The National Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development launches “Salah, Wish and Development Goals”
سلسلة قصصية قصيرة لتبسيط أهداف التنمية المستدامة للأطفال
The National Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development launches “Salah, Security and Development Goals”
The National InstituteFor Governance and Sustainable Development, the training arm of theMinistry of Planning and Economic Development, today launched a collection of stories for children to introduceSustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under the title “Goodness, Wishness and Development Goals” in partnership with the Hanes Foundation. German Seidel, and the writer “Samah Abu Bakr Ezzat,” who specializes in children’s literature and the author of this series of stories, in which the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were transformed into 17 short stories suitable for children aged (8-12); In order to simplify its concept and highlight its importance, the Alexandria Library hosted the launch ceremony in the presence of a large number of school students.
This opening was marked by a speech by Dr. Sherifa Sharif, Executive Director of the National Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, who expressed her pride in this series of stories, saying: “The collection of stories related to raising awareness about the goals of sustainable development is the first of its kind in the Middle East and Africa, as this collection of stories is presented in Arabic in a simplified and interesting way, so that Egyptian children, as well as children of the African continent who speak the Arabic language, can benefit from it.”
In a related context, the doctor shed light on the training programs offered by the Institute, which include various groups, whether from civil society or the private sector, in addition to workers in the state’s administrative apparatus, noting that during the past two years more than 45 thousand trainees of different ages were trained, explaining the importance of the initiatives in the field of sustainable development provided by the Institute, including: “Be an Ambassador” initiative, which aims to increase awareness of sustainable development, focusing on the age group of 18-35, and this initiative has succeeded in training 2,300 young people. In addition, there is the Green Minds Initiative –Green Minds for children in schools, which has been implemented in seven schools so far, five in Asmarat, and two in Cairo, through which approximately 1,500 children have been trained.
On the other hand, the ceremony was attended by “Majed Jameh”, Project Coordinator at the “Hans Seidel Foundation”, who confirmed through his speech on behalf of Dr. Thomas Schama, the resident representative of the Hans Seidel Foundation in Egypt, that the aim of this collection of short stories is to provide content and an important series of booklets aimed at increasing the culture of society, especially school students, by familiarizing them with important issues in Al-Hayat, noting that these 17 booklets in which the writer “Samah Abu Bakr Ezzat” talks about the story of Salah and Umniah and their adventures in order to achieve the goals of sustainable development, in addition to providing activities for children that can be applied practically to participate in solving the problem.
Moreover, Gamea added, saying: “These booklets that revolve around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are ideal and realistic to prepare all people from different parts of the world to live in a sustainable way, indicating the importance of continuing the Hans Seidel Foundation in strengthening and working with the National Institute in publishing these booklets to effectively help the Egyptian community to live a safe life.”
In conclusion, writer Samah Abu Bakr Ezzat explained the difficulties she faced while writing, saying: “Writing the series “Salah, Umniah, and Development Goals” was not an easy matter, especially since it is directed to children, and therefore it had to be formulated according to disciplined standards to be attractive and interesting to children. She added that the child always relates to the characters, interacts with them, and takes them as role models; therefore, I relied on the characters of Salah and Umniah, noting that each A booklet that includes easy activities for children, by applying which the child will have achieved and implemented the goals of sustainable development in a simplified manner. She indicated that these booklets aim to support the idea of sustainable development and make it a way of life for all children.”
