In May 2014, the Cairo Institute for Liberal Arts and Sciences was granted a hefty fund by the Ford Foundation. Yet the Egyptian government refused to accredit the grant to the institute this year as foreign funding restrictions tightened. Taking matters into their own hands, the Institute is crowd funding as we speak. When you ask around Wekalet El Ghoury, the place is known as المعهد (‘The Institute’). Straight, second to the right, first to the left, straight through the blanket shops. Descending into the beehive the Wekala is, the entrance door is challenging to find. Over the course of time however, the Cairo Institute of Liberal Arts and Sciences has grown into a well-known place for knowledge exchange in the heart of Islamic Cairo. Storytelling building As soon as Abdulaziz, the bawwab (door man), who seems fused with the building and with whom the building seems fused, opens the door CILAS breaths out a welcoming atmosphere. After climbing the stairs of the 19th century building you can get a glimpse of the library, the spaces that serve as class rooms and finally the rooftop. High ceilings, photographs reminding one…
Liberal Arts and Sciences Institute Turns To Crowdfunding After Egyptian Government Blocks Support
February 24, 2015
