The Cultural Program
A Socio-Economic and Cultural Approach to Women Empowerment in Rural Areas

For the empowerment of women in rural area, it was necessary to find an approach that respects the prevailing customs. For instance, in some villages traditions do not allow women to go to work, but they can work from home. A project was designed to provide skills for young women to increase their income-generating opportunities while at the same time preserving the traditional handicrafts their locality.

Through a cooperation with UNESCO and with funds from the Italian Government, a project was designed to provide training for 840 young women from 4 governorates to perfect the traditional handicrafts (Tally, cross stitch of Sinai and the Siwa embroideries) of their governorates, some of which were about to become extinct.

Special trainer for handicapped young women

In addition to the training in embroidery, these young women were introduced to the use of technology to gain access to additional coaching, to record and market their products on-line, using ICTs. For the purpose of training, electronic records (CDs) have been produced to serve as a practical user manual for the stitches, colors and motifs of traditional embroidery of each area, by allowing trainees the possibility to zoom in on the motifs where the stitches appear very clearly and become thus easier to count and follow. Trainees were made aware on how CDs and websites could be used to market their products.

One additional impact of this project on the community, was the decentralized approach to its implementation. In line with the government policy of decentralization and within the context of NCW’s strategic orientation to extend its outreach to the whole society over a wide geographic base, it has been possible to use the local branches of NCW for the implementation of the project activities at the local level. The Training Coordinators at the local level have been instrumental in introducing a new dimension and insight into the selection of the beneficiaries of the training, through their knowledge of the local conditions. Efforts aimed at the social inclusion of the handicapped within the activities of the project were another positive aspect of the project The project provided visibility to these art forms through exposure in exhibitions, both local and international

Launching of the project in Assiut with the governor , academia and NGOs

The official launching of the project took place in the Governorates of Assiut and Sohag, with a large attendance consisting of the Governors and senior officials from the governorates, the Secretary-General of NCW and senior staff from NCW, Engineer Giulia Agrosi, representing the Italian Embassy, the Coordinators of the local NCW branches in the two governorates and their staff, representatives from Assiut university and the academic and research institutions, the National Project Coordinator, the Training coordinator of the two locations, several NGOs, the selected candidates for the TOT. The launching event was followed by visits to the training sites to ascertain that these conformed to health requirements.

A similar ceremony took place for the launching of the project in Al Arish and both events received extensive media coverage in the newspapers and in the local media.

The trainees were given the opportunity to participate in the Middle East Arts and Crafts Exhibition at the Fostat Center, sponsored by UNESCO. Despite the fact that this event was taking place still in the early stages of the project implementation. The exposure proved to be very useful.

The 2006 Global Summit of Women that took place in Egypt was a unique opportunity to showcase the local handicrafts for the purpose of creating awareness of the national culture, providing international exposure to the trainees and artists and opening income generating opportunities. NCW sponsored the participation of the trainees through securing display booths at the Global Summit for Women Exhibition (WEXPO). Admiration for the handicrafts was expressed by a large number of visitors who participated in the Summit, many of whom bought shawls and scarves as souvenirs.

Mrs. Mubarak examining the traditional embroideries during the Global Summit of Women

As a result of this project, many of these young women in the rural and remote governorates of Egypt now sell their products either in exhibitions or through the internet.

A fashion show for the Tally products