Rev. Dr. Andrea Zaki, President of the Protestant Community in Egypt and director of the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services, has inaugurated the events of “Together for Upper Egypt … A vision on Building Awareness for Confronting Current Challenges” today Tuesday, in participation with Honorable Major General Ashraf Attia, Governor of Aswan; writer, journalist, and former Minister of Culture Mr. Helmy al-Namnam; and Brigadier General Doctor Khaled Okasha, Director of the Egyptian Center for Strategic Studies. The session was moderated by Mr. Essam Sheiha, President of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights in presence of an elite group of attendees, Muslim and Christian religious leaders, media leaders, honorable members of the Senate, the House of Representatives, Coordination Deputies, and representatives of civil society.
At the beginning of his speech, Zaki thanked the Governor of Aswan for hosting the conference and expressed his appreciation of the efforts of the governor in developing Aswan.
Zaki added that Upper Egypt is the cradle of the great Egyptian civilization. It is from there that this civilization, whose traces still remain, emerged, bearing witness to an era in which Egypt was a pioneer in building awareness and a precedent in the manufacture of human civilization. He added that the Egyptian state, in its deliberate and organized move towards the development of society, is very well aware that building awareness is the basis on which all efforts of development are built and that the relationship between development and awareness is a dynamic and interactive relationship, for development enhances awareness raising efforts and awareness preserves the development efforts and its gains.
On his part, Major General Ashraf Attia, the Governor of Aswan said, “I would like to welcome the President of the Protestant Community in Egypt, Rev. Dr. Andrea Zaki, and the guests and attendees, in Aswan, the land of successive civilizations and cultural and heritage diversity.
The Governor of Aswan added: “Under the leadership of His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Egypt is witnessing achievements in all fields in participation with all civil and religious organizations. These have begun to bear fruit through the current unprecedented projects, which include developing the Egyptian countryside, decent life, and Tahya Misr. I hope that today, while we are all together, to come out with constructive and purposeful recommendations that will contribute to the development and progress of our beloved Egypt.
Doctor Khaled Okasha said: “The importance of the state of June 30 lies in the Egyptian State’s efforts in the process of building awareness amidst very difficult circumstances besides its fight against terrorism. This can be observed in what is happening around us in Libya, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, to the point that Egypt has become an important strategic value in the region”.
In the speech of former Minister of Culture, Namnam said: “Despite the phenomenon of homelands expelling their peoples, that we can observe around us, we find the greatness of the Egyptian people who rose up in order to restore their state and homeland despite the difficulties and challenges it is facing. Nevertheless, the value of the homeland was a much stronger component in the Egyptian character and was supported by the Egyptian state with both its civil and constitutional components.
