A market in Egypt (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Sally Roshdy is a CIPE-Atlas Corps Think Tank LINKS  Fellow serving at the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) .

In Egypt, my home country, the rulers and the political elite are immersed in a struggle for power and have forgotten the simplest principles of good governance: to deliver economic opportunities to their citizens.

Given the current economic crisis in Egypt, a new approach that prioritizes economic development should be adopted. By supporting small enterprises, the government can build a stronger economy and empower people in need to be productive. This way, those in need of assistance are more than just aid recipients; they are contributors to the overall economic growth.

New and well-planned initiatives must be created to improve Egypt’s economic and social conditions. These initiatives should involve all three sectors – the government,  private sector, and civil society.

Local civil society organizations can help create economic opportunities by building the necessary skills of those who are unemployed. For example, the Misr El Kheir Foundation aims to alleviate poverty and unemployment in various communities throughout Egypt by empowering youth and women with leadership and technical skills.

The private sector can also contribute to economic development in Egypt through providing inclusive business opportunities for more citizens, thus creating jobs,  attracting more investment to the country, and increasing production. Moreover, the government can engage with the private sector and civil society in setting  effective economic policies and ensuring inclusion of all actors to help grow Egypt’s economy.

Most Egyptians would agree that solving the current economic crisis should be the priority of the country. If we analyze the voting behavior of the last election, most Egyptians voted for the party that would improve “their pocketbooks” and provide them with “cooking oil, sugar, [and] food for Ramadan.” This reflects the genuine concern of the people for the country’s faltering economy.

As the country gears up for another round of elections this year, I hope more parties will address how they will address this pressing domestic issue, rather than focusing on their power struggle.

The CIPE-Atlas Corps Think Tank LINKS Fellowship brings talented young professionals with strong research backgrounds to shadow researchers and experts at leading U.S. think tanks for six month. Sally Roshdy is part of the inaugural class, serving at the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED).

By Sally Roshdy, a CIPE-Atlas Corps Think Tank LINKS  Fellow serving at the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED)

Revolutions do not erupt out of the blue – they are the result of citizens’ accumulated disappointments and their disapproval with the status quo over time. In January 2010, this is precisely what happened in Egypt. Our revolution took place because many people – especially those in the civil society – wanted to do something about their political and economic frustrations.

The Egyptian civil society sector is an important part of Egypt’s recent history. Prior to the revolution, they helped build awareness about the need for democratic governance. They also helped spread awareness about various human rights abuses taking place in Egypt. After the revolution, activists and organizations were instrumental in documenting what was happening on the ground, forming fact-finding committees, and seeking the release of the detained young people who participated in demonstrations. Civil society, therefore, played – and is playing – a crucial part during the democratic transition of the country, and is helping bring people to demand their fundamental right to a life of dignity, freedom, and social justice.

Freedom of association is an essential component of democracy. The more a country allows citizens to engage at the civil society level, the more democratic it is going to be. This, however, has not been realized in Egypt even after the country welcomed its first democratically-elected president. In fact, it seems to be reversing given the latest NGO draft law

Civil society organizations have been instrumental in the evolution of Egypt’s revolution since 2011. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

presented by the Ministry of Insurance and Social Affairs.

This draft has shocked those who were hoping the new government will introduce a new law that will support civil society activities in post-revolution Egypt. Instead of being supportive, the proposed draft law could potentially minimize what activities civil society organizations can engage in. Some activists are calling this draft even worse than the current governing laws for civil society organizations in Egypt. Following are some concerns regarding the proposed NGO law:

• The bill stipulates the formation of a coordination committee that would oversee all activities done by international NGOs. This committee is supposed to include representatives from Interior Ministry and one from the National Security Agency, which foreshadows a desire of the government to involve security agencies in civil society work. Moreover, the draft gives the administrative representatives the right to arrest anyone for breaking the draft law.
• The bill will increase the minimum capital needed to establish nonprofits from LE 10,000 (about $1,500 US) to LE 250,000 (more than $37,000 US). This has the potential to deprive the right for young people and less financially-sound qualified individuals from organizing themselves.
• All associations, foundations, and federations subjected to this proposed law will be under the oversight of an Egyptian Central auditing organization, implying that civil society organizations will be part of a semi-government entity.

