Establishing Green Clubs

AGO coordinated with ministry officials and school administrators to establish eight student Green Clubs (four in Baiji and four in Shirqat), where members support organizing project activities, events, and other knowledge-sharing opportunities within schools and in their communities. Currently, 109 students and 24 teachers are participating in the Green Clubs across the eight schools.

Coordinating Green Club Trainings

AGO conducted Green Club trainings with select teachers to continue being climate and environmental champions once the activity is complete.

Constructing School Gardens

AGO constructed school gardens in partnership with volunteer groups at all eight schools, working closely with environmental and agricultural experts and school administrators to ensure the appropriate trees were selected and the sites were safely prepared. AGO trained Green Club students on plowing, preparing the land, treating seedlings, and irrigation, providing an important opportunity for the students to learn sustainable practices and actively promote a greener environment. AGO also facilitated the installation of water tanks and irrigation systems to support the gardens' water needs.

AGO planted approximately 60 trees per school and distributed agricultural safety and first aid kits to ensure that the schools have the necessary resources and tools to continue their green initiatives and maintain a safe and sustainable environment for the future.

Conducting Awareness Trainings

AGO also initiated a series of awareness campaigns across the eight schools, reaching more than 2,700 students. The campaigns promoted environmental awareness, agriculture, and climate change. The campaigns were successful in raising students' awareness about the importance of preserving the environment and taking action to address climate change. Students across the eight schools showed enthusiasm and interest in the topics, and AGO will continue to monitor and evaluate the campaigns' impact.

Background photo courtesy of AGO: young students participate in a Green Club training session with AGO facilitators at school in Shirqat.

Supporting Idea-Stage Green Entrepreneurs through a Three-Day Climate Hackathon

In February 2023, Athar held a three-day Climate Action Hackathon to convene and connect innovative youth from Upper Egypt to generate eco-friendly solutions related to climate change. They received 143 applications from startups, selecting 21 to compete for three awards and receive training and mentorship from 14 mentors with diverse business and industry backgrounds. The training covered topics such as business model validation, business pitching, impact measurement, and climate change. The 21 startups worked with mentors throughout the three days to pitch their ideas, and ultimately, three teams were selected as winners, receiving 30,000 Egyptian Pounds each. Five teams have also participated in the more advanced three-month acceleration program.

Accelerating Green Early-Stage Growth and Readiness for Investment

Athar also launched its Accelerator program, selecting 14 startups and MSMEs from 109 applications to compete for three months of training and support. They hosted a kick-off and three-day training event on business modeling in March 2023. 10 of the 14 startups were selected to each receive a 15,000 Egyptian Pounds grant. They also conducted a needs assessment and mentorship roadmap for each winner to further strengthen their business models.

The Accelerator concluded with nine startups pitching their improved business models and traction in an online demo day with more than 60 attendees from various businesses and investment support organizations. Athar is investing 400,000 Egyptian Pounds in Envispec, a green early-stage startup, to support and sustain its growth.

Sustaining Support to Green Entrepreneurs by Establishing a Climate Cluster

In February 2023, Athar held a Climate Action Cluster Round Table with key stakeholders, including business support organizations, government agencies, and the private sector in the green industry, to establish a support network to help startup founders navigate their way to sustainable growth. The resulting network, the Climate Action Cluster, includes 15 key stakeholders that will operate as a support network for green startup founders. During the Climate Action Hackathon, Athar convened a round table with the Climate Action Cluster to discuss challenges facing startups in Upper Egypt. The discussion concluded with action commitments from each participant, as well as a goal to develop an online community.

Background photo courtesy of Athar Accelerator: representatives from the three winning teams pose with signs at the Climate Action Hackathon.

