Center of Education for Sustainable Development (CESD)

Prof. Dr. Omar Ramzy
 Professor of Marketing 

As we continue to develop and gain new technologies and understandings of the world, new challenges continue to arise; each one more difficult to overcome than the last. In order to understand this dynamic and why this is occurring, we must take a deep look at the fundamental way in which we view the world and how we learn about it. In school, we always learned about positive facts (facts about what was and what is); however, rarely are we taught (or now teach) what ought to be. This is the fundamental difference between traditional education and ESD. With ESD we challenge students and teachers alike to not only imagine what can be, but how the world should be. They are challenged to view the world from a new lens in which the society, culture, economy, and ecology are all inextricably interconnected. As such, at the Center of Excellence (founded June 2014) for ESD, we have made it our mission to introduce ESD to schools and other educational institutions and communities across Egypt with a special focus on underprivileged areas. We work continuously to enhance our methods and teaching techniques in order to reach the largest audience with an innovative teaching method and content that resonates with both the teacher and the learner in which the critical, burning issues of our society can be realized, understood, and eventually addressed starting with the youngest and purest members of our society.

Accomplishments

UNESCO Affiliated Schools

As part of the CoE’s latest initiative, the CoE is targeting UNESCO affiliated schools across Egypt to integrate ESD within their curricula. Thus, over 150 schools will be targeted according to an agreement signed between the CoE and the Egyptian Ministry of Education. More information here www.moe.eg

Children’s University

This project, funded by the ASRT, aims at enhancing student’s capacities by engaging them in a university environment where they can receive hands-on knowledge on various university subjects. Students are exposed in an interactive way to subjects in Water, Energy, Egyptology, Health, Biodiversity, Arts, and Humanities. This is facilitated by the CoE through developing activities related to these topics in the context of ESD and challenging the students to engage in a participatory and innovative way. These activities developed by CoE will be implemented in 24 Egyptian Universities. At the same time, the CoE conducted ToT for faculty members in the 24 universities; The Tot focused on the innovative teaching techniques that will be implemented during the university semesters with the children. More information here www.asrt.sci.eg

PDP-SERP (EduCamp II)

This project, funded by the Participatory Development Programme (PDP), focused on improving the status of slum areas in Egypt with a special focus on Al-Warraq – the most densely populated slum area in Egypt. Through this project, two schools in Al-Warraq (Al-Sadat Preparatory School & Mohamed Farid Primary School) were renovated and the teachers were trained on ESD concepts over the course of intensive, 2-week training. The schools then organized a summer program for the students to engage in various, fun activities relating to ESD. For these activities, over 40 new ESD related activities were developed by the CoE based on the results of an extensive, needs-analysis of Al-Warraq. More information here www.educamp.eu

Collaboration with Sawiris Foundation for Environmental Development (SFED)

As part of SFED’s mission to improve the environmental conditions of underprivileged areas around Egypt, the CoE has been engaged with SFED in improving the conditions of 2 schools in Zerrzara, Hurgada. As such, the CoE conducts intensive, 1-week training for the teachers in the area to teach them on ESD principles and activities.