Sherif Fathy: The Grand Egyptian Museum is a pioneering model in applying environmental sustainability standards
Dr. Manal Awad: We seek to help the museum achieve carbon neutrality for emissions during the trial operation period, the opening events and its first year of operation
Sherif Fathy, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, and Dr. Manal Awad, Minister of Local Development and Acting Minister of Environment, today witnessed at the Grand Egyptian Museum the signing of a cooperation protocol between the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency and the Grand Egyptian Museum Authority on protecting, preserving and caring for the environment to support environmental policies and apply environmental standards and practices inside the museum, paving the way for declaring it a "green, eco-friendly museum."
The protocol was signed by Dr. Ali Abu Sena, CEO of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency, and Dr. Ahmed Ghoneim, CEO of the Grand Egyptian Museum Authority.
Sherif Fathy, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, stressed that the signing of this protocol comes within the framework of close cooperation between the Ministries of Tourism and Antiquities and of Environment to protect and preserve the environment and support the environmental policies pursued by the state to achieve the sustainable development goals.
He noted that the Grand Egyptian Museum, as one of the most important national projects and the largest museum in the world, has been keen since its establishment to integrate the environmental dimension into its structure and management, which qualified it to obtain the green building and sustainability certificate, reflecting its commitment to international environmental standards.
He added that this cooperation reflects the Egyptian state's vision of integrating the environmental dimension into various sectors, foremost among them the tourism and antiquities sector, pointing out that the Grand Egyptian Museum will be not only a global civilizational and cultural landmark but also a pioneering model in applying environmental sustainability standards, consolidating its position as a civilizational showcase that expresses the grandeur of the past and the prosperity of the present.
The Minister of Tourism and Antiquities explained that the protocol provides for the Grand Egyptian Museum to seek to use eco-friendly tools and supplies inside the museum and to present environmental activities (environmental awareness, scientific materials, and displays of the Ministry of Environment's awareness publications and releases, and photos and films about natural protectorates and biodiversity), in addition to offering an environmental education program as part of the museum's cultural activities and contributing to the promotion of ecotourism by distributing publications to visitors raising awareness of the locations of Egypt's natural protectorates.
For her part, Dr. Manal Awad stressed that the signing of the protocol between the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency and the Grand Egyptian Museum Authority reflects the ministry's support for strengthening partnerships that contribute to achieving the sustainable development goals, by providing technical support paving the way for declaring it a "green and eco-friendly museum," by helping the Grand Egyptian Museum achieve carbon neutrality for emissions from the trial operation period in 2023 and 2024, the museum's official opening events and its first full year of operation.
The Minister of Environment added that the protocol aims to spread environmental awareness by periodically monitoring air pollution and noise levels in the museum area and its surroundings through the Ministry of Environment's monitoring station, and working to support the area surrounding the museum with trees, as part of the President's "100 Million Trees" initiative.
She explained that, under the protocol, the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency will develop the scientific and training content of the educational program at the Grand Egyptian Museum, and will provide technical support for environmental awareness activities and prepare scientific training content based on various environmental topics.
Dr. Manal Awad stressed that the ministry attaches great importance to providing a healthy, safe, pollution-free environment by integrating the environmental dimension into all state sectors, and through coordination and agreement with all ministries and agencies via an approach that addresses environmental issues in order to achieve sustainable development and provide a better environmental and healthy life.
Under the terms of the protocol, the two parties agreed to form a joint technical committee from both sides that will meet every 3 months, or whenever necessary, for technical oversight and periodic follow-up of the activities covered by the protocol. To this end, the committee may seek the assistance of whichever relevant administrative bodies it deems appropriate, and will submit periodic reports to the competent authority at the agency and the museum.
The signing was attended by Eng. Sherif Abdel Rahim, Assistant Minister of Environment for Climate Policies; Dr. El-Shaimaa Eid, Head of the Safety and Work Environment Security Authority at the Grand Egyptian Museum; Soha Taher, Head of the Central Department for Climate Change and International Cooperation; Dr. Ayman El-Refaey, Director General of Mitigation and Carbon Markets; and Eng. Mohamed Mostafa, Director General of Strategies at the Ministry of Environment.