Hosting Capacity Building and Awareness-Raising Workshops

CDS developed training content for a three-day workshop on the importance of engaging in environmental activities that preserve and safeguard the environment, raise awareness about climate change, and highlight global and national efforts to address climate change. The training program covered several topics, such as biodiversity, reducing the effects of climate change, and reducing plastic use. Five workshops were held in the Hurghada, Suez, Ismailia, Port Said, and Sharm el-Sheikh governates, reaching 146 youth participants (64% female and 36% male). The average percentage increase in the participants’ learning and knowledge is estimated at approximately 100%.

Cleaning Up Beaches

Across the five governates highlighted above, 100 youth (70% female and 30% male) who attended the Capacity Building and Awareness-Raising Workshops also participated in the beach cleaning campaigns. Coordinating with local authorities, youth engaged residents and visitors to support the beach clean-ups to bring greater awareness to environmental issues in Egypt, particularly plastic pollution. This activity helped youth assess plastic usage in their own community and therefore consider modifying their own behavior. Residents and visitors who participated were also encouraged to modify their behavior toward plastic. On average, the teams collected around 500 kilograms of waste, mainly plastic items.

Implementing Do It Yourself (DIY) Recycling Workshops

CDS also finalized the design and development of a two-day training called Do It Yourself (DIY). The training focuses on how individuals can recycle everyday plastic products for use in their homes and gardens. CDS conducted ten DIY Recycling Workshops across the five governates, reaching 290 participants.

In May 2023, CDS held a final showcase event with more than 200 participants. The showcase event displayed recycled products made during the DIY Recycling Workshops and provided participants an opportunity to increase their knowledge about environmental protection, reducing plastic usage, and climate change adaptation.

Background photo courtesy of Center for Development Services Facebook page: four women create new products out of recycled plastic bottles at one of the Do It Yourself trainings.

Organizing Bicycle Repair Workshops

Djerba Insolite organized three bicycle repair workshops to preserve and encourage the greater use of bicycles as an eco-friendly means of transportation. There is a lack of bicycle mechanics in Djerba, so people typically trash them instead of repairing them. During each workshop, Djerba Insolite first introduced the project and discussed the importance of bike use and its positive impacts on climate and health. Then they discussed the components of a bike and how to repair them. Following the presentation, staff helped repair and teach participants how to repair their bikes. Participants learned and shared their opinions about sustainable transportation options and how many of them used to go to secondary school by bike. 66 participants attended the three workshops.

Hosting Climate Change Workshops

Djerba Insolite organized two Climate Change Workshops for youth and civil society leaders to raise awareness among youth and communities about the risks associated with climate change and provide guidance on increasing their commitment to protecting the environment. Twenty participants were selected through a call for applications seeking individuals who are and/or will act as climate and environmental advocates. After the second workshop, most participants shared that they were more encouraged to use bikes and expressed interest in participating in future bike rides organized by Djerba Insolite.

Raising Awareness on Environmental Protection and Preservation

Djerba Insolite organized awareness sessions across the island to promote environmental protection and preservation of Djerba’s natural heritage, such as green spaces, beaches, shores, sea life, and historical monuments. The first session attracted 85 participants and featured interactive games, a photo exhibition showcasing the various impacts of climate change on the island's environment and biodiversity, and a short film screening, and participants planted 20 trees around the youth center. The second session featured a cycling treasure hunt and a public photo exhibition.

Djerba Insolite also partnered with a local Tunisian artist, Skander Tej, to design six mural paintings to promote environmental protection and raise awareness about the island's cultural heritage through art. The paintings showcase the island's beauty and historical and traditional values while also sending a clear message about caring for the environment. The murals have been well-received by the public and promoted via local radio stations and bloggers on social media.

Background photo courtesy of Djerba Insolite: facilitator shows two young boys how to repair a bicycle's gears at the first bicycle repair workshop in Mezreya.

