Nr. 126 - March 2013
Insight
SEKEM‘s Journal for Culture, Economy, Society and Ecology in Egypt
Editorial Dear Readers, many readers approach the editors of SEKEM Insight with the question of how things are going at SEKEM and for its co-workers after the revolution. Against the backdrop of the daily news, friends, customers, and partners are understandably concerned about the developments in Egypt.
Revolution
SEKEM Co-Workers
Education
Two Years Later at SEKEM
How They Feel About the Revolution
The Day-care Group for Toddlers
„An Inspired Individual Will Choose the Right Thing to Do — In Any Field of Work“ On occasion of the 2nd anniversary of the Egyptian revolution, SEKEM Insight has spoken with SEKEM Group CEO Helmy Abouleish about the situation in SEKEM.
Therefore, we have dedicated this issue of SEKEM Insight to the topic of the revolution. Firstly, SEKEM Insight editor Christina Anlauf talked to Helmy Abouleish about his personal impressions of the situation in SEKEM two years after the revolution. In a second article, SEKEM co-workers in Cairo tell us more about their impressions on the revolutionary days and the development of their lives since then. They also speak about their hopes for the future. From their reports, it is clear that the Egypt will still have some way ahead of it on the road to better correspondence of its actions with the wishes of the majority of its citizens. SEKEM has resolved to continue to participate actively in this development.
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The green fields of the SEKEM farm are still lush in “Year 2” after the Egyptian revolution. A visible sign that life and work continue to flourish at SEKEM, too.
T
wo years ago, Egyptians revolted against the regime of former President Hosni Mubarak. While the old rulers were overthrown and a new president and a new parliament was elected, the country and its people are still not coming to rest. Friends and supporters of SEKEM often ask co-workers of the initiative how life and work goes on on the SEKEM farm. Is it all business as usual? How do individual members of
the SEKEM community feel about the time after the revolution and the situation today. Many want to know what has changed. SEKEM Insight spoke with a number of SEKEM co-workers (see next article) and with Helmy Abouleish, CEO of the SEKEM Group of companies at its Cairo headquarters. In the media we hear and see again and again that most Egyptians today,, SEKEM Insight | March 2013 | Page 1
Economy
two years after the revolution, are much worse off than before. First off, how is SEKEM and how are the SEKEM companies? Helmy Abouleish: Well, there are many problems in the country that are, as you say, known to our friends through the media, and that also affect us at SEKEM: the economic situation is tense and makes it difficult to pursue our core business in Egypt. The costs of living have increased a lot - not only that of our customers, but also of our own co-workers who expect that wages adapt to the new developments. The riots have brought and occasionally still do bring some retailers - our customers - in distress, make communication difficult, and hinder mobility in the country. But we at SEKEM try to continue to pursue our goals, despite the difficult circumstances, and to invest in our longterm development. We focus more on the opportunities and challenges, than on the problems - that’s just the spirit at SEKEM. From another point of view, one could also argue that things have changed to the better. We have succeeded in opening the Heliopolis University to students in fall 2012 and the young people coming to the institution enliven and enrich our community in SEKEM tremendously. How are SEKEM co-workers doing? HA: We have emphasized many times how grateful we were that our co-workers have remained faithful to SEKEM during the times of crisis two years ago. They have made sure that operations at the SEKEM plants were never interrupted. They have overcome all difficulties associated with the changes in Egypt through great personal effort. In a sense, we have found that the idea of the SEKEM community confirms that our work for the society, in which SEKEM operates, does not only incur costs, but also contributes to the creation of a vibrant community that also carries its members and institutions through difficult times.
SEKEM traditionally holds gatherings of its co-workers at which current topics of general interest are discussed - such as the revolution of 25 January 2011.
