During last Friday’s recycling festival people turned up to enjoy local talent and promote recycling in Egypt. Littering is a common problem in Egypt’s streets and environmentalism is low on the national priority list. The event presented many of Egypt’s green NGOs and initiatives, such as Be Green and Dayma, and aimed to raise awareness of the need to recycle. Many helpful, ‘green’ solutions for everyday needs were given by the participating organisations, focusing on those that are easy to implement in daily life, yet affect nature in a positive manner.
The event stressed the importance of the individual and the empowerment of people to bring about change. The message was focused on how everyone can make a difference, even if they are not ‘involved’ in any other way than recycling. Considering that the word ‘environmentalism’ is often considered by many to be evoking a label or an ideology, this focus was a smart move. Most of us are willing to make a contribution to a good cause, without wanting to make a serious commitment to a new ideology.
One of the cornerstones of the event was recycling itself, and a wonderful initiative enabled and encouraged people to bring their old and used things with them, with clear instructions on what could and what could not be used for recycling.
Among the event’s participants were as many non-Egyptians as Egyptians. The event featured a performance by local talents El Zabaleen (the Garbage Collectors) who are famous for using old materials as instruments to play their music. The band was a big hit despite some minor hiccups that they downplayed using their substantial charm and humour, and the subjects of the songs fit perfectly with the topic of the festival.
Attendance to the event was free, which promoted a more inclusive environment and the clear Arabic information available allowed non-English speakers to get access to some of the nearly overwhelming amount of information and literature available on the subject in English.
The people at Darb 1718 were, as usual, pleasant and informative, though I did have a problem communicating with one of them whose Arabic seemed basic. The individual in question was nice enough, but considering both the venue’s and the event’s general focus on catering to a local audience, they would do well to hire people with a better grasp of the country’s national language.
When it comes to ‘niche’ events such as this one, it is often difficult to reach people who are not already interested in the issue. Darb 1718 has an inclusive atmosphere that rarely harbours an elitist crowd however, and yesterday was no different. In fairness, one cannot state that the crowd was as diverse as the organisers probably wanted it to be, but not because of lack of trying.
In general, it was difficult to feel out of place or remain uninvolved in the subject of the event and judging from the attending crowd, the focus on targeting everyday people to raise awareness, and encourage them to recycle and ‘go green’, definitely paid off. Though the recycling festival was not without its tree-hugging aspect, most people will have felt at ease at this event thanks to clear available information, Darb 1718’s accessible atmosphere, and the talented musical performances.
