The Ministerial Conference on “Belonging and Legal Identity” concluded last week in Tunis in the presence of the member states of the جامعة الدول العربية - League of Arab States (LAS). By hosting this event - the first of its kind in the region - UNHCR and LAS contributed to supporting and strengthening protection measures for stateless persons, and developing concrete solutions to prevent and reduce the statelessness risks in the region. At the conclusion of this Ministerial Conference, Member States adopted the Arab Declaration on "Belonging and Legal Identity", which shows their shared commitment to enhancing the protection of individuals in the region through the strengthening of civil registration and citizenship systems, with particular attention to individuals at risk including refugees. “Longstanding traditions in the Arab Region recognize all rights of children to belong to enjoy their rights to family life, unity, and to have a name, a legal identity and a nationality. UNHCR and LAS brought together all relevant sectors to uphold these principles to safeguard the future of refugee children and strengthen the access of refugee women to nationality rights,” said Karim Atassi, UNHCR Egypt Representative. The event was organized by UNHCR, LAS and the Republic of Tunisia, under the patronage of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Tunisia, Mr. Béji Caid Essebsi.

The second edition of “Heya” Campaign will kick off at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina - مكتبة الاسكندرية to celebrate The International Women’s Day. The event will take place on 12-14 March at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Conference Center (BACC) with UNHCR Egypt's participation. Heya campaign aims at focusing on the irreplaceable role of women in the Egyptian society, and at tackling women empowerment in three main fields: leadership, health and arts this through various activities, workshops, and lectures. Three refugees will be speaking at the closing event to share their experiences in Egypt: their adversities, their resilience and their hopes. Refugees and asylum-seekers will also be performing a play and other musical acts which focuses on women issues particularly pertaining to refugees. The campaign is organized in partnership with UNHCR, The Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT), Alexandria Volunteers for Awareness and Development Club (AVAD), Fund for Drug Control and Treatment of Addiction (FDCTA), Bibliotheca Alexandrina Friends Association, VI Markets, Injaz Egypt, Egyptian Banking Institute and others.

UNHCR, in collaboration with the League of Arab States and Arab Interior Ministers Council organized a three-day capacity building training on 13-15 December for officials at the directorates’ level, whose work entails the review, follow-up and application of laws and policies relating to statelessness and nationality issues. The training was part of the Regional Capacity Building sessions, undertaken jointly by UNHCR and the League of Arab States

Eighteen students, in their third and fourth grades, at the Alexandria International Academy - AIA had the opportunity to learn about refugees and their situation in Egypt through a school initiative. The nine and ten-year olds attended a two-hour presentation by UNHCR on 4 December, where they discussed different topics relating to refugees. This included looking at who is a refugee, reasons refugees flee their countries of origin, what UNHCR and its partners provide in terms of services and assistance, and means of assisting refugees in Egypt.

A UNHCR football team has been competing in the Fourth Alexandria International Football Tournament, in which refugees and UNHCR staff played together against Alexandria Sporting Club, Egypt Media and Journalists, and Ukraine teams. It provided the team with the opportunity to engage in in a sporting spirit in informal discussions, with local and international media networks, and opened the door for a better understanding of the refugees' situation and conditions in the host country.

In commemoration of the #16DaysofActivism Campaign, a six-kilometer-long Marathon will be held on 8 December to raise awareness about Gender-Based Violence. UNHCR’s fourth marathon in Alexandria aims to engage different communities through sport to highlight important issues that touch their lives. This year's theme “Leave No One Behind” - promoting inclusion of all - perfectly fits with the sporting essence of this event: it will include the host community, refugees and asylum seekers living in Alexandria of different nationalities and ages. The event is in collaboration with local running sports group Alex Marathon

UNHCR participated in the First International Youth Culture Conference under the theme “Bridging Differences through Sports & Media” from 27 to 29 November 2017. The conference aims at promoting, sustaining, and understanding dialogue between different cultures through appreciation of diversity. The conference brings together sports teams of refugees, host community, and journalists from around the world to promote peaceful coexistence.

UNHCR participated in the World Youth Forum in Sharm El Sheikh. Young refugees got the chance to share their stories.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the German Embassy DAAD and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) celebrated on Tuesday 17 October, the commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of the Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative, known as DAFI.

In an effort to invest in the capacities of young refugee and asylum-seekers’ IT talents and entrepreneurs living in Egypt, UNHCR supported the participation of 22 refugees and asylum-seekers in the Techne Summit hosted at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (30 Sep – 1 Oct). The selected refugees were mainly IT professionals, marketers, computer science graduates, computer engineers and entrepreneurs of both genders with an average age of 26. Participants represented different nationalities, including Syrians, South Sudanese, Sudanese, Yemenis and Iraqis.