31 October 2006

Aswan: Environmental awareness and trans boundary cooperation between Egypt and Sudan was the focus of a meeting hosted by the Nubian Museum under the overall framework of the Sailing the Nile for the MDG’s project.

The meeting opened with a lively and colourful performance by children from the local Saint Therese School, who dressed up as different characters from Egypt’s history and held up posters illustrating the eight Millennium Development Goals. They had been rehearsing for weeks in advance and spent much time recreating the “Egyptianized” MDG icons created for the Sailing the Nile project.

Dr. Mohamed Al-Aawah, Programme Specialist with UNESCO spoke of the importance of environmental protection, conservation and research, making reference to Wadi Allaqi- an established UNESCO biosphere reserve located on

Egypt’s southern border with Sudan. “We would like to extend this and create a Trans boundary reserve in order to protect the ecological and cultural heritage of this unique area” continued Dr. Al-Aawah.

The Chancellor of Sudan who was also present emphasized that “cooperation between Sudan and Egypt is not just important, but essential and has existed throughout history”. He went on to say that “the only obstacle for this cooperation is the mobilization of resources and ensuring that they are distributed appropriately”.

For more information on this programme please contact Rasha Abou-Elazm, National Professional Officer or Dr. Moahmed Al-Aawah, Programme Specialist at Unesco, +202 794 5599, +202 795 0424 or +202 7946319