UNDP Egypt proposes new innovative tools to address development challenges at a high-level global forum
UNDP Egypt proposes new innovative tools to address development challenges at a high-level global forum
Source : UNDP Egypt
14-Jul-2016
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Egypt and the Engagement Lab at Emerson College presented new innovative methodologies during the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) on July14th at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The innovative tools can be used to tackle the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with a special focus on Egypt’s experience. They rely on the usage of tools such as Human-Centered Design, where the users of the solution are heavily engaged in the design process to ensure their needs are met. The HLPF training session focused on the use of games as a tool for creating positive social change.
Implemented in Egypt, this approach has been utilized in several social innovation camps held in Cairo where young Egyptians gathered, with the support of UNDP and its partners, worked together and came up with viable and innovative solutions to help solve the most pressing issues in their communities.
Young Egyptians generated innovative ideas and designed solutions, which include the launch of a mobile application pinpointing where ramps are needed for persons with disabilities that led to ramps being built in Sharqiya governorate, with the support of the local governor and private sector. The purpose was to promote inclusive living and demolish their daily lives’ challenges. Ayman, a young Egyptian launched his business "Shaghaf" and his first game "El Takhta", aimed at adapting public school curriculum lessons for children and thus improving the quality of education. Another Egyptian team is supporting the women in a village in Fayoum by designing a solution to recycle shrimp waste into chitosan; which is used in the agricultural and pharmaceutical sector.
UNDP Egypt and its partners were able to put forward a new way of thinking to address development challenges, using the latest Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The solutions are for the 21st century to build the future of Egypt and to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Background:
The High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development is taking place from 11 and 20 July 2016 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, under the theme “Ensuring that No One is Left Behind”, under the auspices of the ECOSOC. The HLPF is United Nations central platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals, adopted at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit on 25 September 2015..