Raising Awareness and Providing Networking Opportunities

Greenish aims to connect and raise environmental, sustainable solutions in schools and universities and youth-led green and social initiatives. In preparation for these events, Greenish completed recruitment of students to join the 2022/2023 Greenish Clubs Program and restarted Clubs that already existed across universities in Egypt. They organized two events: "The Environment: Why does it Matter? Connecting Greenish Clubs students in the North Coast, West, and Northern Delta" to stakeholders in Alexandria, and “The Environment: Why does it Matter? Connecting Greenish Clubs students in Upper Egypt and the Red Sea" to stakeholders in Cairo.

Developing Local Environmental Content

Greenish Club workshops and capacity-building activities are fundamentally based on the Greenish Environmental Manuals, specifically tailored to the local Egyptian context and the target audience. The manuals are educational and, in some cases, gamified to increase engagement. They cover a range of environmental and climate topics. Using GISR MYCA grant funding, Greenish developed three new Environmental Manuals, including "Nature-based Solutions in Egypt," "Managing the Urban Environment," and "Social Entrepreneurship."

Facilitating Peer-to-Peer Learning

Greenish also organized 18 Climate Change, Mitigation, and Adaptation workshops in collaboration with Climutopia. These workshops focus on enhancing community capacities and imparting knowledge on climate change, adaptation and mitigation, early warning systems, and climate justice.

Greenish organized nine Movie & Dialogue Circle Workshops in collaboration with the Danish Egyptian Dialogue Initiative, Ambassador for Dialogue, and Banlastic across nine governates. These workshops aim to provide a resource of documentary films and short films related to sustainability and climate change issues and encourage dialogue and debate around the issues presented in the films.

Supporting Environmental Businesses

Greenish will provide financial and mentorship support to the top eight winners from the previous Greenish Clubs (academic year 2021/2022). They will empower youth to implement their social entrepreneurship ideas and engage in the environmental narrative within their respective communities. These projects will be implemented over a six-month period. The top two ideas received a prize of 40,000 EGP, the four following ideas received 30,000 EGP, and the last two winners received 20,000 EGP.

Background photo courtesy of Greenish Foundation: four presenters stand on stage at the "Connecting Greenish Clubs Students in Upper Egypt and Red Sea to Stakeholders" event in Cairo.

Supporting Waste Sorting and Collection Efforts

Given that the community's role in waste management begins with sorting at the source, ReFuse is assisting various institutions in organizing their sorting system through waste audits, the set-up of sorting bins tailored to the facility, and the collection of different fractions according to their production patterns. ReFuse collaborated with the Karagheusian Health Center, Life Project for Youth, and the Bourj Hammoud Ecology Club, DRA NGO, and Search for Common Ground’s Lebanon Office.

Raising Awareness on Environmental Restoration

ReFuse also organizes cleanup activities to engage participants and the communities, spark positive environmental action, and directly improve the perception of the neighborhood after a recycling program is kickstarted in hopes that it will boost environmental commitment from communities. These opportunities also allow youth to model change-making behavior. For example, ReFuse partnered with young women from the Bourj Hammoud municipality to launch two cleanup campaigns. The young women initially found participating in a neighborhood cleanup strange but felt accomplished afterward, particularly since other community members began joining them. To date, ReFuse has organized five community clean-ups, engaging 109 youth.

Serving the Community: Cash4Trash and Trash4Good

Cash4Trash is ReFuse’s core service and is being implemented at its recyclables collection points. ReFuse collects over 18 types of recyclables, and a portion of the recyclables' monetary value goes back into the community. Trash4Good is a community-led service where ReFuse works with community members to use trash as a source of funds that can support the implementation of community-led initiatives.

Background photo courtesy of ReFuse: participants learn about waste sorting systems at the Karagheusian Health Center.

Establishing a New Recycling Collection Point

ReFuse’s infrastructure for the third recyclables collection point located in Hamra has been set-up in a refurbished facility made of ISO 20 feet shipping containers, equipped with an operating space and a storage space. The collection point is fully operational, and an opening ceremony was held in May 2023. The processing capacity is estimated at 0.9 tons of recyclables per day, meaning the possibility to serve a neighborhood of over 10,000 people.