What tasks like ahead of SEKEM today? HA: After the revolution, we have once again realised that our main task is to assist the children at the SEKEM School, the students at the Vocational Training Centre, and the students at the Heliopolis University and everyone else at SEKEM in discovering their individual relationship to the spiritual world. They are exposed to the strong influences of television, the Internet and the slogans of many parties that stand out right now and try to recruit followers. They need to make informed decisions and be capable of considering their options. But without a „bridge“ in the spiritual world, young Egyptians will not have the ability of bringing about the change that the Egypt needs these days and in the future. Therefore, we want to offer them the opportunity to develop their creativity and uniqueness of thought and in action - through music and drama, through an understanding of world religions and philosophical beliefs, and on many other fields. An inspired young perYou can visit SEKEM yourself: www.SEKEM-reisen.de www.aventerra.de
son will always choose to do the right thing, no matter in what field of work. Without these young people, Egypt - and SEKEM, of course will not have a prosperous future. Has your own view of SEKEM and your work changed during the last years? HA: I personally have found to have leaned a few crucial things during these months. The revolution and my participation in the establishment of the Heliopolis University have inspired me a lot. I realized how much we tend to think, judge and to act “from the past” in our daily lives. On 24 January 2011, I was convinced that there would be no revolution in Egypt because there were no precedents for a peaceful uprising of the people in recent Egyptian history. But I had to understand: there had been people who had learned to „think from the future“ and had already taken the first steps towards it. This kind of thinking is the basis for many projects at SEKEM, but I hope that I will manage to practice it even more. And that we succeed in teaching it to our students. Interview by Christina Anlauf.
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Culture
„I Wish for Bread, Freedom, Social Justice and Human Dignity“ SEKEM Insight spoke with a number of SEKEM co-workers to learn more about their experiences during the revolution and their feelings about the future of Egypt and their personal lives.
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n occasion of the two-year anniversary of the Egyptian revolution of 25 January 2011, SEKEM Insight spoke with a number of SEKEM coworkers to learn more about their thoughts on the developments since then, their lives and their hopes for the future. Three SEKEM employees faced up to the questions of SEKEM Insight editor Christina Anlauf: Dr. Gehan Saadawi, Head of Communications at Heliopolis University, Osama Rashad, Head of Digital Marketing at the SEKEM Group, and Dr. Abdel Kadria Motaal, Director of Academic Research at Heliopolis University. How have your lives changed two years after the revolution? GS: My life has changed a lot. I previously lived in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and came back because I wanted to take part in the change in my country. My sons have participated in the revolution and I also I wanted to make a contribution. OR: My life has also changed, but certainly for the worse. It is a benefit that we can now express our views and emotions openly without fear of repression. But some political groups have seized the revolution and now attempt to carve up the shares of power among themselves, not considering the interest of the people enough. I myself am more interested in politics today, to speak my mind, and to get involved in various ways. KM: I too am more interested in speaking up these days, and I am also more interested in learning about politics. I think that we can all be part of the change and move this
Sekem is committed to strengthen development in rural Egypt with the help of social workers. These initiatives include activities to actively support the involvement of individuals in community matters.
country in the right direction, if we really want to. Have your lives been directly affected during the revolutionary days? GS: Mine was not, but that of my sons. They have been actively involved in protecting the neighbours in their neighbourhood during the days of the riots. But for all of us, the closed shops posed a major supply problem. OR: Yes, security was a problem during these days, and also that many of us could not go to work. How do you feel about today? GS: I would want that Egypt is governed democratically and does not turn into an islamist state. That has not happened yet. OR: My wish still is that Egypt receives a president who is truly interested in his people and is strong enough to promote positive change.
KM: I truly wish that the main demands of the revolution - bread, freedom, social justice, human dignity - become a reality. Did you vote in the first election? GS: Yes, and it was indeed my first. OR: Yes, and I also was very pleased that I could go. It was also the first time that I went to vote. KM: I also enjoyed going to vote. But I would hope that the process will be more fair in the future. It‘s not just about a transparent election itself, but equal opportunity to participate. What are your wishes for the future? OR: That Egypt receives a government that can provide economic growth and security for all. KM: I hope that Egypt will become a modern democratic state on a sound economic and social basis. Questions posed by Christina Anlauf.
