Speaker
Sally Hafez Bahgat
Sally Hafez Bahgat is a physician, social entrepreneur, mother of three, and founder and manager of Oasis Community Centre. She is a graduate in Medicine with a master’s degree in Community Medicine, a Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women alumnus, and an award-winner as a Pioneer of Egypt.
Realising the need for green education, Sally started Oasis Community Centre as a sustainability education hub for Egypt. The operation extended to cover education for schools, families and stakeholders in renewable energy, agriculture and carbon offsetting. To include government schools, she launched the Khadra initiative in cooperation with an international company and various ministries. International contributions included hosting and managing UN World Environment Day in 2014 and World Earth Day in 2016.
Nationally, she is preparing the launch of a plan to establish OCC satellites, with a view to engaging more women as tutors and delivering green education nationwide. Her overall objective is to contribute to the well-being of the Egyptian community by providing world-class sustainability education, and securing access to knowledge that supports this education. She has a passion for a greener life, and an obligation towards the community and the future generations of Egypt.
Institution
Oasis Community Centre is a sustainability education centre, a 10,000 square metre piece of greenery and desert land with eco-friendly buildings facilitating children’s environmental activities. To help solve the problem of scarcity of energy, water and food, Oasis Community Centre provides curriculum-based education, hands-on training and practical showcasing to school kids on sustainability issues. This is done through Oasis Green Day and Green Camp, for children from national and international schools and university undergraduates.
In order to provide the same standard of environmental education to all Egyptian kids, Sally founded Khadra, a long-term environmentalism education project for children from public schools and orphanages, where children learn about gardening, upcycling and recycled fashion. Through Khadra, and in collaboration with PwC, Oasis aspires to be part of the solution for environmental sustainability in Egypt, by educating and encouraging school children to make lifestyle changes and to adopt simple habits to manage solid waste and conserve energy and water.
The founders seek to replicate nationwide as satellites, acting as local flagships for sustainability education all over Egypt, and thereafter for all Arabic-speaking countries. The satellites shall be operated by women from the locality, serving neighbouring schools and universities. Satellites will then be a game-changer for the education scheme nationwide, as well as for opportunities for women’s employment.
Contact The Speaker
Zenith Talk
This Talk was one of many at zenithTALK Berlin 2
The scale of social challenges in the MENA region and new opportunities created by technological innovation are bringing a new generation of leaders to come to the fore, both in business and in civil society.
