Creative Egypt offers more job opportunities for Egyptians: Dalia Salem

CAIRO – 7 May 2018: Creative Hub Egypt hosted Monday its first Strategic Stakeholders Networking Event at its premises in mohandeseen; the event was followed by an interactive networking seminar. The event brought together key actors to foster cooperation in Egypt’s creative industry and improve Egypt’s ability to compete globally in said industry.

The event started off with a tour of the creative hub in Omar Afandi in mohandeseen, whereby guests enjoyed the Egyptian-made artistic products, full of character and originality. Then, Ahmed Taha, IMC executive director, welcomed the audience and gave a short speech, followed by speeches by Senior Assistant to MTI Minister, Dalia Salem, Director and United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Representative in Egypt, Giovanna Ceglie, Italian Ambassador in Egypt, H.E Giampaolo Cantini, and EU Ambassador to Egypt, H.E Ivan Surkoš.

A Memorandum of Understanding was then signed between the Industrial Modernization Centre (IMC) and the Creative Mediterranean Project.

During the event, designers were able to showcase their success stories and present their ideas to contribute to the inclusive and sustainable industrial development of the industry in Egypt. The project is also set to increase job opportunities in Egypt.

During the event, Taha expressed his gratitude and appreciation to all those who helped in making this program successful. “Thank you for all those who contributed,” said Taha. He started off by welcoming attendants, “It gives me a great pleasure to welcome you here, let’s enjoy the day. We are helping a lot of craftsmen and a lot of men and women."

“We first started in 2015 when we created the idea of Creative Egypt. We started with only 200 suppliers and now we have 5000 suppliers catering directly and indirectly to 150,000 people. I would like to thank everyone who contributed to this great success,” Taha added.

Following Taha’s speech, the senior assistant to MTI minister spoke about the importance of this program to achieve sustainable development for Egypt and for the industry. “We look forward to a sustainable industry that is able to compete on a global scale. Egypt created Vision 2030; each ministry created its own vision, as part of this, our ministry [Ministry of Trade and Industry] created a five-year plan, and we are on our way to reaching our goals now. This success comes as part of our strategy.”

“This program allows for new employment opportunities in Egypt and in the MENA companies. Funded by the EU and Italy, the program allows the industry to become stronger and to be able to compete with their counterparts on a global level," Salem explained. “Today, we are witnessing a part of the success and a part of the results of the sector,” She added.

Asked about the ministerial agenda for this sector, Salem assured that the sectorial changes in the handicrafts sector will be revealed very soon.

Adding to Salem’s sustainable industry goals, the Director and UNIDO Representative in Egypt, Ceglie, also expressed optimism towards a sustainable industry that is able to compete globally.

“We are talking about creativity and designers, why are we doing that? It is a forward-looking, multi-billion economy; it is vital for the economy. It cuts across a number of economic sectors, from software to furnishing to goods to fashion; it is such an important part of many sectors. By ensuring a strong design sector, you increase the competitiveness in other sectors. When you combine the idea of design, creativity and cultural identity, it becomes even more important and even stronger. Italy definitely does this; there are so many products that relate to cultural identity, which is why we have much success in this area,” said Ceglie.

“Looking at Austria, we also see that they invest a lot into packaging and marketing their products as Austrian. This is really a multi-billion dollar sector; it is important for Egypt to be able to join it. Egypt has one of the most extraordinary cultural identities in the world. Combining this with Egyptian creativity and craft-skills will put Egypt on track for great success in this industry. This is why we are putting many efforts into creativity, design, and much more,” Ceglie continued, stressing that the creative industries are also job rich and that they can produce jobs that are vital in Egypt, where 700,000 people are entering the job market in Egypt on a yearly basis and this is why this sector is of key importance in Egypt. It is a sector that is capable of offering many jobs for Egyptians.

Ceglie also thanked the donors, without whom the project would not have been possible. Ceglie also confirmed, “We are conducting a number of projects, including this one that we believe is vital for a sustainable development in Egypt.”

Speaking after Ceglie, Italian Ambassador in Egypt, Cantini, explained that this project comes in line with the Italian and Egyptian priorities. “Many men and women are ready to take part in the transformation of their societies in Egypt; this is why this is a flagship priority for Italy and Egypt. For over two decades, Italy has been connecting its companies with the private companies in Egypt and offering vocational training for Egyptians and sharing expertise. This is also done through development cooperation, for example the one in Fayoum, which we are expanding right now. …This project is in line with Italian and Egyptian priorities.”