During these celebrations, they serve food and accommodation and organize chanting (zikr) groups for the followers and attendees of the mawlid.

Local Community:

Although the boundaries of al-Khalifa Street Area are not the same administrative divisions set by the government, the defined boundaries by the CPHC Project houses an estimation of around 20,000 people. Normally, residents of these types of neighbourhoods are extended families who have been living in the neighbourhood for three or four generations. A considerable part of the current generation tends to leave the neighbourhood and live somewhere else, either to be closer to their work places or to seek a better quality of life. This is due to a lack of development and maintenance of buildings and infrastructure in Historic Cairo.

Territoriality within the neighbourhood follows a complex layer that defines it. Questions such as “where are you are originally from? how long have you or your family been living in the neighbourhood? which street or part of the area do you live in? which other families do you have connections to? which business do you own, or who do you work with,” along with many other questions can define your social network and hence your social status. The social network is very important in such an urban setting as it is the safe network during harsh circumstances. Inhabitants within the neighbourhood with a well functioning business usually have more power within the neighbourhood. They usually help people facing social or financial challenges through various way. They might offer a person a job, a loan or grant based on that person’s connection to them. Such powerful figures are considered community leaders even if they do not publicly claim it themselves46 . Historic Cairo is a massive area with a very complicated legal framework and a diversity of administrative bodies each with a specific mandate and many overlapping. This has played a crucial role in the management of Historic Cairo. Below is a list of secondary stakeholders:

I. Other stakeholders

46 See El Ansary, Chirine and Al-Ibrashy, May & URHC.

“Research on Intangible Heritage and Storytelling Event in the Action Area - ", Urban Regeneration project for Historic Cairo – UNESCO, World Heritage Centre, 2014.

Ministry of Social Solidarity (MoSS): Responsible for registering and monitoring all NGOs in the country hence approving all budget and issue acceptances of receiving funds from abroad. Moreover, it organizes exhibitions and funds handcrafts and families undergoing domestic production. This is all organized through the Social Welfare and Development sector.

Central Directorate of Social Development: Organizes exhibitions for crafts and has support programs.

Central Directorate of Social Welfare: Responsible for the administrative issues of NGOs.

Ministry of Interior Affairs (MoI): Responsible for the general security of the city, and has a specific directorate for tourism security responsible for the safety of tourist movements and touristic attractions. The ministry is also responsible for the management of all vehicles and transportation.

General Directorate of Traffic: Responsible for managing traffic in all streets and licensing all vehicles either civil or touristic.

General Directorate of Tourism and Antiquities Police: Responsible for the safety of monument sites, tourist attractions and tourist related transportation.

Elected Local Public Councils: The authority responsible for monitoring the performance of the executive authority on the local level. Since the 2011 revolution, the local public councils’ elections were never organized. In December 2019, the government released the first draft of the law in order to move forward with the LPC elections. The law has not yet been approved by the parliament.

Parliament Members: Elections of the parliament are carried out based on constituencies different from the administrative borders of districts. Al-Khalifa neighbourhood is located in the constituency of al-Khalifa and al-Muqattam and is represented by 2 members.

Supra Level Committees or Councils: Some supra level councils and committees were formed with the aim of creating a centralized decision-making body that ensures coordination of all management efforts. This happened despite the fact that such supra level committees are sometimes temporary and are substituted by other supra level committees that are more inclusive or keep existing with no significant impact on the management process. Supreme Committee of WH Property: Established in 201846F 47 under the direct supervision of the president. Its mandate is to set strategic plans and a vision for the safeguarding and management of WH Properties, and coordinate between national and international stakeholders. No clear work plan has been issued since its establishment.

National Committee for Safeguarding and Development of Historic Cairo: Established in 201647F 48 under the direct supervision of the president.

47 Decree No. 550/2018. 48 Decree No. 604/2016.

Ministerial Committee for the Management of Historic Cairo: Established in 2015 based on a recommendation by URHC.

International Organizations: Key players in heritage protection as they help with technical and financial assistance and also conduct monitoring and reporting tasks. It is mostly a voluntary effort, except when tied to an international agreement.

UNESCO: Key actor in monitoring given its responsibility for tangible and intangible cultural heritage protection worldwide. Since Historic Cairo is WH Property, UNESCO receives a biannual report regarding the state of conservation of Historic Cairo and organizes inspection visits to WH Property regularly. It also provides technical and financial support to protect cultural heritage and organizes specific funding campaigns in some cases.

International Donors: International funding agencies provide technical and financial assistance. A list of contributors to projects implemented in the neighbourhood include: American Research Centre in Egypt (ARCE), US Embassy, Ford Foundation, Drosos Foundation, Prince Claus Fund, Barakat Trust, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, UNESCO, British Council, and Danish Egyptian Dialogue Institute.

Research Community: University research teams and independent researchers are involved by conducting research on al-Khalifa Street Area providing insights to, and solutions for, neighbourhood problems.

Stakeholder analysis were done according to a power/interest matrix as mentioned before. The result of the analysis was the following graph in which the primary and secondary stakeholder were separated by a virtual diagonal line. The primary stakeholders, falling inside the blue shaded area (Figure 2), are more powerful and have interests in the management of al-Khalifa Street Area. The secondary actors are less powerful and less interested in the management.49

49 It is important to mention that the minister’s office usually has additional advisors, assistance and a technical office that monitors and helps the regular administrative structure. This often leads to doubling efforts and creates a parallel structure. This is the case for nearly all the ministries.