Civil society in Egypt may soon be forced to work in such a challenging legal framework. And this is alarming. Limiting freedom of association is a step backwards for Egypt’s democratic transition.

CIPE Atlas Corps Think Tank LINKS Fellowship brings talented young professionals with strong research backgrounds to shadow researchers and experts at leading U.S. think tanks for six month. Sally Roshdy is part of the inaugural class, serving at the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED).

* This article was originally published by the Center for International Private Enterprise.

Hey, guys!

As you know, I am an alumna Rotary Peace Fellow, class 8 (2009-2011), Duke/UNC Rotary Center. Many fellows have asked me in the past about this fellowship, the application process, etc… so I thought about putting together a faq. I hope this is helpful!

a) Who are the Rotary Peace Fellows who became Atlas Corps Fellows?

Katia Dantas was the first one. She is the Latin American & Caribbean Policy Director at International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC). I am the second one. Hopefully, there will be more to come!

Also, Daniela Tort is the first Atlas Corps fellow to have become a Rotary Peace Fellow. She is going to Duke.

b) How can I apply?

1 - Read all the information about the fellowship here: http://www.rotary.org/en/StudentsAndYouth/EducationalPrograms/RotaryCentersForInternationalStudies/Pages/ridefault.aspx

2 – Find a Rotary club or district to sponsor you. They will examine your application and conduct an interview. The district may endorse as many applicants as it wishes. Usually, you will find a district/ club close to where you live/ work. However, if that’s not possible, go to the Rotary Peace Fellowship LinkedIn page, and ask for help: http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Official-Rotary-International-Group-858557/about

3 – July 1: DEADLINE! The district submits the application to the Rotary Headquarters.

4 – November: Results.

c)  Will I get the same MA in all the centers?

No. You are able to choose centers based on your interests.

d) What’s the profile of Peace Fellows like?

You can find more information about current fellows here: http://rotarypeacecenternc.org/peace-fellow-profiles/current-fellows/

And alumni here: http://rotarypeacecenternc.org/peace-fellow-profiles/alumni/

e) What are alumni Peace Fellows doing now? Where are they?

Statistics are for all alumni through the 2010-12 class.  These statistics are accurate as of 1 March 2013.

Since the first class of peace fellows graduated in 2004, there are 718 living alumni: 484 from the master’s program and 238 from the certificate program. 688 (96%) of the 718 alumni have reported their current position to TRF at least once since they completed the fellowship.

Of these 688 peace fellows:

• 262 (38%) work for NGOs or other peace-related      organizations
• 108 (16%) work for a government agency or the military
• 64 (9%) are teachers/professors
• 62 (9%) are pursuing additional advanced degrees in      peace-related fields
• 44 (6%) work in research or academic support positions
• 35 (5%) work for United Nations agencies
• 16 (2%) work for police or are involved in law enforcement
• 14 (2%) are lawyers
• 11 (2%) are journalists
• 8 (1%) work for the World Bank
• 36 (5%) defy easy categorization; these include: bankers, human resource professionals, and business owners
• 28 (4%) reported they are actively looking for work in the field

Alumni find work around the world:

• 197 (29%) reside in North America
• 165 (24%) reside in Asia
• 104 (15%) reside in Europe
• 76 (11%) reside in Africa
• 63 (9%) reside in Australia and Oceania
• 51 (7%) reside in South America
• 23 (3%) reside in the Middle East
• 9 (1%) reside Central America and the Caribbean

I hope this is helpful!

You can always shoot me an email if you have questions.

