The festival attracts our attention to the country of Egypt, situated at the edge of Africa en the Middle East, densely populated along the river Nile. We focus on a very successful business initiative, SEKEM: A Sustainable Community in the Egyptian Desert that started 30years ago. But also we offer you an insight (1) into the country’s ancient agriculture with Osiris, the god of new vegetation and how to decipher hieroglyphs, (2) into the management of groundwater reserves and social-economic implications as well, an(3) into Cairo’s central position in past and present Arab cultural life with Music and Belly Dance.
Before and after the lectures and workshops old and modern Egypt music will sound collected from CDs by Percy Oosterveen. A handout with historic and social notes to understand and feel emotionally better the songs will be available.
Lecture and Debate
SEKEM: A Sustainable Community in the Egyptian Desert
Corien vd Hoek, Hendrik-Jan Bakker en Jan-Diek van Mansvelt
Since 1977, the SEKEM organization (Ancient Egyptian: 'vitality from the sun'), founded by the Egyptian pharmacologist Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish, is one of the most vital examples of sustainable development in Africa and the Arab world. Based on principles of sustainability found in the Islam and in Anthroposophy. Sekem is ‘a business model which combines commercial success with social and cultural development’. It is seen as an answer to today’s issues in Egypt, such as environmental degradation, overpopulation and inadequate health care. Located northeast of Cairo, the organization now includes a.o. biodynamic farms, trading companies to process a diverse range of food, cotton and medicines, a medical centre, a Waldorf School, a vocational training centre, a college and a research centre.