Attended by the Minister of Planning and Economic Development

Cairo, 2 December 2020: In line with its social development strategy, ALEXBANK attended the inauguration of “Tawasol School” in Ezbet Khairallah, together with Star Care Foundation and Tawasol Association, which aims at improving the quality of education and training in Establ Antar area. The school will increase the number of students reaching a total of 500. ALEXBANK participated in the establishment and equipment of the school which includes 12 classes, a science lab, a training hall, a meeting hall, handcrafts workshops’ hall, a theatre, a clinic, a kitchen as well as art & music rooms and facilities to accommodate people with special needs. The school building contains a planted roof with the help of students, as well as solar panels to produce the needed energy to operate, helping the environment preservation utilizing natural resources and teaching basic environmental sustainability concepts to all students.

The opening ceremony was attended by top governmental representatives including Dr. Hala Al-Saied Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Mr. Ayman Abdel Mawgoud, Assistant Minister of Social Solidarity for Civil Society Institutions’ Affairs on behalf of Dr. Nevine El Kabbaj Minister of Social Solidarity, Dr. Reda El Sayyed Hegazy, Deputy Minister of Education for Teachers Affairs on behalf of Dr. Tarek Shawki, Minister of Education, ALEXBANK’s senior management including Ms. Laila Hosni Head of CSR & Sustainable Development,  Mr. Mohamed Youssef Head of Tawasol Association, Ms. Omnia Hanna Executive Director of Star Care association as well as several journalists and media representatives.

Dr. Hala Al-Saied stated that the inauguration of Tawasol School is a testament of the state’s efforts and the efforts of Egypt 2030 Vision, emphasizing on the importance of cooperation between the government, the private sector and NGOs, as the role of both is complementary to the role of the state and comes in line the government's interest of developing rural and slum areas across various governorates. Al-Saeed also expressed her pride in the establishment of such an integrated model of community schools in Egypt, as an inclusive school in terms of teaching children, training them on crafts, and linking them to the labor market.

The Minister also noted the importance of the educational role of Tawasol School, for the inclusive details of each governorates and placing governorate names on different classes, which represents a high level of awareness. She also confirmed the presence of a wide range of handicrafts in the school for girls and school dropouts, which greatly contributes to economic and social development while increasing women and youth’s participation in the labor market.

From his part, Dante Campioni, Managing Director & CEO at ALEXBANK stated: “We celebrate not only the inauguration of one of the most important schools in the area, but also what Tawasol provides from top level and modern education methods, by offering a different educational experience. He added: “ALEXBANK participation comes within its strategy to effectively contribute towards the development of the communities in which it operates, glad to support an initiative aiming at enhancing lifelong learning opportunities and empowering economically the nearby communities through the activation of a handicraft training center for youth and women”.

Mr. Mohamed Youssef, head of Tawasol Association, stated that as part of their efforts to participate in the development of Ezbet Khair Allah out of their belief in the importance of NGOs roles in decreasing the rates of school dropout and creating job opportunities, Tawasol cooperated with different private sector entities to purchase a 1000 square meters land and build the school on it. He also thanked ALEXBANK, Star Care foundation, and the UNDP for their participation in establishing and equipping the school.

The opening ceremony included a short video reflecting the history and background of Tawasol school as well as an orientation tour for classes and handicrafts workshops, short performances such as acrobats and part of Hathour play, a theatrical performance which discusses the concept of peaceful coexistence and tolerance among members of one community, reflecting Egypt's history and identity as the cradle of monotheistic religions and a model for coexistence and tolerance.