CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP
We seek to ensure that our work creates a positive legacy that helps local communities thrive. SODIC views its corporate citizenship efforts as a core component of its Human Developments philosophy. Social welfare initiatives, the arts, and sports are the three pillars that drive how SODIC gives back to the community
Companies from all industries know that the cornerstone of their success rests on the sustainable growth and betterment of the environment in which they operate. A leader in the real estate development sector in Egypt, SODIC was founded on a vision to enhance the real estate market through delivering top-quality developments that aim to enrich our people’s quality of life while simultaneously working to advance the communities in which we operate. As an extension of our dedication to better the lives of people, we view our corporate citizenship efforts as a core component of our Human Developments philosophy. Accordingly, SODIC strives to give back to society across three key channels: social welfare initiatives, the arts, and sports.
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SODIC CSR
We believe Egypt’s future rests in the hands of its youth as the primary drivers of the country’s continued progress. Empowering young Egyptians through education initiatives lies at the heart of SODIC’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts. We also recognise our responsibility as an Egyptian developer to play a role in effective rehabilitation and relief of Egypt’s impoverished communities. Fuelled by these convictions, SODIC CSR impacts over 7,000 families every year through education and slum rehabilitation programmes, while continually contributing to a number of relief initiatives. SODIC CSR programmes focus on sustainable development solutions with the aim of better integrating underprivileged communities.
Education
Educate-Me
Improving Educational Outcomes
Educate-Me runs a non-profit community school in Talbeya that delivers a learner-centred, skill-based teaching approach with the purpose of graduating students who are active decision-makers in their own destiny. Educate-Me develops syllabuses comprised of subjects from the Egyptian national educational system administered alongside 21st century skills such as creativity, collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and productivity.
Following Educate-Me’s accreditation as a community school last year, a committee from the Ministry of Education tested student proficiency in both mathematics and Arabic, with Educate-Me students achieving a pass rate of 100%. Moreover, since passing the accreditation, Educate-Me has received multiple inspections from the Ministry of Education, all of which have been passed successfully.
Since the start of the 2016 academic year, Educate-Me has enrolled 100 preschool students (aged 4-6) and 80 community school students (aged 6-10). Educate-Me employs 13 teachers, mostly sourced from the Talbeya area. Earlier in the year, Educate-Me experienced overwhelming demand for classes, but lacked capacity to cater to the surge in demand. In response, a new location was acquired in Talbeya over the summer, and plans were put together to expand the current building to accommodate more students. The new academic year began on the 1 October 2016, with Educate-Me welcoming preschool students to classes in the new school building. In addition, Educate-Me is currently in talks with an NGO that owns a piece of land in the Aboul Nomros area, which is promising for a second site.
Multiplying Impact, Increasing Income and Cost Recovery
Throughout the year, Educate-Me performed well against its income-generation targets. Educate-Me diversified its training packages, creating an extra four courses to supplement its original course. It now offers training in education psychology, behaviour management, 21st century skills, school transformation journey, and teachers’ professional development journey.
Currently, Educate-Me has been contracted by Vodafone and the National Bank of Egypt to train 2,500 school staffers from 83 schools across 6 governorates (Sohag, Luxor, Fayoum, Minya, Cairo, and Giza). Targeted school staff are enrolled in a full year of Educate-Me training called 'Learning Journey' that corresponds with the academic year (running from August 2016-June 2016). Educate-Me’s teacher training will generate EGP 1.5 million in revenue for Educate-Me by the end of the academic year.
Unmatched Potential
With the school acting as an ongoing laboratory for new curricula and concepts, Educate-Me’s model of designing, testing, and training public schools — all under the auspices of the Ministry of Education — gives them a solid opportunity to instigate true change to Egypt’s education system in both the curriculum and how it is taught.
Nafham.com
Founded in 2011, Nafham.com is a ‘massive open online course’ (MOOC) video learning platform designed to bring high quality education material to Egyptian children in a cost-effective way. MOOCs are an exciting new development in the field of education and have the potential to revolutionise the sector. In particular, they offer an alternative method of access to education for children who may not be in school or attend institutions with inadequate teaching facilities.
MOOCs are a relatively new phenomenon in the Arab world but are growing steadily in popularity. Over the last three years, Nafham.com has become the top online video learning platform in the Arab region; it has digitised the public school curricula in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Kuwait, and Syria into 23,000 easily accessible videos. To date, its user base has doubled yearly, with no extra cost incurred by Nafham.com. Its CEO Mostafa Farahat has been awarded the Ashoka 2016 Fellowship.
SODIC began its investment in Nafham.com in September 2016. Work is underway to launch an assessment of learning outcomes for Nafham.com’s online video content to gauge their efficacy and user satisfaction among 1,000 students. The results of the assessment will help develop Nafham.com’s business plan.
