Officially announced as a new US Ambassador to Egypt, Jonathan Cohen has presented his credentials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday, filling in the vacant but significant post since 2017. The news was announced in a press release published by the US Embassy in Egypt. Cohen, who takes the highest ranking position of the US embassy to Egypt after Thomas H. Goldberger’s interm serving as Chargé d’affaires, was officially sworn in last week. The last US serving ambassador to the country was Robert Stephen Beecroft, from 2014 to 2017. The U.S. Embassy in Cairo is pleased to announce the arrival in Cairo of the new U.S. Ambassador to Egypt, Jonathan Cohen. Ambassador Cohen presented his credentials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on November 17, 2019. Please find his full bio here: https://t.co/scPosoUjEH pic.twitter.com/t61Qwh0kuH — US Embassy Cairo (@USEmbassyCairo) November 17, 2019 The ‘Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Arab Republic of Egypt’, also served as the Acting Representative of the United States to the United Nations; he also has extensive foreign service experience in France, Turkey, Iraq, Sweden, and Thailand. Alternatively, Yasser Reda is Egypt’s ambassador to…
Two Young Egyptians Slammed for Humiliating South Sudanese Refugee Student
A video shared on the Tik Tok application showing a South Sudanese refugee student ridiculed and humiliated in Egypt sparked public anger on social media. The video shows two young boys, one of them named Sayed Hassan, verbally abusing and bullying a young South Sudanese student as they were mockingly telling him to take “one beautiful photo” with them and refusing to let him leave for school. Police confirmed on Monday 18 November that the three perpetrators (likely including the person capturing the video) had been arrested but have not yet been charged pending further investigations. The incident sparked anger on social media as users called for the two young men to be held accountable and legal action to be taken against them. “This is not bullying. This is an attack on people and an attack on freedoms,” one user said in a Facebook post. https://twitter.com/ayak_abyei/status/1195860444889653249?fbclid=IwAR1ppCE22SYzm9zKmdlqWlEQJDSdTNMJi9DoxTQLTgB4tuHFRF20mKC-YeU In response to the huge public reaction, Sayed Hassan posted another video with the South Sudanese student claiming that the incident was merely a ‘joke’ and that they were both good friends, apologizing if he caused any offense. Racism in Egyptian Media Earlier this…
Literary Egyptomania: Eight Authors Who Found Inspiration in Egypt
From movies to best-stelling novels, it’s easy to conjure a list of authors, filmmakers, photographers and artists who have found inspiration in the coutry’s ancient and modern cultural heritage. While it may comes as a surprise for many, authors in particular, have always had a fondness for writing about Egypt while chronicling their travels sailing the Nile and visiting archeological sites. Egypt’s undeniable impact on the cultural imagination of Western cultures eventually sparked waves of ‘Egyptomania’ , a term coined in allusion to the specific flourishing and renewed interest in ancient Egypt after Napoleon’s ‘Egypt’ campaign took place in the 18th-19th century. The French military leader assigned over 100 scientists and scholars, including artists, naturalists, chemists and engineers to document the country’s wealth, namely its ancient history. The campaign’s most famous work, a 37- tome series of publications going by ‘Description de l’Égypte’ is considered at the forefront of Europe’s renewed interest in Egyptology. The publications, today invaluable manuscripts and engraving collections, each easily fetch over US $400,000 per tome. Still, the campaign’s effects were clear: motifs and symbols of ancient Egypt spread universally and appeared in furniture, decoration, advertising…
Reema Juffali Makes History as Saudi Arabia’s First Female Racing Driver
Reema Juffali is set to make history this month as the first Saudi Arabian woman to compete in an international racing series and the first female racing driver. The 27-year-old is participating in the electric zero-emission international motor racing series, Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY series, which is set to take place in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, next weekend. Just a few months after Saudi Arabia lifted the ban on females driving in June 2018, Juffali made her racing debut in October 2018 at the TRD 86 Cup at Yas Marina Circuit in 2018, followed by the the F4 British Championship in April 2019. Mark Turner, Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY Series manager, said, “To have the first Saudi Arabian woman to compete in an international racing series within the Kingdom is a major milestone for the sport, and one Jaguar Racing are immensely proud to be able to support,” Saudi Gazette reports. Juffali is one of only three women in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to hold a racing licence. She attended the International School of Jeddah and completed her undergraduate degree in international affairs at Northeastern University. Though previously, she tells The National…
Pope Francis Receives Al Azhar’s Grand Imam in the Vatican to Achieve ‘Coexistence’