Karina

This is the third part of a series of posts about my first impressions on the social sector in the US, compared to the sector in my home country:

It has been five weeks since I got to the US to train in the social sector and I would have never believed I’d be so fascinated by it in such a short time. Social ventures are supported and become successful, the general public wants to participate in it in one way or another and great ideas are shared, accepted and scaled. As part of MOLE, Movimiento de Liderazgo Educativo (in English, Educational Leadership Movement), we had discussed so much about how to build a thriving social sector back in Peru, how to convince investors and beneficiaries that government policies were not the only solution to our nation’s problems, that even we were not convinced that there was a realistic way to achieve this in time. Our huge impetus was accumulating and running the risk of hitting a wall too hard to demolish.
Some of the lessons I’ve learned about the social sector here will sure be helpful to make things clearer back home and to channel our efforts.

Isolated ideas don’t change countries

Last April, Lima hosted the World Economic Forum on Latin America 2013 and in the event’s Social Innovation Summit, where the most impactful and ambitious social ventures in Peru were represented, the main conclusion was very straightforward: social ventures in Latin America are isolated within the social sector, and more so from the government, civil society and the corporate sector. The goal proposed was to develop organizational infrastructure for social ventures to have available support, unconditioned funding, and strong networks and promotion with all the other sectors. Peru’s social entrepreneurs did a great job in communicating the main problem we have to get things done and to generate real impact.
At the beginning of 2011, my first year as a teacher, me and my fellow teachers from Enseña Perú would only HEAR about other non-profits, some had been involved in other projects but had not had contact with them since joining the teaching movement. We even had conflicts with foundations working at schools because of lack of coordination between the two ventures and, despite a large presence of non-profits in the area, I rarely got news from other organizations that had an impact on the school I was working at. Seeking information was seen with suspicion and after a few attempts I considered it a bit of a waste of time. Clearly, as we say in Peru referencing the Marinera dance, everyone was dancing with their own handkerchief.
On the flipside, the situation in the US is diametrically different. Non-profits work together to strengthen their teams, they share knowledge and have not one, as we would like to have back home, but a great number of big networking events. There are non-profits dedicated to social venture consulting and others, like Ashoka, that promote the spreading use of their own changemaking structures among other organizations.
The most impactful non-profits get funding from the State Department, they are frequently welcomed into meetings with representatives of the government and most of the larger social ventures, not coincidentally, have their headquarters in the Washington DC area. The social sector is part of the greater tapestry of political decision-making and its many variants are represented and even have ways to influence their government’s policy.
As I have mentioned before, the private sector also contributes to social entrepreneurship. Early examples like the W.K. Kellogg Foundation supporting organizations that benefit children’s health with grants are an evidence of how deeply rooted this culture is. The tradition still goes on today with mutual support between social businesses and retail companies in cases like TOMS Shoes or SoapBox Soaps, both embarking in the one-for-one business model. Shareholder value creation is giving way to social value creation nowadays, which widely opens the doors of the market to social ventures.

The social sector in the US is clearly a well-constructed system that is integrated into the government, the market and civil society. That same spirit is only beginning to take shape in Perú and that can only fill us with hope.

At this very moment when I’m trying to concentrate on reporting and organizing a huge pile of papers, the Side by Side: Digital Story project participants are all in planes flying back to their home countries, Turkey and Armenia.

Past two weeks were really amazing in many ways, but mostly because we ALL were one team! Working together, learning and living together, exploring DC together…

I’m really happy we achieved a lot: we all learned to be a little bit more tolerant, more respectful, more hardworking, punctual, caring, more, more, more…

I was managing many different projects before, but this one is unique, because I was hosting people in Washington DC, where I am a guest myself!

It was pretty unusual for me today after the goodbyes to walk in the streets without being followed by a group of 14 or work in the office in complete silence without being distracted every other minute with questions…

I’m happy to be able to share the results of the busiest and most hectic month since my arrival to DC.