The website generates profit through digital marketing, having already secured sponsorship contracts. Nafham.com’s users have grown significantly since the start of the 2016/17 academic year, from 500,000 to 750,000 per month.
Social Enterprises in Education (SEE) Mapping
SODIC is working with Innovety, a “non-traditional” management training and consulting firm, to conduct a mapping exercise of social enterprises in education in Cairo, Giza, and Alexandria. The mapping aims to give SODIC and other interested stakeholders a clear understanding of the pipeline of educational social enterprises in Egypt prime for investment. This facilitates a more tailored, evidence-based strategy for future investments. It will be published and made accessible to the public by mid-2017.
Tawasol Istabl Antar
Operating in Istabl Antar in Ezbet Khairallah, Old Cairo since 2008, Tawasol runs a small community school for children who have escaped schooling, with a current enrolment count of 155 students. Tawasol’s impact is threefold: on the academic level, on the practical level, and on the child-development level. On the academic level, the school, which is registered with the Ministry of Education, provides students with formal, high-quality education based on the Egyptian national curriculum. On the practical level, the school incorporates innovative vocational training techniques to teach students specific crafts such as sewing, carpentry, carpet hand weaving, and crochet. On the child-development level, the school focuses on the enhancement of the students' talents through extracurricular activities.
Tawasol’s New School
Tawasol has finally received the legal documents required to build its new school on the 1,000 sqm site in Istabl Antar that will take up to 500 students. SODIC contributed to the endeavour a few years ago, with construction now underway and expected to be complete in two years. The school facilities include a playground, theatre, food court, medical facilities, and vocational training. Unlike other schools in slum areas, Tawasol will focus on freedom of expression and the inclusion of children with special needs.
Launching an Online Store for Tawasol Products
Tawasol's products are handcrafted by low-income families living in slum areas and informal settlements as well as children enrolled in the school. Tawasol’s designs are inspired by traditional Egyptian arts and crafts and are all made using locally sourced materials. With SODIC’s support, an online store was launched in April 2016 as a platform for selling the products to generate revenue streams for the organisation, positioning it as an important milestone toward sustainability in the area.
Fundraising Performances
The school also held a performance of ‘El Leila El Kebira’ at the AUC Tahrir Campus in December 2016, giving the children the chance to showcase their talents while collecting money for the school. The event was a success, attracting a large number of attendees and selling many Tawasol products. The performance also garnered the interest of other companies for future shows and collaborations with the school.
Relief
Alongside our long-term development work, SODIC is also a firm believer in providing short-term aid through a number of relief initiatives including blood drives, blanket drives, salary drives, toy drives, food distributions, as well as donations to different health facilities.
Employee Blood Drive 2016
Our annual blood drive witnessed yet another successful run on 10 November 2016, with SODIC employees donating 35 bags of blood in our continued efforts to help save lives.
Ramadan Parcels 2016
In the spirit of the holy month of Ramadan, SODIC employees gathered to package boxes of food staples to help impoverished families during the course of the month. Over 480 boxes were rationed and distributed to needy families in different villages across Upper Egypt.
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SODIC ART
At SODIC we perceive art as the highest expression of freedom, one that reflects an individual articulation free from definitions of ideology, schools of thought, and artistic categorisations. We make a large effort to integrate our developments with substantial functional art to further enhance the experience of SODIC development residents. SODIC Art intiative seeks to celebrate the talent we are blessed to have in Egypt and to use it as a tool to build bridges and reflect the true fabric of the Egyptian people.
SODIC is a keen supporter of the arts, viewing it as an essential avenue of free expression and a catalyst of social dialogue that transcends cultural boundaries. The SODIC Art programme is dedicated to enriching our developments with engaging and functional artwork while simultaneously endorsing the talents that Egypt is blessed with and promoting the true, diverse fabric of its people. Sponsoring a number of exhibitions and local talents, SODIC Art continues to facilitate various artistic opportunities.
The Key Exhibition, 2016-2017
In 2016 SODIC was the proud sponsor of the 8th CARAVAN travelling exhibition of visual art “The Key”. Organised and curated by CARAVAN, an international peace building arts NGO founded in Cairo, the exhibitions’ core message is one of intercultural and inter-religious harmony.
The exhibition, which opened at the Nile Art Gallery in Cairo, showcased the work of 40 premier and emerging Egyptian, Middle Eastern, and Western artists using the world’s most ancient symbol of harmony that originated in Egypt, the key of life, to deliver a message of hope for a harmonious, peaceful, and tolerant world. This is the third CARAVAN Exhibition of which SODIC is the founding sponsor.
