Bootcamp 7. - 14. November 2023

From the 7th to the 14th of November 2023, the Goethe-Institut Cairo, in cooperation with VeryNile, organized a one-week workshop on the joint project Floating Forward. After the kick-off workshop in July 2023, the first multi-day workshop of the project took place in Aswan, 800 kilometers south of Cairo. Participants and Goethe-Institut and VeryNile staff had the opportunity to network outside of the content of the program, spend time together, and get to know each other better while building and designing rowing boats.

The daily program began with a get-to-know-you activity which ensured a good and energetic start to the day, while allowing the participants to explore and enjoy the unique nature of the Nile Island. Representatives from VeryNile then introduced the participants to various topics and concepts of environmental protection and practical solutions to environmental problems through interactive presentations. The workshop in Aswan covered topics such as upcycling and recycling of plastics, waste management, ecological footprint, biodiversity of the Nile, climate change and socio-economic enterprises. In the informative sessions, participants worked together to create exhibits (e.g. infographics or maps) for the final exhibition on the last day of the workshop.

The afternoons were used to jointly upcycle the rowing boats. This included repairing and individually designing the rowing boats for the clean-up event on the last day of the workshop. In this process, panels made from recycled plastic by VeryNile were used, with which the participants repaired the deteriorating interior lining of the rowing boats This practical aspect of the workshop fostered daily collaboration and mutual understanding among participants with different professional, activist, and local backgrounds. The participants included teachers, librarians, and environmental activists of different ages and from various Egyptian cities from Alexandria to Aswan.

After the successful Clean-Up Event on the second to last day of the workshop, the participants were awarded certificates on the last day by representatives from the Egyptian Ministry of Education, the Goethe-Institut, and VeryNile for their participation in the workshop. Following the final joint preparations, the workshop concluded with a closing exhibition, inaugurated by the Governor of Aswan, among others. The well-attended event provided participants with the opportunity to present their new experiences, information, and what they had learned in a celebratory atmosphere. It also allowed them to inform the attendees, especially students from the University of Aswan, about the significance of environmental protection and the Nile ecosystem.