The symbolic figures, who lead the educational, cultural, and artistic paths towards renaissance, should not underestimate the cultural heritage embedded in the Egyptian soil.

We fully realize that there are critical challenges that require us all to do our duty in addressing them. Are we ready for these challenges?

The recent years have witnessed an alarming decline in and erosion of values due to the social changes occurring to the Egyptian society in recent decades. These challenges have directly impacted our set of values and negatively reflected in the cohesion of the community. Many of the governing social values have faltered at subconscious levels, either fading or turning ambiguous for a large segment of our youth. Both the parents and their siblings are now living on isolated islands; each has its own vision, philosophy, and world.

I deem that if our luminary litterateur, the late Tawfiq Al-Hakim, were destined to be living at the moment, he would have not hesitated to write a play on the ‘revival of values’, given that it was he who wrote the two plays, Revival of the Spirit and Revival of Consciousness. The Egyptian youth seem to have lost their way. They belong to a country deeply rooted in history with a glorious civilization. This country has withstood invaders, tyrants, and despots, bringing them doom. The Egyptian people are seven thousand years old, and its pioneering figures, leading its educational course and cultural, artistic and media renaissance, should not underestimate the civilizational heritage embedded in the Egyptian soil. This heritage runs through the veins of the Egyptians, though they may think they have lost it. It is rather naturally inherited and ready for revival on condition that those in charge work on providing its prerequisites. Such prerequisites would reawaken the youth on cultural, educational, and practical levels, and rekindle hope, loyalty, belonging and trust in their hearts.

Al-Azhar Ash-Sharif, in collaboration with the Egyptian Church, has called for a consultative meeting, with the participation and attendance of ministers, luminary intellectuals, and distinguished figures in culture, press, media, art and sports. The meeting was meant to exchange ideas and visions, and to work together towards finding solutions and amenable ways to revive these values among the Egyptian youth and the people at large.

As we launch this purposeful national project, along with a number of enthusiastic figures in the country, we are well aware that there are critical challenges that require us all to live up to our duties. Are we ready for these challenges? We hope so!