Please check:

And enjoy the last day of spring,

Side by Side: Digital Stories team

Life takes you to unexpected places.

Love brings you home.

The moment I came across this quote it resonated with me on many levels especially in my personal journey to find ‘home’ and it reminded me of the swell of emotions that I felt listening to Power In Our Interconnectedness: Jacqueline Novogratz at TEDxEuston in London a mere few weeks before I commenced my Atlas Corps adventure. The year before I had spent 18 months in my country of heritage, Nigeria confronting the stark realization that whilst I left London as a Nigerian, I had in fact landed in Nigeria as a British.

I went back to Nigeria after over two decades of living, schooling and working in England with this romanticized notion of returning ‘home’ only to find that as the saying goes you can’t go home again instead left with the same question Jacqueline Novogratz asked herself in her TEDxEuston talk  ‘Where do I belong, what is my home?’

Right now my home is Columbia Heights, Washington DC…a urban area that has undergone a redevelopment that reminds me of so many areas of ‘home’ both in London and Lagos. It is a place I continue to fall in love with every time I come across a new quirk or corner rooftop/brunch venue and one that I will fondly miss once my adventure here moves on to the next part of the world that I will be blessed to call ‘home’

The best part of my current adventure is knowing that I belong to a fellowship, who, as Ms. Novogratz so eloquently stated in the video, are a “community of journeyers with me…individuals from around the world who share my values and understand the status quo is no longer an option”

I started this post with so much I wanted to write only to find that its all been said for me so all that is left me to do is repost the link to Jacqueline Novogratz’s inspiring and fantastic TEDxEuston talk Power In Our Interconnectedness whilst many times I have felt also that “I am out of place as I have home from here and the home I’ve brought” I am equally comforted in knowing that my adventure is still unfolding and right now…

I am where I need to be!

Few days ago I participated in a campaign called Living below the Line and experience different feelings which I never feel before. If you ever starve than you may be able to fathom.
What is LBL is? I would like to share a link for you to know and learn about LBL. https://www.livebelowtheline.com/us-en-thecause
Today it is my first day and I have reflected a lot. After having my morning tea, I boiled potatoes for lunch. I boiled almost 3 potatoes to make sure that I am properly filled in.
I filled my water bottles from dispenser but later I convinced myself not to drink from dispenser but from tap water. I could easily feel the difference in taste and I was recalling when my colleague at CARE suggested me few months ago that not to drink from tap as it is not recommended for drinking purpose. I am 90% sure that the tap water in America is pretty much safer and clean than in many developing countries. So I just drink the water from tap but it made me reflect.
Reflection 1: I am blessed and have privilege on 780 million people about 1 in 9 lack access to clean water. Should I not be thankful to God? Am I not obliged to do something for those people who don’t have access to water?
My colleague just passed through my desk and he offered me some chocolates from Switzerland and I asked how much I can take? He told me to take as much as I want to! I took 7 little pieces of chocolates. I was thinking to eat them as no one was watching me but myself. I realize how hard it is to say ‘NO’ to our desires and for many they have no desire, they have no choice. I was thinking about Holy Month of Ramadan when we all Muslims fast from dawn to sun set. Ramadan month is a school of faith, of spirituality, of awareness, of giving, of solidarity, justice, dignity and unity. This is the month when introspection in us is deepest and the month of greatest contribution to humanity. But I never followed the real teaching. I just have think about myself and restrain myself from eating because of solely religious purpose. Am I really not too selfish? Am I too afraid of hell? Are there not people in this world whose everyday is a struggle? I followed the half message and forgot the half for which ALLAH said that “HE will not forgive the violation of Haqooq-ul-Ibaad (rights of people)”.
Reflection 2: This year I will be fasting to make sure that I am following the real message not the half which benefits to me but to make sure that I do think and do something for those people who don’t have access to many things. I promise myself not to waste food and not to complain. “Yes, Yes, Yes, I am obliged to do for those who are not privileged like me”. Someone inside me is screaming.
I was quickly filled this afternoon with boiled potatoes and still there were some left in my lunch box. I was excited that I have enough for today bit it was a moment for me to realize that how use to I am to have good and tasty food that even my stomach is not accepting these boiled potatoes and I filed which is actually not filling but saying no to boiled potatoes. If the 7 billion people don’t have enough food today to have a healthy and active life, why I cannot be one of them? These people don’t know that taste is and what nutrition means? I cursed myself at that very moment. I eat some pieces without peeling off with remorse. After 7:30 pm, when I saw fresh bananas and French cookies I am struggling with my own thoughts, desire and conduct, I don’t know for how long I will continue this battle. One part of my heart is craving to eat but another part of my heart is that there are many unfortunates who saw these edibles but they don’t have access like me, they can just wish. I am not ashamed of breaking my vow but I am ashamed of not thinking like this before. Why? I am dragging myself in ‘my own court’ where I am offender, I am judge.
At this sad evening of my first day of Living Below the Line, with hunger pangs I am thinking of our maid Massi Ameeran (Maasi is word which we use as Aunti) who several years ago, once took something from my hand which I was going to throw in trash by saying “it’s been ages that we cooked meat, so today I will cook for them”. Should I tell you what was in my hand? Trimmings (left over after cleaning the meat)
While thinking of Day 2, I am in agony and thinking of those for whom “Living Below the Line” is not a five days challenge but seven days a week, 24 hours for past several years.
In the end I will let you decide to think what I did with those 7 little pieces of chocolates?
Please donate for this cause online through debit/visa card or offline donations.

