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Aswan, Egypt
Located on the east bank of the Nile River, Aswan is a city in south Egypt. Aswan is home to five UNESCO World Heritage Site monuments and has a busy market and tourist centre.
Vision
The city aims to keep growing as a hub for learning. To this effect, Aswan continues to exchange knowledge on education practices and entrepreneurship with other UNESCO GNLC members. With this in mind, the city signed a memorandum of understanding with Plan International to support the empowerment of women economically, to support youth and raise their capacity for employment, and to raise awareness within the education directorate about child protection.
Policies, plan and implementation
Sustainability and health
The city has incorporated several initiatives related to sustainability and health. This included cooperation with the Ministry of Health to establish women’s clubs to raise the capacity of women in terms of public health, family planning, and other population issues.
Equity and inclusion
One of the concrete pillars of Aswan’s equity and inclusion strategy is supporting the leadership of women and raising the quota of women in leadership positions. The city also supports the inclusion of people with disabilities in the workforce by requiring companies to fulfil a five per cent quota.
Decent work and entrepreneurship
The city has implemented several initiatives including the establishment of centres for entrepreneurship in universities. These spaces provide entrepreneurship training for senior students. The city has also implemented different initiatives aimed at economic empowerment.
Good practices
Aswan Youth Innovate
The Aswan Youth Innovate competition seeks to train groups of young graduates on micro-enterprises ideas. The aim is to provide job opportunities for young people. Valuable financial prizes are awarded for the top 10 innovative ideas in the productive industrial field, with winning ideas sent to a business incubator for support and advice.
Community schools opening
This initiative allowed for community schools to be opened in remote areas that are located at least two kilometres away from regular schools. There have been 54 community schools opened, providing marginalized students in remote areas access to primary education.