CAIRO: Speaking at her alma mater, the American University in Cairo (AUC), Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan called for reigniting the spark of civic engagement, calling it an “indispensible part of social progress in the region.
“Social progress doesn’t come from governments looking down, directing change. It comes from communities, families and individuals looking up, driving society forward themselves, fuelled by nothing more than an idea or instinct to do good . It comes from civic engagement, were the strong words her majesty began with as she addressed students, alumni and educators.
She noted that students need to recognize the importance of civic engagement, a principal that is rooted in our culture.
“We need to accept responsibility to our society and become part of the social web, as citizenship is the sense of duty and pride and doing social good, she said, adding that that lately citizenship has been spelt with a ‘s’ for “sit back and sit still.
“A man demonstrates his true worthiness when he participates in community, Queen Rania pointed out.
She referred to two role models for civic engagement within the Arab World. The first is AUC alumnus, Raghda El Ebrahsi, who founded Alashanek Ya Baladi, which started off as a community service club at AUC in 2002 and after graduation she turned it into an active NGO that caters to the society as a whole, regardless of financial class.
“For me the story is symbolic to the spark needed to ignite civic engagement . there is more to life than just possessions .the true value [of life] lies in people, said Queen Rania.
The second is Sweilem Rihani, who, at the age of 15, was diagnosed with cancer. But instead of giving in to the illness, he defeated it and volunteered his time and effort to help other cancer patients.
“Raghda and Sweilam saw no ceilings and they made a difference . we need more of them, she said, adding that the region is drowning in problems so we need to “look up to the open sky for possibilities.
Queen Rania told the hundreds of students in the audience that they are the force that will decide the future of the region.
“No one can change everything but each one can do something, you can be the spark that sets the chain of motion.and together be a generation that looks up, reaches out and lifts our region, she said.
In addition, students will also learn from these experiences in a way that would help them in their careers, she explained. “You learn team work, leadership, communication, problem solving, adaptability and open mindedness.
Questions from the student body were brought forward by Student Union President Omar Kandil, who first asked about the ways to motivate students to participate in civic engagement.
“Improve the quality of teachers as they shape the next generation, replied Queen Rania. “They also need to take the students out of the classrooms and onto the streets, teaching them what’s relevant to what is going on outside, she added.
Citizens, she explained, can’t wait for governments to make the change.
“There needs to be more activism and less passiveness in our society. We need to realize that civic engagement is a path to development and a symptom of it.
She also spoke of Islam and how outside the region it has been associated with aggression, violence and oppression of women and within the region became associated with political play.
“We have become preoccupied with just the technical aspects of the religion [leaving] the spiritual side and the actual values of our religion, she said, adding that “Civic engagement is a central part of our religion.
She noted that, “Civic engagement alone cannot elevate the country’s standard but it is an indispensible part.
