10.12.2022

MASKBOOK IN ALEXANDRIA AND CAIRO FOR COP27!

As part of its action at COP27 (read here), Art of Change 21 has started its workshops in Egypt. 

Maskbook was in Alexandria and Cairo on October 6 and 7 2022 as part of Art of Change 21’s mission at the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP27, which will take place from November 6 to 18 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. 

For its Maskbook campaign in Egypt, Art of Change 21 partners with the environmental NGO Greenish and photography school Photopia in a spirit of collaboration with local actors and citizens.

Our first two Maskbook workshops were led by our partner associations, as well as Nicolas Madec from Art of Change 21. 

The first workshop was hosted by NGO Banlastic at the Jesuit Cultural Center in Alexandria, whilst the second was hosted by NGO VeryNile at the organisation's headquarters on the island of Qurşāyah. The preparation of the workshops started with the collection of waste littering the Nile and its surroundings, which ties to the actions of these two host associations that fight respectively against the pollution of the Nile and the use of single-use plastic in Egypt. The collected waste (plastic packaging, nets, etc.) was then used as creative materials during the workshops.

The workshops brought together around 50 participants - people of all ages, male and female, academics, artists and architects and many more. Its success is already evident in the fact that many participants have since expressed the wish to organise a Maskbook workshop within their professional structure. 

Environmental issues are a hot topic in Lower Egypt, which sees its river increasingly polluted and plagued by international conflicts over water resources. In their masks and their discussions, participants recounted some of their many hopes and concerns: the ongoing conflict over water with neighbouring countries, such as Ethiopia and Sudan; the pollution of the Nile and its increasingly efficient cleaning by NGOs; and the joint battle of women's emancipation and ecology through the employment of women in the field of environment.

Not in Egypt? You can still participate online! Create and share your very own mask here.

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