The HEPCA team recently hosted a party of 67 school children and 7 teachers from the Erich Kaestner School in Germany in a two day event. On 16th June a presentation was given in the Hotel Shedwan Golden Beach about HEPCA and our many Red Sea projects and campaigns.

The following day, we accompanied the group along with two park rangers on a snorkeling safari to the reefs of Abu Nuger and Iris aboard the boats Zena and Nada from Aquarius Diving Centre Palm Beach. The school party learnt about reef conservation whilst enjoying the chance to explore the Red Sea first hand. The kids and teachers were delighted with the event as it really helped to bring environmental issues to life for everyone involved.

The event was organised after Bernd Fiedler, one of the headmasters of the school, contacted HEPCA. If you know another school that would like to be involved in such an event, please do get in touch with us and we’ll do our best to arrange something.

Vodafone Egypt Madrasty Initiative won the Best Community Program Award in the 5th Corporate Social Responsibility Summit of the Middle East, held in Dubai on June 15th 2008.

The Madrasty Initiative was chosen as the recipient of this Award among 180 entries from different companies and countries in recognition of the project’s role in the development of education in Egypt.

By developing and restoring over 140 schools across the country, the Madrasty Initiative has impacted the lives of 100,000 individuals who benefited from the project, such as students, teachers, parents, local communities and NGO's. HEPCA was responsible for implementing the project in 40 schools throughout the Red Sea and 8 other governorates.

HEPCA congratulates the Vodafone Egypt Foundation on this prestigious Award. We are extremely proud to be part of the Madrasty Initiative and the valuable work towards securing equal education across Egypt.

Members of the HEPCA team were on hand giving out environmental advice to members of the public in Azhar Park in Cairo on 7th June on the occasion of World Environment Day 2008. HEPCA took two display stands in the area zone entitled Biodiversity. Other zones represented were Health, Water, Waste, Energy and Air.

Many school children and park visitors visited the HEPCA stands to learn more about environmental issues, receive briefings about the work of HEPCA, and to find out how they can also make a difference in helping conserve their environment. There were many enquiries about the mooring system and how we are helping to save the Red Sea wrecks – clearly word has reached Cairo about this high profile campaign! Lots of brochures and flyers were handed out and the day proved a big success in raising awareness. There was also a video room where our film on Coastal Development was watched by an audience from other NGOs, the British Embassy and the British Council amongst others.

World Environment Day is an annual event launched by The United Nations to stimulate awareness of the environment, gather political attention, and increase public action. This year’s events took place in Egypt in Cairo and Alexandria on 7th and 12th June respectively. For the 3rd year Wadi Environmental Science Centre (WESC) was the official organiser in collaboration with the British Council in Cairo and the Bibliotheca Alexandria.