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Egyptian Children Harness the Power of the Media to Tackle a Polluting Factory

Internews MENA Two elementary students developed a media project on pollution as part of Internews' Civic Education and Media Training Camp in Egypt.

(October 11, 2007) Every morning when Randa and Marwa, both age 11, come to school, they have to walk through gray, polluted air from the neighboring factory.  The Om Kura School, located in the city of Alexandria in northern Egypt, sits next a factory whose chimneys release dirty smoke all through the day.

“The smoke is very thick and covers our faces, and even comes inside the class, making it hard for many students to breathe,” explains Marwa. But through an innovative project that trains Egyptian schoolchildren to harness the power of the media to tackle civic issues, last month the girls and their schoolmates mobilized government officials and local and national media to secure a commitment from the factory to stop polluting.

Students brought up the problem of the factory pollution during the first day of a Civic Education and Media Training Camp for elementary school students in Alexandria in September. The camp was organized by the Partners project, implemented by Internews Network in partnership with the Center for Civic Education (CCE) and the Family Planning Association in Alexandria. Forty-eight students ages 10 through 12 from three public schools attended the training.

The students were taught how to select a problem, collect the information, suggest alternate solutions, and then develop recommendations. The children then learned how to create a media product that addresses the issue – a magazine article, radio piece, or TV program.

The students from Om Kura were quick to pinpoint two of the major problems that afflict their local community – smoking and pollution. Based on the students’ concern about these issues, an environmental expert was invited to discuss the issues with them in greater detail. At the end of the workshop, the students produced a newspaper with articles on the air pollution. Some students participated in a radio program that included an interview with the representative of the ministry of environment in Alexandria.

An Alexandria television station heard about the students’ concerns and aired a program on the topic with the students and officials of both the city and the governorate of Alexandria, which has become one of the most polluted cities in Egypt. The national media picked up the story, and the factory owners have committed to clean up their act.

The 18-month Partners project, aimed at inspiring the next generation of Egyptian citizens about the power of democracy and media, is funded by a grant to Internews Network and the Center for Civic Education from the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

The grassroots civic education and media project works from four regional centers: Cairo, Minya, Alexandria, and Mansoura. A combination of civic society and media trainings is intended to give hundreds of teachers and thousands of students across the country the techniques and inspiration they need to get involved in shaping the future of Egyptian society. These same teachers and students will also be trained to mobilize the power of mass media on the themes of democracy and governance.

More information on Internews’ project in the Middle East and North Africa