The traveling exhibition, which debuted in Cairo, moved on to London and finally New York at Riverside Cathedral. Some 30% of all artwork sales during the exhibition’s international tour will go toward supporting Educate-Me, one of SODIC’s CSR programmes.
Past Art Events
SODIC’s support of the arts extends back several years, and includes the sponsorship of:
The Bridge
The CARAVAN’s 2015-2016 The Bridge exhibition displayed paintings at key venues in France, Egypt, the UK, and North America. Some 40% of all proceeds from The Bridge have been directed to the Educate-Me programme in Egypt to support the education of underprivileged children.
Amen
The CARAVAN’s 2014 Amen Exhibition – A Prayer for the World, was on display in Cairo, Washington DC, and New York, with over 200,000 people in attendance across the three venues. SODIC was the exhibition’s main sponsor with 30% of proceeds being directed to the Egyptian NGO Tawasol to help build and operate two schools at two of the poorest slum areas in Cairo.
Digital Fabrication Workshop
SODIC sponsored the first Morphing Norms Parametric Design and Digital Fabrication Workshop in Egypt in 2013, offering grants to nine students to participate in the workshop.
SODIC Art Symposiums
In 2011 SODIC began a string of art symposiums each revolving around a different subject and production medium. The artwork was created by Egyptian and international artists commissioned by SODIC and is now on display at a number of SODIC developments.
AC&C Art Fund Collection
Promoting the works of renowned Egyptian artists, SODIC showcased the never-before-seen AC&C Art Fund collection in 2010 at its main Sales Centre, transforming the premises into an art gallery. The collection included over 80 paintings and sculptures and was attended by specialists from Sotheby’s and Christie’s.
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SODIC SPORTS
Sports activities are a cornerstone of life at SODIC communities while serving as yet another channel for giving back to our society at large. As part of our philosophy of providing our residents with well-rounded amenities for balanced, healthy lifestyles, outdoor activity areas and sports facilities are integral components of SODIC’s master-planned developments. From signature golf courses to cycling and jogging pathways equipped with fitness stations, our developments provide the ideal settings for the SODIC Sports programme. At SODIC we do not merely build facilities but actively organise sports events that help engage our communities.
SODIC and Breast Cancer Foundation Run Against Cancer, 2016
Over 3,000 runners came together last October in honour of October Breast Cancer Awareness Month and in support of the Breast Cancer Foundation of Egypt (BCFE), a non-profit organisation dedicated to fighting breast cancer in Egypt. The 6 kilometre run across SODIC West was open to runners of all ages and was front lined by inspirational women and survivors, all coming together to raise awareness about breast cancer. All funds raised from the run were donated to BCFE.
SODIC and Baheya Run Against Cancer, 2015
In support of October Breast Cancer Awareness Month, SODIC collaborated with Cairo Runners for the SODIC and Baheya Run Against Cancer, a 6 kilometre run at SODIC West. The event sought to raise awareness about breast cancer and raise funds for Baheya Hospital – the first in the Middle East to specialise in advancing the early detection and treatment of breast cancer. The hospital extends its services free of charge to all patients that walk through its doors. Through the generous donations of participants, the run raised EGP 138,000 for the hospital.
SODIC West & GBI Family Bike Ride, 2015
SODIC Sports collaborated with the Global Bike Initiative (GBI) to kick off the spring 2015 season at SODIC West with a family bike ride on Friday, 27 March 2015. Tailored for both casual and experienced cyclists, with the aim of providing an enjoyable day out for SODIC families, the event was planned around two routes, one running 6 kilometres and another traversing double the distance.
Past Sports Events
SODIC Charity Run, 2014
The SODIC Sports programme cooperated with Cairo Runners to organise the SODIC Charity Run in November 2014. Over 1,000 runners took part in the event, helping raise funds to build and operate a school in Ezbet Khairallah, an informal settlement in Cairo.
ElFIT Challenge, 2013 / 2014
SODIC held the first two seasons of ELFIT fitness competitions at the British International School in Cairo (BISC) campus in SODIC West. ELFIT is the biggest endurance event in Egypt and one of the largest in the Middle East, uniquely providing a number of competition categories across different age groups for both men and women.
STARS National Tennis Tournament, 2013
Proudly hosted by SODIC in association with the Egyptian Tennis Federation, the 2013 STARS National Tennis Tournament was held at the SODIC development of Beverly Hills. Some of Egypt’s leading tennis players participated in the tournament across different age groups from 10 to 18 years old.
Egyptian Open Golf Tournament, 2010
The 2010 Egyptian Open Golf Tournament was presented by SODIC under the organisation of the Egyptian Golf Federation. The tournament was held at JW Marriott’s Mirage City Golf Club and hosted players from the Middle East and Europe, with special attendance from leading golfer Rory McIlroy.