By Martha Flyvholm Tode
Smart working, Zoom meetings, webinars. It’s safe to say that 2020 turned out to be very different from any of our expectations. At DEDI, we had to adapt as well and find new and creative ways of organizing workshops, seminars, and meetings.
Thus, it became a priority to share experiences and lessons learned, and to support each other in overcoming this moment of crisis. We are proud to see that this was reflected in our 2020 activities, where organizational well-being has been one of the main topics. Another focal point for us has been to take a step towards a greener future through DEDIcation: a cross-cutting project in which we consider the environmental impact of our daily work and activities and thus maximize our eco-friendliness.
In this regard, we also want to spend a moment to thank our amazing partners, Banlastic, Greenish, Care Egypt, and John D. Gerhart Center, for your support and collaboration.
Alumni program
Zoom meeting with the Core Team
In March, a group of volunteers joined to form a Core Team that has been responsible for planning and organizing the activities of DEDI Alumni Program. The members of the Core Team are themselves alumni of DEDI’s successful Civic Education for Participation Program (CEFP). The team kicked off the activities when they spent a weekend together north of Cairo at the SEKEM Ecolodge.
Throughout the year, the team planned and implemented three new kinds of online activities to address the different needs and interests of the alumni, namely monthly meetings for the alumni of each governorate, mentoring sessions for different career paths, and a series of workshops on topics such as “Travelling for volunteering and exchange”. More than 100 alumni attended the activities!
In October, the team met for a board games day at DEDI’s premises, where they were the first to try out our new board game that focuses on environmental changes.
Read more about the CEFP alumni program HERE.
The Edutainment Manual II
Edutainment Manual VOL. 2
Edutainment is becoming more and more popular in Egypt among initiatives and organizations that are using edutainment methods to make workshops much more appealing and engaging. For this reason, DEDI, in collaboration with the Ambassadors for Dialogue, has published its second edutainment manual. The manual introduces and explains three different methodologies used by three different initiatives: The Mortagal Team using performing arts; The Animation School – Jesuit Cairo using simulation and Nut Initiative using feminist writing and storytelling as educating tools in their projects.
The launch was held at DEDI’s premises and attended by several Civic Education practitioners and partners.
Read more about the Manual HERE
In Corona Times
One of the four inspirational Infographics
Crises open for new possibilities, crises affect some harder than others, crises strengthen cooperation, and crises remind you to focus on well-being. Over the past year, DEDI has identified some useful lessons, that we have learned so far from dealing with the challenges of Corona. They came up during four online knowledge-sharing sessions under the theme of “In Corona Times” which was organized by DEDI. The topics varied from Civic Education to Well-being, Self-development, and Organizational Well-being.
In order to share them with all of you, DEDI has published four inspirational infographics capturing the experiences and insights of the participants.
You can see all four infographics HERE
DEDI Talks GREEN
DEDI Green talks – Offering solutions to plastic pollution, Zoom 2020
Can we devote efforts to reduce and reuse plastic waste during the Covid-19 pandemic? Does the pandemic make plastic waste pollution even worse? And what are the potential alternatives to plastic? These were the main topics of a series of Zoom sessions called DEDI Talks Green. The aim was to enable Danish and Egyptian youth to exchange experiences, ideas, and knowledge on common environmental challenges to our communities. Throughout the sessions, a wide range of well-researched arguments was put forward by enthusiastic debaters and speakers including representatives from the American University in Cairo, the Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe, Greenish, Make a Contribution Club, her Excellency, Ms.Janaïna Herrera, French Consul General Consulat général de France in Alexandria, and Cairo Climate Talks, as well as the representatives from the Danish THE WHY FOUNDATION.
The talks were moderated by Ahmed Yassin from Banlastic Egypt.
Watch the live recording of the first DEDI Talks GREEN HERE
How to plan eco-friendly projects and events?
“How to plan Eco-friendly projects and events”-workshop, Cairo 2020. (Photo: Mahmoud Nada)
It‘s a group effort to achieve Eco-friendly projects and events, and sustainable transformation takes time. Yet, even a small step in the right direction is worth the efforts, as it can lead to a bigger one.
These are the main lessons learned from our series of workshops labeled “How to plan Eco-Friendly Projects and Events” that took place in Cairo and Alexandria in November and December. “Sustainable transformation” was the key-phrase, as the workshops aimed to equip the participants with the tools and knowledge needed to organize environmentally friendly projects and events.
“It was an amazing experience, highly recommended. It is great if you’re a newbie looking to get an in-depth introduction to the topic, or if you’re a professional looking into taking a deeper dive and getting a hands-on experience with like-minded professionals through activities,” says one of the participants after attending the workshop.
The workshop was organized in partnership with Greenish and Banlastic Egypt.
Edutainment Academy
Closing Ceremony of the Edutainment Academy, Cairo 2020. (Photo: Mahmoud Nada)
83 applicants, only 5 seats. “Active Artist”, “Mubtada”, “Sondok Eldonia”, “Didi Asks” and “Rwaya Podcast” were the five lucky initiatives selected to participate in this year’s Edutainment Academy. Providing a one-year-long training program for local initiatives, the Academy aimed to support the participating initiatives in becoming more dialogical, creative, and sustainable. Also, it’s a good opportunity for the initiatives to expand their networks, build new partnerships, and exchange experiences.
Throughout the year, they engaged in six online and offline workshops. Conflict resolution, volunteer management, communication, fundraising, proposal writing, legal advising, and how to use art as a training methodology were just some of the topics covered. In December, the representatives from the selected initiatives received their certificates at a graduation ceremony held at DEDI’s premises.
The edutainment Academy 2020 was organized in collaboration with the Ambassadors for Dialogue.
Read the article on the Edutainment Academy HERE
Read more from DEDI:
Highlights of 2020 – Culture Program
Highlights of 2020 – Media Program
Highlights of 2020 – Ambassadors for Dialogue
