Developmental Initiatives Confronting Poverty

During the activities of the third day of the fourth edition of the World Youth Forum, in the presence of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Republic, a number of speakers and youth participating in the main session entitled “Developmental Initiatives Confronting Poverty”, with the participation of a list of elite speakers, namely, Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Sarah El-Batouty, environmentally friendly architect and founder of EcoConsult, Elena Panova, UN Resident Coordinator in Egypt, Alex Stefani, Founder and Managing Director of BIM, and Alessandro Fracasiti, UN Resident Representative Development, Hassan Bouhaza, President of the Arab Volunteer Union, Michaela Cesny, independent consultant and founder of Priam Global, and Aya Omar, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Good Life Foundation.
The session discussed the increasing rates of poverty, which is one of the main threats facing the world after the Corona pandemic, according to data from the World Bank, the Corona pandemic has pushed millions of people into poverty, and it is expected that these “new poor” will join the ranks of more than one billion people. A person living in multidimensional poverty around the world.
The discussion session also shed light on Egypt’s experience in facing poverty and reducing it by reviewing the experience of the presidential initiative “A Dignified Life”, and its successful role as the most prominent current development initiatives in limiting the negative repercussions of the pandemic.
Developmental Initiatives Confronting Poverty

During the activities of the third day of the fourth edition of the World Youth Forum, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, President of the Republic, attended the main session entitled “Developmental Initiatives Confronting Poverty ,” with the participation of a list of speakers, Dr. Hala Al-Saeed, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Elena Panova, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Egypt, Hassan Bouhzaa, President of the Arab Volunteer Federation, Ayatomar, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Hayat Karima Foundation, Alex Stephanie, Founder and Managing Director of Beam for the Care of the Displaced and Shelter, Sarah Al-Batouti, President and Founder of Eco Consult, and Michaela Cesney, Independent Advisor and Founder of Priam Global for People of Determination.
The session discussed the increasing rates of poverty, which is one of the main threats facing the post-Corona pandemic, according to World Bank data. The coronavirus pandemic has pushed millions of people into poverty. It is expected that these “new poor” will join the ranks of more than one billion people living in multidimensional poverty around the world. The panel discussion also highlighted Egypt’s experience in confronting and reducing poverty by reviewing the experience of the presidential initiative “A Life of Dignified” and its successful role as the most prominent current development initiatives in reducing the negative repercussions of the pandemic.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi began his speech about the Egyptian vision for national development projects in the face of poverty, especially the larger project “A decent life,” by sending a message to the young guests participating in the World Youth Forum and greeting the youth of Egypt, stressing that poverty is one of the most important topics that everyone needs attention to. He praised the Careful Life initiative as an inspiring model for the ideas of Egypt’s youth. He explained that the project is one of a thousand steps that the state intends to take, and that there is continuous communication between the government and the people.
Mr. President continued his speech, stressing that confronting poverty is the top priority of the state by working with sincerity, finding, mastery and faith as much as possible. He highlighted the amount of effort exerted in the file of confronting poverty, and that it is the effort of a state, a government and a people, not just the president. He added that the Egyptian state spent more than 6 trillion pounds in seven years to get out of what he described as the “maze of poverty.”
Mr. President explained that before the coronavirus pandemic, the world was celebrating the exit of one billion people from poverty, and when the pandemic came, the world’s efforts to keep one billion people not returning to poverty, warning of the extreme danger of poverty as a pandemic that destroys the present and the future.
Mr. President also paid tribute to the Egyptian people for bearing the difficulties of the economic program, saying, “I record a great greeting and respect to the people of Egypt, as the organs were very anticipated on this subject, and I was betting on the Egyptian people and the Egyptian women, and that this program will be accepted and passed by the people.” He pointed out that the economic reform program was the way that enabled the Egyptian state to withstand the economic crisis and the health crisis, stressing the importance of working in the lives of peoples.
Developmental Initiatives Confronting Poverty

During the activities of the third day of the fourth edition of the World Youth Forum, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, President of the Republic, attended the main session entitled “Developmental Initiatives Confronting Poverty ,” with the participation of a list of speakers, Dr. Hala Al-Saeed, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Elena Panova, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Egypt, Hassan Bouhzaa, President of the Arab Volunteer Federation, Ayatomar, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Hayat Karima Foundation, Alex Stephanie, Founder and Managing Director of Beam for the Care of the Displaced and Shelter, Sarah Al-Batouti, President and Founder of Eco Consult, and Michaela Cesney, Independent Advisor and Founder of Priam Global for People of Determination.
The session “Developmental Experiences in the Face of Poverty” on January 12, 2022, as part of the activities of the third day of the forum, was attended by President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, who stressed the importance of low-cost credit for African countries and described it as a “great necessity” as a result of the large volume of risks in Africa, which is directly proportional to credit risks, which makes it difficult to get out of poverty, which has become a difficult equation.
During her speech, Dr. Hala Al-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, reviewed poverty indicators and how to reduce them in accordance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda 2030, Egypt 2030, and the African Agenda 2063. The Minister explained that poverty is currently measured according to a multidimensional rate that includes: education, service level, income level, and health, in order to give a deeper picture of economic and social challenges.
Al-Sa’eed added that development is an inherent human right, so development is a major pillar of the Egyptian state’s orientation. She also praised the “Life of Dignified” initiative as the largest development project in the world aimed at improving the level of infrastructure and urban services and improving the quality of human development and economic development services.
The minister went on to say that the preparatory phase of the “Decent Life” project has resulted in many positive results, including: a decrease in poverty rates in some villages by nearly 10% to 14%, controlling population growth and improving population characteristics, empowering women, and improving health services.
Elena Panova, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Egypt, praised the Egyptian government’s experience in confronting the coronavirus. The Egyptian government provided great support to development initiatives to alleviate “poverty and inequality.” During the session, she praised Egypt’s efforts regarding the launch of the second wave of structural reforms, stressing that the “Life of Dignified” initiative is a great opportunity to alleviate poverty and inequality, as well as increase the United Nations partnership with Egypt to achieve the sustainable development goals.
Aya Omar, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Hayat Karima Foundation, said during her speech that the initiative is the largest development project in the world. The initiative aims to develop 58 million Egyptian citizens and is working to develop 4,500 villages in various governorates of the Republic through a package of diversified development projects.
Hassan Bouhzaa, President of the Arab Volunteer Federation, expressed his admiration for the success of the World Youth Forum and good reception and organisation. He then pointed out that more than one billion people around the world suffer from poverty, and the coronavirus pandemic has increased these percentages, as many of the world’s population has been negatively affected by this pandemic, and government agencies alone cannot address this pandemic. Efforts must be concerted and integrated between the government and civil sectors and promote and build on this cooperation.
Bouhzaa continued that he hopes that the Arab Union for Volunteerism will spread the experience of the presidential initiative a decent life in all Arab countries, and that the Union will be one of the strategic partners of the initiative through its members spread in all Arab countries to help governments and countries fight poverty and improve human life at all levels.
Alex Stephanie, founder and managing director of PEM for the care of the homeless and homeless, expressed his great admiration for the idea of the forum and the experience of a decent life, because they are ideas of young people, which gives an important positive boost to all young people in the world and raises their skills, especially in the circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic.
Michaela Cesni, independent consultant and founder of Priam Global Care for People of Determination, said that the pandemic negatively affected many families, especially mothers and people with special abilities at all levels psychologically, health and financially. She stressed that the most important needs that should be met to families under the pandemic are: education, money, psychological and community support, in addition to providing adequate