https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/madiha

Using the word ‘success’ to describe or question the effectiveness of special courts and tribunals, is perhaps not the right choice of words, but it certainly has been a question in my mind for the past month particularly.

I recently traveled to the Netherlands for my host organisation, in preparation for our upcoming Hague Symposium on Post-Conflict Transition and International Justice. During this time, after a meeting with our contact at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, he invited me to sit in on a session in court, that was taking place at the time. It was fascinating and a great privilege to be a witness to this first hand.
At the same time, it was of course like a real courtroom scenario with a lot of back and forth nit-picking, dragging on forever about minuscule details and the witness avoiding direct answers. In short, it lacked the dramatic scenes we have gotten used to on TV!

While sitting there, listening to the detailed references being made to specific dates and locations, it struck me how ridiculous some of that seemed, considering that they were talking about events that had taken place more than two decades ago. I tried to think back to what I had been doing on the specific dates in question and unless it happened to fall on a memorable day in my life, I found it impossible to do. And here they were trying to establish the accused’s guilt in heinous war crimes with these testimonies. They did of course have supporting documentation, but overall, a lot of the details came from the witnesses and their statements and answers.

During the past week, ten of the accused have in fact been found guilty, getting sentences of 10 – 25 years as punishment for their crimes. All of these cases are now up for appeal, and will therefore drag the process on even longer.

I am not disputing the importance of retribution and transitional justice! On the contrary, as a South African, I am fully aware and very grateful for the success of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission in our country, post Apartheid. However I am questioning the time lapsed since then and the effectiveness of the process, under these circumstances. Not to mention of course the cost factor, and whether all that money and the resources could not be utilized more successfully.

During conversations with some of the experts involved in these processes, I often only hear about the small ‘successes’, but the very essential lessons learned, and while future Tribunals and Special Courts are able to learn from the mistakes and successes, I cannot help but wonder whether the victims, who are meant to be receiving the retribution, are in fact not suffering even more and for unnecessary extended periods of time. Have we not perhaps lost focus of the actual purpose of these Tribunals? At the expense of the victims, who surely have suffered enough!

The upcoming summer in The Hague, seeing students hashing out some of these questions will certainly be interesting!