Organizing Environmental Training and Awareness Sessions

ReFuse organized an environmental training for medical staff at the Jinishian Health Center, attended by volunteer women from the neighborhood. Attendees said that this session encouraged them to start sorting at home as well and that their families would undoubtedly pick up the habit. ReFuse also finalized a tailored environmental training for youth and developed a sorting guide to help people design their own sorting systems using ReFuse bins.

Developing Software Tools

ReFuse completed the development of its recyclables management software that supports all its recycling services, including Cash4Trash and Trash4Good. Through its MYCA grant, ReFuse was able to fully develop the operating infrastructure.

Background photo courtesy of ReFuse: the new collection point in Hamra set up for the launch event, where attendees sat on bales of recycled materials.

Expanding the Youth-Led Environment Unit and Climate Change Network (EUCC)

To expand the EUCC, SYFS facilitated two seminars attended by 30 participants representing ten community-based organizations (CBOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Since then, ten new organizations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to join the EUCC. Thirty members of the EUCC also worked together to develop a three-year Strategic Plan. The goal is that each CBO or NGO finalizes and implements the Strategic Plan. SYFS also organized a networking conference to present the three-year Strategic Plan, which over 100 people attended.

Establishing a Waste-Sorting Hub

SYFS coordinated with the town community leaders to establish a waste sorting hub, rented space, set up operations, and selected ten volunteers (five female and five male) to operate the hub’s activities. The volunteers will work to educate the community on how they can increase solid waste sorting practices in Al-Zahra City. The Hub will also be a point for collecting sorted solid waste to be sold to private sectors. The income will be used to develop the Hub model, target other cities, and reward community participants. the Hub will benefit more than 3,000 people.

Organizing a Nature-based Climate Youth Camp

SYFS organized two four-day youth camps for 50 EUCC leaders. The objective was to advance their skills in green and environmental leadership, identify solutions to mitigate climate change impacts, and learn how to support community behavior change. The training also included a field trip and meetings with key individuals working on environmental issues. SYFS conducted a pre- and post-evaluation to measure the improvement of knowledge and skills after the youth camp. Results showed a 55.3% improvement for the first cohort and 55.7% improvement for the second cohort.

Developing a Mobile Application

To connect community members with private sector organizations purchasing specific types of waste, SYFS developed the "Green Skies" application. They identified an IT company and are reviewing and testing the first version. The MYCA team connected SYFS with another grantee, ReFuse in Lebanon, to provide feedback on the app since they have also developed something similar. SYFS launched the app on Apple Store and Google Play and made a promotional video to disseminate the app to targeted communities.

Background photo courtesy of Save Youth Future Society: EUCC members pose for a group photo during one of the four-day youth camp sessions.

Establishing Green Roofs

The Middle area of the Gaza Strip suffers from a 4-degree Celsius increase in temperature. SYFS provided 30 houses in this area with green roof units to increase urban agriculture, decrease the temperature, and decrease families' expenses for fresh produce like vegetables. Beneficiaries were chosen using a selection process led by structural and agriculture engineers. EUCC members will follow up with the 30 households to support them and provide necessary planting knowledge.

Hosting Awareness Raising Sessions on Green Practices and Kitchen Gardening

The Environmental Youth Coalition and the EUCC conducted 50 awareness sessions to address recycling, urban agriculture, green roofs, kitchen gardening, and how to invest in domestic agriculture. 1,500 individuals participated in the sessions and became better equipped to increase urban agriculture in their areas.

Raising Awareness among Adolescents and Children with the Cinema Bus

To increase awareness among all community members, especially adolescents and children, SYFS used the Cinema Bus, an innovative education tool to present the information more attractively. SYFS used the Cinema Bus to reach 500 children within five days. Sessions addressed the dangers of solid waste, recycling, and sorting through informative short movies and purposeful entertainment activities.

Background photo courtesy of Save Youth Future Society: community leaders attend an orientation session led by EUCC members before establishing the solid waste sorting hub.