Pope Francis received on Friday in the Vatican the Grand Imam Ahmed Al-Tayeb of Al-Azhar of Egypt and his retinue to help achieve the objectives contained in the Document on the Human Brotherhood for World Peace and Common Living together, according to a statement by Al Azhar. Pope Francis welcomed the Grand Imam, describing the relationship between them as “sincere brotherhood”, and expressed his aspiration for further cooperation between the two institutions in spreading the principles of brotherhood and the culture of coexistence. The Pope added that religious institutions have a great responsibility in spreading the principles of goodness and values of love and peace, and that the document of the historic human brotherhood carried with it a guide that leads mankind towards world peace and coexistence. For his part, the Grand Imam expressed his happiness to meet Pope Francis again, and pointed out that the document of brotherhood of humanity has become the focus of attention of the Arab and Islamic region. The Grand Imam and Pope Francis also called for translating the document into programs, legislation and initiatives that contribute to spreading love and brotherhood among people. During…
Stories of an Entreprenelle: Meet Doaa Who Ditched Engineering for Entrepreneurship
Women-owned businesses are growing to be the shining light in the local market, with at least 30 percent or more of all businesses in Egypt are owned by women despite the many challenges they face, such as access to finance and cultural norms. As prices of imports and foreign brands also increased in the last couple of years, Egyptians are beginning to seek an alternative with local brands. However, women-owned businesses remain to be one of the most underrepresented businesses, with little exposure and connections to the market, which is why it is essential to shine light on the many examples of women who were able to overcome great odds and serve as an inspiration for all those to follow. In this series, Egyptian Streets speaks to several women from the Entreprenelle community, a platform dedicated to mentoring and helping women to start their own businesses, to hear their stories and share them with other women with ambitions of their own. Entreprenelle’s vision is centered on the power of ‘elle’ – the woman – and aims to change how we look at female entrepreneurs by giving them their own title…
Social Buildingz: Egypt’s First Platform Connecting Homeowners to Finishing Providers
As the urban community expands to suburban areas in Greater Cairo, many home owners still encounter difficulty when it comes to finishing their homes and dealing with non-committed labourers. Recently, a number of startups emerged in Egypt in order to enable home owners to utilize technology, such as online portals, virtual reality or 3D software to see designs of their future homes virtually. The state of the art tech revolution in the field of housing also permits home owners to rent, sell, buy or design their future homes online. Catering to a market need Rami Salem, a construction and management engineer, highlights that home owners struggle to finalize the refurbishments of their homes in a timely fashion and that is due to high costs requested by most of home finishing companies. In 2017, Salem’s entrepreneurial spirit drove him to launch Social Buildingz, Egypt’s tech-enabled service which works as a matching hub for home designers, interior décor engineers and home finishing companies. Moreover, the platform’s creation was even more justified considering the Egyptian pound’s devaluation in 2016 which resulted in the two-fold increase of home finishing rates. This has especially hindered…
15-Year-Old Victim of Attempted Rape Cleared of Murder Charges
After a prolonged court case that captured the attention of media and divided public opinion since July, Egypt’s Public Prosecution cleared 15-year-old Amira Ahmed Rizk, of all murder charges. The decision was announced by Egyptian prosecutor Hamada al-Sawy, according to a press release. The young girl, often reffered to as ‘Ayyat girl’, killed a man who she claimed was attempting to rape her thus legitimizing her actions on the basis of self-defense. On popular TV program ‘Every Day’ hosted by Wael El Ebrashy, Amira narrated the incident, stressing that the attempted rape was part of a large abduction narrative. She explained that her phone was purposefully taken by a previous colleague, in Giza, to lure her to an intended location with the help of the microbus driver. Realizing that she wouldn’t be able to retrieve her phone, she attempted to return to her home in Fayoum with the help of a microbus driver who offered to take her to the nearest stop, near an Ayyat filling station. However, upon finding herself alone with the driver on the road, the 22-year old stranger tried to rape her. Amira then feigned consent…
Remote Work: How Technology is Transforming Work Culture
In recent years, there has been a growing trend in organizations to shift towards remote work environment globally, and more particularly in Egypt, as local technological advances evolve. Sacha Connor, founder of Virtual Work Insider – a consultant company that helps organizations transition into virtual work space – defines remote work spaces are organizations that work in geographically distributed environments. Business opt for virtual work environment for several reasons. Having a remote workforce cuts back on real estate costs, which increases the profits of a business. Moreover, virtual work environments abolishes boundaries allowing employers to access a greater network to outsource a workforce. According to Wuzzuf.net’s Head of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships, Ahmed Desouki, there has been a significantly higher demand for remote work opportunities. Wuzzuf.net is a platform that bridges between employers and employees in Egypt. The data obtained from the platform reveals that there has been a 124 percent increase in the number of remote work job postings in 2016-2017. Similarly, the number of prospective employees applying to remote work opportunities in the respective years has increased by 144 percent. This gives businesses the opportunity to hire…