Description: The project is modeled on the Tahrir Lounge, which opened in Cairo (Tahrir Square, Goethe Institute) on April 8th, 2011, under the same initiative with support from the German Ministry of Foreign Affair’s transformation partnership. Tahrir lounge is considered to be the only institution of its kind in the entire region of the Nile Delta serving as a civic hub for youth to engage in their communities. The project played a huge role in the development of a culture that supports civic participation and the growth of Egypt’s democracy, particularly in a rural areas, which has not seen independent centers for civic engagement like the Tahrir Lounge. The lounge is a location and resource completely and solely dedicated to civil society activities and civic education, particularly for the rural population of Egypt, who do not have easy access to movements, events, activities and so as in the larger cities of Cairo or Alexandria. In a location where the culture of civic engagement is less popular, a dedicated resource for youth to build towards a participatory culture can have a great impact on the transition to democracy.

 Achievements : During the length of the project, El Sadat Association sought to widen the scope of work for Tahrir Lounge – Nile Delta. The lounge gave youth a space to engage in dialogue, network and build relationships, and participate in community betterment initiatives. The project has succeeded to implement 534 workshops exceeding the target workshop with 33.33%, targeting 16,039 of youth beneficiaries. 11 roundtables were held with a total beneficiaries of 246 in different governorates, 12 field trips to different historical & religious inside & outside Cairo to promote cultural and religious diversity and embed the culture of tolerance and co-existence, the total goers from youth reached up to 466. 91 youth camps were successfully implemented. The project also has led cultural activities such as awareness days, football matches, religious food days, Cinema clubs, and exhibitions. Such diverse activities have led to the achievement of 20 social community initiatives led by the educated youth in environment awareness campaign, maintenance & repairing in their community, family & social awareness, lighting banners instalment, infrastructure development, etc…