Responding To The Challenges
Of The Twenty-first Century
working together for interactive development in a less violent world.
 

Based in Egypt but internationally linked via international advisory board, the Foundation operates from the heart of the Arab World, the Middle East, a most relevant region in the North South interface and in the meeting interface of the World's major religions. The Foundation is well placed for action towards its objectives.

To demonstrate the theory and practice, initially in a non-European, non-post industrial revolution context, of :

humane, environment-sensitive, participatory sustainable development.

the potential for attaining self sufficiency and acceptable standards of living using industry and technology selectively and in service of human and Earth values, and at the same time respecting cultural and behavioural differences and respecting aspects of local knowledge and wisdom.

new pathways for promotion and maintenance of health at a personal, family, societal and finally international level by applying the new WHO criteria, in concordance with our criteria, that define health as not only the freedom from physical and mental disease, but also the ability, and opportunity-as a right- to grow to full potential, and the ability to form creative interactive relations with the dynamic and pluralistic aspects of "self" , "others" and the environment, thus generating the sense of creative, non-violent well-being on an individual, societal and international level that is our definition of health.

the potential and mechanisms for resolution of violence in human relations by implementing the above mentioned concept of health through which the "other" can not be externalised or dehumanised or deliberately disempowered as a prelude to abuse or marginalisation. The other not only being "other" nationalities, races and religions, but most fundamentally the other "gender" and the other "generation", including children and old people. The participation and empowerment of women into a truly interactive role is thus a major objective of our work.
In the pursuit of the above objectives we are responding to the international crisis involving post-industrial Euro-America as well as the crisis of the Southern hemisphere. We are responding to the challenge of modernity and techno revolutions determined to give them a human and humane face countering the erosion of human values, human freedom and the erosion of the environment.

Zenab Kamel Hassan is Egyptian Moslem Girl who defied everything to get access to an education at all, then to get a University education which in the early twenties meant:

travelling alone to London, joining Clapham High School to get the matriculation, then joining London University, Bedford College to study Science and duly graduate in Chemistry1929 to become:

the first Egyptian girl to graduate in Science in modern times.

Her story of constructive defiance and struggle to set a different role model for Egyptian women and women in the Islamic World is summerized in the foundation booklet (published 1996:"Responding to the Challenges of the twenty first century").

She went on to fight her way into becoming the first woman to teach men Chemistry in Cairo University!

The progressive marginalisation and disempowerment of like-minded and enlightened "rebels" represents a fundamental fulcrum in the study of the mechanisms of relapse of the extremely promising and developmental leap in the whole of the region as led by Egypt after the 1919 revolution and its highly fertile associations and offshoots.

How was this great promise dismembered, marginalised and disempowered with the rise of unitary totalitarianism in politics and in thought/culture/religion, is worthy subject for several doctoral theses?

The Foundation believes that the key to development is re-empowering the disempowered whether these are the poorer, the younger, the non-attached or the feminine or -sadly in totalitarian regimes- the citizenry!.

The establishment of dialogue with all "other" is yet another commitment.(see links for the background philosophy).