Forty years after the SEKEM Initiative was founded, on June 15, 2017, its founder Ibrahim Abouleish passed away. One year later, the SEKEM community published a vision for the next 40 years, the SEKEM Vision 2057. One more year later, SEKEM can now report its first results in regard to the Vision Goals 2057: On the second anniversary of Ibrahim Abouleish’s death, SEKEM publishes its Annual Report 2018, wherein – in the four activity fields ecology, economy, culture and society – all projects are presented that take place in regard to the respective Vision Goals 2057. In addition, the SEKEM Annual Report also links all activities with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
Ecology
By 2057, in the Ecology Dimension SEKEM aims to spread Organic and Biodynamic agricultural methods in Egypt to such an extent that the majority of the country is applying sustainable agricultural practices. In addition, SEKEM does not want to produce waste anymore.
In 2018 SEKEM prioritized these two vision goals: Within the framework of the campaign “Let’s Seed the Future”, activities took place in almost all SEKEM institutions that promoted awareness on sustainable agriculture and food production, employees received Organic food at net cost prices and SEKEM became involved to several international projects that seek to promote Organic agriculture in Egypt. In addition, the first Faculty of Organic Agriculture in Egypt was opened at Heliopolis University for Sustainable Development.
Under the slogan “Zero Waste – Precious Plastic”, in 2018 all companies as well as the SEKEM schools again and specifically considered their use of plastic. Plastic bags are totally banned on all SEKEM premises and at the campus of Heliopolis University, and special machineries had been manufactured to recycle the company’s plastic waste.
By 2057, in the Economy Dimension SEKEM aims, to introduce, among other things, the circular economy model, the concept of the “economy of love” and an ethical banking system in Egypt. SEKEM itself wants to implement these points by 100% until 2027..
In 2018, SEKEM introduced its own SEKEM Demeter brand in Egypt and on international markets and began to redefine the concept of “Economy of Love”.
Society
By 2057, in the Societal Dimension SEKEM aims to inspire the Egyptian society in such a way that a social transformation had taken place, by which all people developed awareness on their individual opportunities to shape their country and the future.
SEKEM started holding SEKEMsophia Symposia in 2018 that deal with holistic and individual development of communities and organizations. Besides, SEKEM also worked on its own internal leadership and organizational structures.
Culture
By 2057, in the Cultural Dimension SEKEM aims to integrate, among others, a holistic approach into Egypt’s educational system that enables individual potential unfolding – from schools to universities to research.
In this context, SEKEM’s educational institutions started to formulate their own visionary goals, continued spreading the concept of Education for Sustainable Development within governmental educational institutions, and did intensive training sessions with its own teachers in order to prepare them for sharing the Vision on a broader scale.
“We are well aware that these goals may sound very ambitious, some may even call them crazy, but only by such a crazy mission the original SEKEM vision of my father became true: Against all odds and logic, he realized with SEKEM a miracle in the desert,” says SEKEM CEO Helmy Abouleish. SEKEM’s Vision for 2057 now wants to make more miracles become true especially on a wider scale with the focus on whole Egypt. With the Annual Report 2018, SEKEM shows that the first steps towards this direction have already been taken.
Download the SEKEM Report 2018 here!
SEKEM Vision 2057