Photo: Max Pfandl

Permalink to this discussion: http://urb.im/c1506
Permalink to this post: http://urb.im/ca1506cra

 

 
A national youth-based project to develop Cairo's informal areas

Shaima Abulhajj, Cairo Community Manager

Cairo, 11 June 2015

The Cairo government is struggling with large population growth and a lack of public services in informal areas. Statistics show that more than 50,000 homeless youth live on Cairo's streets. Meanwhile, unemployment has reached 29 percent for citizens between ages 18 and 29, and 28 percent of youth live in poverty.

The government, in cooperation with major NGOs, is trying to solve these problems. In January 2015, the government launched a large-scale multilateral project with an important participatory approach called the National Project for Informal Areas Development. In this national initiative, residents will work with the government in a participatory approach to develop the project's work plan. The Ministry of Urban Development and Slums indicated that the program would focus on improving access to culture for youth and on improving the urban environment in informal areas. The project strategy tackles four issues, first of which is public policy decisions that will enable the Ministry to improve the urban and cultural development in slums. Secondly, the project will provide an integrated services package targeting youth and women, including the provision of advanced education, health, and entertainment services. Thirdly, the plan will reformulate housing and land usage policy in slums so that land boundaries are clear and specified. Finally, the project will provide a well-tailored youth-focused governance mechanism to work in coordination with national bodies to fulfill the goals of the project.

The project aims at transforming the targeted informal areas in Cairo into fully integrated cities where facilities and services are provided to youth. These include health and sports centers, as well as providing the staffing so that youth can break their social and economic isolation and can relate to others living in well-developed areas of Cairo.

The project started in the Maspero informal area of midtown. Since the project focuses on the socio-economic development of young men and women, it will include youth planning sessions in cooperation with the locals themselves. Therefore, a new vocational training will be offered to the youth so that they can learn new handcrafts enabling them to make a decent living.

It is vital to engage youth in the decision-making process at public policy levels through integrated projects like this national project for informal areas, which incorporate multilateral partners in order to enhance the quality of life for youth living in marginalized communities.

Photo: Max Pfandl

Permalink to this discussion: http://urb.im/c1506
Permalink to this post: http://urb.im/ca1506cra