GLOBE Program in Egypt

Kamelia Hegazy, Undersecretary, Ministry of Education

The beginning of GLOBE in Egypt was when U.S. Vice President Al Gore and President Mubarak witnessed the conclusion of the GLOBE agreement during Vice President Gore's visit to Egypt in March 1995. The agreement was signed by Egyptian Minister of Education Dr. H. K. Bahaa El Din and U.S. Ambassador Edward Walker. The 25th anniversary celebration of Earth Day on April 22nd , 1995, marked the official beginning of the GLOBE Program in Egypt, and thus, our country became the first country in the Middle East to implement the GLOBE Program.

Steps taken for developing the program in our schools .
First step: Ten schools were nominated as pilot schools for implementing the program. The attached map illustrates these ten GLOBE schools. A plan was developed to inform school directions about the GLOBE goals and the benefits which could be gained by students.
Second Step: Contribution by private sector to support activities related to this project were obtained in the following phases: Providing schools with measurement instruments needed for data and measurements to be collected Training teachers (science and computer teachers) on new methods needed to implement this program in schools through their participation in workshops outside Egypt (U.S.A., the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and in Egypt). Accessing the Internet communication in the last period. Third Step: An Executive Center was established in the Ministry of Education. Now three people work with me in the Center that were trained at International GLOBE Training workshops. The objectives of this Center are the following : Managing the different activities of GLOBE in Egypt. Organizing local teacher training workshops. Preparing and translating the educational handouts demonstrating protocols which are to be followed by students and teachers. Providing schools with computers. Organizing periodical meetings with teachers for solving problems when necessary, and other issues. Training teachers to be familiar with the Internet communications and providing them with technical support. Following up on all activities in schools and determining how students benefit from taking measurements in their school site or in natural places. What we need for the future Assign a budget to finance the program. Develop the project through all schools. Establishing local and regional workshops. Contact the media to get people acquainted with the GLOBE Program goals. Spreading the goals of the program in all districts through video conferences. In Egypt we have 27 districts and we have had 22 video conference. Conclusion After receiving support from the private section, our Center now accesses the Internet through schools. After I return, I plan to hold a seminar for the private schools to make them aware of the GLOBE Program because many of them want to participate in GLOBE.

Country Coordinator :

Kamelia Hegazy
Ministry of Education
Undersecretary for Secondary Education
El Falaki
Cairo
EGYPT
phone: 2-02-3552108
Fax: 2-02-3573740
Email: mbarsoum@usia.gov