On March 15, a Social Innovation Day was held at Heliopolis University for Sustainable Development (HU). Social Innovation is the process of addressing needs from the community and society in new, unconventional ways. “We want to create awareness on this complex topic and discuss the process of Social Innovation with leading experts in the field”, says Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish.
Hence, Dr. Ronnie Lessem and Dr. Alexander Schieffer, founders of TRANS4M Center were invited to attend the two-day workshop. TRANS4M Center in Geneva empowers managers and leaders from the four sectors of society (business, politics, culture and environment) together with their organizations, to become effective transformational entrepreneurs and to build truly sustainable enterprises. The two social innovators are long-standing development partners of SEKEM and visited Egypt many times over the last decade. “To reach the social innovation goals and serve any community needs, we have to realize the societal state by going back to its principles and roots besides its present burning issues”, says Dr. Ronnie Lessem during his presentation, which included rich information about ancient Egypt in the context of Social Innovation perception.
On the other hand, Mohamed Wageih, member of the Social Innovation Lab at HU emphasized on how Social Innovation is considered as a fundamental part of achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, which are addressed by different research projects at Heliopolis University.
Representatives from different departments of HU presented their projects in various fields. Hence, for instance, Mohamed Anwar, from the Center of Excellence at HU, discussed the Education for Sustainable Development-Project as a way to solve educational challenges in Egypt. The project is grounded in the long-term experience of SEKEM School and supports the capacity building of teachers of Egyptian governmental schools by offering them practical guidance to promote Education for Sustainable Development.
Noha Hussein
Education for Sustainable Development in Slum Areas
Education for Sustainable Development for UNESCO Schools