SEKEM Group, 3, Belbeis Desert Road, 11777 Cairo
Cairo, 10 November 2015
World Day of the Sciences 2015: "Research Means Interest in the World": SEKEM Calls for Better Integration of Research and Development
SEKEM Head Office 3 Cairo Belbes Road El Salam, Egypt P.O.Box 2834 El Horreya 11361 Cairo Egypt Tel.: (+20) 2 265 88 124 Fax: (+20) 2 265 88 123 pr@sekem.com www.sekem.com
On World Day of the Sciences on 10 November 2015, the SEKEM initiative renews its call to make better use of scientific research carried out in developing countries by understanding it as an essential building block for social advancement. Scientific research is not just for highly developed industrial nations, but can be just as fruitful for the personal and societal development of countries in development. Promote Education and Research Together Education and research need to walk into the same direction: research may lay the foundation for intelligent, environmentally friendly new products, and resource-efficient business practice and production methods. It can also help to understand social change and accompany attempts at dealing with it. Education should not just be the acquisition of knowledge, but also promote the responsible use of resources and strengthen confidence in an individual’s abilities to independently identify problems and to cope with them for the benefit of the community. "In developing countries, research and education should be jointly used much more for the benefit of individuals and society. This has always been the goal of the first SEKEM Academy and today the Heliopolis University for Sustainable Development", explains Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish, founder of the SEKEM initiative. "Education and science going hand in hand promote interest in the world as well as the value of self-knowledge and personal advancement. At the same time, we are strengthening the trust of a society in its own abilities to understand challenges and come up with solutions." Long History of Education and Research in Partnership From 1999 to 2012, the SEKEM Academy for Applied Arts and Sciences focused on research for the development of new, herbal medicinal preparations and the training of new, practice-minded scientists at the same time. Products developed by it are today sold nationwide and in the region to combat numerous ailments in natural ways.
Since 2012, the Heliopolis University for Sustainable Development has been dedicated to advancing sustainability in business, engineering, agriculture, pharmacy, medicine, and other social fields through research. About 800 students are currently studying at the institution working on a "science of practice". They are particularly concerned with sustainable agriculture. Research on cultivation, soil diseases, pest control, irrigation methods, or energy supply are regularly carried out in cooperation with local and international research institutions. Strategies that can be employed by SEKEMs own or other companies are of particular interest. Background information: The SEKEM Group of companies is a part of the SEKEM Initiative founded in 1977 by Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish to strengthen sustainable development in Egypt by producing, processing, and marketing organic and bio-dynamic foodstuffs, textiles, and phytopharmaceuticals in Egypt, the Arab World, and on international markets. SEKEM has been widely praised as an “Egyptian organic pioneer” and has received the 2003 Right Livelihood Award (“Alternative Nobel Prize”) as a „Business Model for the 21thCentury” and an “economy of love”. With part of their profits the SEKEM companies co-finance the social and cultural activities of the SEKEM Development Foundation that runs, among others, schools, a medical centre, an academy of applied sciences, a non-profit university, and other institutions. In 2012, the Heliopolis University of Sustainable Development was launched under the auspices of SEKEM to integrate teaching, research, and practice through a holistic approach.
For further information, images, facts please contact: Mr. Bijan Kafi Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit Gotzkowskystr. 15 10555 Berlin bijan.kafi@sekem.com +49 (151) 15773101 www.sekem.com
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SEKEM Group Head Office:
3 Cairo Belbes Desert Road, El Salam, Egypt P.O.Box 2834 El Horreya, 11361 Cairo, Egypt
Tel.: (+20) 2 265 64 124/5 Fax: (+20) 2 265 64 123
Mail: cs@sekem.com Web: www.sekem.com