Nr. 105 - May 2011
Insight
SEKEM‘s Journal for Economy, Culture, and Society in Egypt
Editorial
Revolution
Science
Eurythmy
SEKEM’s Firms and Institutions Today
Global Projects with SEKEM’s University
Artistic Work After the Revolution
Dear Readers,
Times of Change and Challenge this issue of SEKEM Insight is published a few days late and that for good reason. Helmy Abouleish‘s arrest on remand had been extended after the initial 15 days. A first trial date had then been announced for 4 June. For organisational reasons these news could not be published in the past issue of our journal.
SEKEM’s businesses and institutions are facing new challenges. Co-workers explain how they feel about the impact of the revolution on their work.
On 4 June eventually Helmy Abouleish received the first chance to personally comment on the case at an initial trial hearing. The event was perceived by participants to having been fairly and openly conducted had primarily been convened to establish the facts of the case. It will be continued on 8 June. As is obvious in the case of SEKEM, it is not only individuals but also firms and institutions that are currently passing through a time of all-encompassing and fundamental change. In this issue co-workers at some of SEKEM’s businesses and social institutions will let you catch a glimpse of how they feel about the situation at their place of work and life.
Your Team of Editors Find SEKEM also on the Internet at:
SEKEM products are still in high demand. But Egyptian consumers have become more price-conscious shoppers after the revolution and less often decide to purchase organic products such as ISIS‘ juices.
E
ven though its firms and institutions are scattered over many places in Egypt, for most visitors SEKEM still is almost synonymous with “the farm”. Situated almost 60 kilometres outside of Cairo the area that covers just 3 square kilometres certainly is a rural place. But the consequences of the revolutionary upheavals that emanated from the urban centres such as Cairo and Suez also quickly spread to the firms on the farm and their co-workers. Too interconnected
is the initiative in the country and on a worldwide level to not be affected by the developments of the first three months of 2011. To be sure, the revolution has kicked off important societal change the realisation of which had also been at the heart of SEKEM’s work for many decades. As desirable as they are though, in the short term it is the economic and organisational challenges that dominate the minds of many among SEKEM Insight | May 2011 | Page 1