Phase II kick-off workshop in Cairo, Egypt

To kick off the in-country work in Phase II of BUILD_ME, the local partner in Egypt, IDG organised bilateral meetings with relevant national stakeholders such as HBRC, the Ministry of Housing, and the Ministry of Electricity. IDG also organised a subsequent kick-off workshop in Cairo, Egypt on 3 March. Along with the attendance of HBRC as the national partner and Egypt Green Building Council as one of the local partners, the workshop hosted a diverse group consisting of project developers, architects, researchers and representatives of the Ministry of Housing, Ministry of Environment, and Ministry of Electricity.

The workshop started off with an introductory speech by IDG and a welcome speech by HBRC, followed by a presentation from the project lead Navigant. The presentations included an explanation of the project’s insights and Phase I results, an introduction to Phase II, and an engaging discussion with the attendees.

This input was followed by several presentations of national buildings experts:

• Dr. Ashraf Kamal from HBRC presented the role of Ministry of Housing and HBRC in sustainable buildings and energy efficiency in Egypt.
• Dr. Dalia Sakr from Egypt Green Building Council presented insights on the status of energy efficiency in the Egyptian building sector and a brief overview of the Tarshid Rating System.
• Eng. Ashraf Zeitoun from the Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF) Egypt presented an overview of GEFF Egypt and the Technical Assistance offered by the facility.

Participants then engaged in roundtable discussions to exchange ideas, discuss restrictions, recommend solutions and propose alternatives.

The outcomes of the workshop include:

• Joint understanding of the main goals and objectives of the project as well as the key issues concerning the project's activities and practices.
• An overview of the key results of Phase I.
• Identification of the potentials of the Egyptian building sector, environmental requirements, and stakeholders' needs.
• Consideration of the challenges facing the translation of the theories and studies into actual implementation.
• Identification of solutions and alternatives for any possible barriers in implementation.

The presentations can be downloaded below.