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Impressions
Impressions from SEKEM
E
ven the communities around the main SEKEM farm, in which life has always been following a traditional path, are changing - gradually and step by step. The SEKEM companies change with them. For instance, more and more women are in gainful employment and wish to keep working after marriage and the birth of their first children. Thus, on request by SEKEM employees, a toddler group has been created that provides day care to working mothers and families and their children aged from three months to three years. What began three years ago in a small room with the three babies of teachers at the SEKEM School, has now grown into a lively group of 15 youngsters who are cared for in five specially equipped rooms on the grounds of the SEKEM School. The small rooms are easy to overlook for even the smallest toddlers. Each one is dedicated to a task, e.g. playing, sleeping, eating. The mothers are teachers at the SEKEM School or employees at SEKEM’s medical centre or the SEKEM companies. Thus, they are able to come to workplaces that are close to where their children are cared for enabling them briefly drop by in the course of the day and check up on their kids. They can also breastfeed as long and as often as they wish. The three supervisors are all mothers themselves. Age composition varies with demand. Currently, the group comprises of several older children that will soon leave for kindergarten. The place has therefore become very lively and demands a lot of creativity of the teachers. New applications are already coming in for the summer months that will see a number of new admissions of very small babies. SEKEM Insight | March 2013 | Page 4
News in Brief
Helmy Abouleish at the SEKEM Day 2013
Sponsorships for Better Learning Opportunities
Demeter: Animal Feed From Own Farm Ensures Quality
The German “SEKEM Friends” would again like to invite supporters, partners, and friends of the SEKEM Initiative to the SEKEM Day in Stuttgart. The event will be held on Saturday, 20 April 2013 from 11:00 to about 18:30 in the Schillersaal of the Recital Hall Stuttgart, Berliner Platz 1-3.
With its latest campaign for educational sponsorships the international organization “Friends of Waldorf Education” in Berlin aims to strengthen its public profile and intends to make clear that foreign Waldorf schools, even though they have to survive without government assistance, successfully work to realise idea of an education for all that is not a luxury. The association, to which SEKEM has been connected in the field of youth work for a long time, has successfully been using the tool of educational sponsorships for a while as they are often one of the few long-term assistance instruments with which Waldorf in regions such as Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, that receive no public funding, can admit pupils from difficult economic conditions thereby providing better access to a child-friendly education on a global level.
The next scandal in agriculture and the next call for more control of the sector are waiting just around the corner - the automatism must be countered by going to the root of the problem, thinks Demeter board member Klemens Fischer. „The system is not going to work any better after the latest call for more control. As long as industrial structures dominate the production of food, there will be opportunities deception. “Now is the time to support rural structures of artisan food production”, Fischer adds.
As always, a themed event will be combined with the general meeting of the association itself. This year the one-day get-together will focus on the topic of “water” and its important role in SEKEM and in Egypt. “Throughout the development of SEKEM, an initiative that explicitly focuses on the importance of agriculture to society, water has always played a pivotal role. Those who have visited SEKEM and have experienced the desert for themselves, know how crucial the role of water is for the development and maintenance of life in the desert”, says Roland Schaette, speaker of the “SEKEM Friends”. In Egypt, water has always been equivalent with the river Nile. In fact, only about 5% of the entire surface area of Egypt is arable, most of it only through irrigation. Accordingly, the Egyptians have always been attributing the abundance of fertility provided through the waters of the Nile to the blessed workings of a deity. For SEKEM, which had erected its initial farm far from its banks, the question of how to obtain water and manage it responsibly has always been key. Through various contributions, the organisers wish to approach the topic from different angles. Helmy Abouleish will also present a report on the current political, economic and socio-cultural situation of Egypt, with special consideration of the Heliopolis University. More information is available on the website below.
Waldorf schools in many countries do not receive any state support. They are often struggling on a daily basis just to survive. The Friends of Waldorf Education support these schools through educational sponsorships that allow them to admit more students especially from low-income families, from households run by single mothers or fathers, or children without any parents. These sponsorships do not only support children in the development of their personal futures, but also provide vital regional funding in countries that severely affected by poverty, violence, and unemployment. Waldorf schools have a key role to play through the integrative work in societies with large income disparities, and often very diverse ethnic traditions. Readers of SEKEM Insight may support the work through a donation.
Source: SEKEM Friends
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More information: http://www.sekem-freunde.de
Source: Friends of Waldorf Education
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The 1.400 German Demeter farmers and about 300 partners in processing and trading have proven for many years that a values-based system with independence from agribusiness is a safe and viable alternative. „Our ideal of the farm as an integrated organism ensures that its livestock can be fed from the surface area available to it and in a fully responsible way“, Fischer says. Source: Demeter e.V.
Masthead: The editors of SEKEM Insight wish to thank all contributors to this issue. Editor: Bijan Kafi, Christina Anlauf Contact: SEKEM-Insight c/o SEKEM Holding P.O.Box 2834, El Horreya, Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt insight@SEKEM.com Pictures: 2, 6: SEKEM; 1, 3: Bijan Kafi No republication without written consent by the publisher.
More information: http://www.freunde-waldorf.net
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