On 6 September 2012, the Egyptian Center for Civil and Legislative Reform, in cooperation with Habitat International Coalition-Housing and Land Rights Network and other Egyptian NGOs, organized a community event for the first annual ‘Egyptian Housing Day.’ This event was organized to focus on the housing and land rights violations in Egypt, as well as to provide opportunities for communication, coordination and exchange of experiences among organizations and communities.
The reason behind choosing a day in September for this annual event is to commemorate the tragic incident of the rockslide that occurred in Duwiqa (an area east of Cairo) in 2008, killing over 100 persons as well as wounding many others. This tragic event also damaged many homes, displacing hundreds of people.
The event of Egyptian Housing Day reviewed several of issues, including state policies towards housing that did not change after the 25th of January revolution. There was also coverage and discussion on the government strategy on urban development planning known as the “Cairo 2052 plan” (formerly “Cairo 2050” Plan). This plan has many issues, resulting primarily from its lack of consideration of social justice in the urban development process. The implementation of this plan will cause many forced evictions against the impoverished areas and marginalized communities in Cairo, to make way for parks, luxury hotels, and other ‘developments’ which many of the affected communities will not benefit from. Many persons in attendance shared testimonies on their experiences with housing violations, forced evictions and home demolitions.
This event emphasized the importance of community involvement in change through the efforts of the local community organizations. Many groups shared presentations on alternative ideas of urban development based on the initiatives that come from the grass-roots, as substitutes to the state policies. This day marked an initial step in utilizing community action to ensure that development projects in Cairo will be for the benefit for all citizens.
Participant Organizations:
- The Egyptian Center for Civil and legislative Reform;
- Habitat International Coalition- Housing and Land Rights Network;
- The Popular Committee of the people of Bulaq Abu- al-’A’ila;
- Sahari Association;
- Movement of Cooperatives;
- Shadow Minister of Housing
