The Forum for Intercultural Dialogue at the Evangelical Authority organizes a conference titled “The New Republic: A Cultural Vision.”

Dr. Reverend Andrea Zaki: The New Republic is a continuous state of achievement and work, realized through the efforts of everyone for the benefit of everyone.
Sheikh Osama Al-Azhari: Rebuilding the wall of trust in society is the foundation of the New Republic.
Reverend Dr. Radi Attallah: The culture of citizenship requires a popular will.
Dr. Ahmed Zayed: The New Republic means new construction on all levels.
Prof. Dr. Mohamed Salem: Digital transformation in education in the New Republic has become an urgent necessity.

Last Monday evening, the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services launched the activities of the conference “The New Republic: A Cultural Vision,” organized by the Forum for Intercultural Dialogue at the organization from May 27-29. The event was attended by Reverend Andrea Zaki, President of the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services and head of the Evangelical community in Egypt; Sheikh Dr. Osama Al-Azhari, Advisor to the President of the Republic for Religious Affairs; Dr. Mahmoud Mosallam, journalist and Chairman of the Culture and Media Committee in the Senate; Mr. Tarek Radwan, Chairman of the Human Rights Committee in the House of Representatives; Mr. Helmy El-Namnam, former Minister of Culture; Prof. Dr. Mohamed Salem, former Minister of Communications and Information Technology; Dr. Talaat Abdel-Qawi, Member of Parliament and President of the General Union of NGOs and Foundations; Dr. Ahmed Zayed, Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and Member of the Senate; Mr. Akram Al-Qassas, Chairman of the Board of Directors of “Youm7”; journalist Hamdi Rizk; Mr. Mahmoud Basyuni, Editor-in-Chief of Akhbar El Yom; Ms. Samira Louka, Senior Director of the Dialogue Sector at the Coptic Evangelical Organization, along with a group of intellectuals, cultural figures, and members of the House of Representatives and Senate, and media professionals.

In his opening speech at the conference, Reverend Andrea Zaki, President of the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services and head of the Evangelical community, stated, “The New Republic views humans as an integrated system, without any form of discrimination; everyone has a place in this New Republic,” pointing out that “the term New Republic is fundamentally about maximizing development efforts and activating their comprehensive impacts to include everyone.”

Sheikh Osama Al-Azhari, Advisor to the President of the Republic for Religious Affairs, focused in his speech on the features of the New Republic, from infrastructure to massive projects that have emerged after significant efforts from the state’s leadership. He highlighted “the importance of building a new social contract and rebuilding trust among the people, Muslims and Copts, and between Upper Egypt and Nubians, removing any tension,” emphasizing that “rebuilding the wall of trust is the foundation of the New Republic.”

Reverend Dr. Radi Attallah, Pastor of the Evangelical Church in Atareen, said, “The culture of citizenship requires a popular will, and we must reclaim the interrupted flow of Egyptian national awareness following the invasion of ‘foreign cultures’ since the 1970s,” stressing that “poverty does not prevent cultural creativity, just as wealth does not necessarily lead to the production of high culture.”

Dr. Ahmed Zayed, Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, affirmed in his speech that “the New Republic means that old conditions cannot continue, and there must be new construction, based on strong and different economic, cultural, administrative, moral, mental, and psychological foundations, addressing the challenges of population growth, the deterioration of the middle class, and the decline in professionalism.”

In the second session on education in the New Republic, Prof. Dr. Mohamed Salem, former Minister of Communications and Information Technology, emphasized that “digital transformation in higher education specifically has become an urgent necessity.” Prof. Dr. Shahata Ghareeb, former Vice President of Assiut University and Advisor to the Egyptian Russian University, also affirmed that “education should work on developing human capabilities to build society.”