The Making of a Future Egypt: Challenges, Dreams and Reality

Once again, The Caravan has produced a special issue which runs in tandem with current events.The themes in this issue focus on Egypt’s future – matters of development, security, fiscal stability and urban planning.

What is Egypt going to look like in 10 years? In 20 years?

Egypt has been through rollercoaster upheaval since the January 25, 2011 Revolution.

A lot has happened politically, economically and socially – some changes have been for the better, while others have left a lot to be desired.

To be sure, Egypt is in transition. In our special issue, we have produced articles which focus on such vital issues as the effects of the Grand Dam, currently under construction in Ethiopia, on Egypt’s strategic water supply.

We examine the rationale and logic behind new urbanization programs, such as the new capital. We look at the future of the tourism industry, the role of the military, and much more.

Working on this issue allowed The Caravan crew, myself included, to have a better understanding of what is going to happen in our country in the near future.

Interviews and conversations with experts such as historian Khaled Fahmy, military experts such as Amr El Tawansy, and venerable journalists such as Hafez Al Mirazi and Amal AbdelSalam – and several associations and organizations such as the Animal Welfare Awareness Research group – have provided us with glimpses of what a future Egypt could look like.

While the plans, projections and needs assessments are based on current facts and trends, the future Egypt depicted in the articles is not a certainty, but a clear possibility.

We are hoping that our articles will give you the same insights we got and that you find them informative and useful.

This way we – as Egyptians – can at least hold the decision makers who have laid out these plans and made these promises accountable for what they’ve promised us.

On another note, I’m graduating this semester. I should be excited by the prospects of life after four years of textbooks and exams.

I should be excited by the challenges of finding a job, but all I can think about is whether I will even choose to stay in Egypt

and continue my life here. According to AUC’s graduation list to date, there are around 550 students graduating this semester.

I am pretty sure that many are asking themselves whether or not they should leave the country.

Egypt is going through a hard time and choosing to stay here requires careful calculation.

I can’t find arguments that would convince any graduate not to take the first chance that he or she gets to travel abroad.

However, all I can say is that I am choosing to be optimistic and to stay here.

Perhaps, the fact that there is acknowledgement that the country needs urban renewal, let alone a new capital, should reassure us that the government is thinking and strategizing for a 21st Century Egypt.