Editor in Chief
Youssef Sidhom
Watani
عربى English French
  • News
    • Accidents
    • Crime
    • Diplomatic briefcase
    • NewsLine
    • Outside Cairo
    • Special Occasions
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • International media
    • Reader`s Corner
    • Opinion
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • International Politics
    • Islamisation Politics
    • National Affairs
    • Parliament
    • Politics
    • Protests
    • Rights
    • Terrorism
  • Culture
    • Antiquity
    • Art
    • Books
    • Culture
    • Drama
    • Egyptology
    • Festivals
    • Films
    • Heritage
    • Islamisation Culture
    • Media
    • Museums
    • Music
    • TV
  • Coptic
    • Church Affairs
    • Coptic Affairs
    • Coptic Culture
    • Copts in the Media
    • Coptology
    • Copts Abroad
    • Religious
      • P. Shenouda: Bible Study
    • Sectarian
    • Inter-religious
    • Holy Family
  • Features
    • Counselling Corner
    • features
    • Economy
      • Business
    • Education
    • Social Issues
      • Behaviour
      • Mothers Day
    • Health
    • Environment
    • Humour
    • In memorial
    • Interviews
    • Nile
    • Profile
    • Special needs
    • Sports
    • Technology
    • Tourism
    • Wars
    • Women
    • Youth
  • Watani Special Features
    • Egypt – Arab Spring
      • 25 January Revolution
      • 25 Jan revolution, one year on
      • Egypt post-30 June
    • Watani Milestones
      • 20 years Watani International
      • 10 years Watani International
      • Watani Jubilee
    • Pope Shenouda
    • Pope Tawadros
    • Watani Forum
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Accidents
    • Crime
    • Diplomatic briefcase
    • NewsLine
    • Outside Cairo
    • Special Occasions
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • International media
    • Reader`s Corner
    • Opinion
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • International Politics
    • Islamisation Politics
    • National Affairs
    • Parliament
    • Politics
    • Protests
    • Rights
    • Terrorism
  • Culture
    • Antiquity
    • Art
    • Books
    • Culture
    • Drama
    • Egyptology
    • Festivals
    • Films
    • Heritage
    • Islamisation Culture
    • Media
    • Museums
    • Music
    • TV
  • Coptic
    • Church Affairs
    • Coptic Affairs
    • Coptic Culture
    • Copts in the Media
    • Coptology
    • Copts Abroad
    • Religious
      • P. Shenouda: Bible Study
    • Sectarian
    • Inter-religious
    • Holy Family
  • Features
    • Counselling Corner
    • features
    • Economy
      • Business
    • Education
    • Social Issues
      • Behaviour
      • Mothers Day
    • Health
    • Environment
    • Humour
    • In memorial
    • Interviews
    • Nile
    • Profile
    • Special needs
    • Sports
    • Technology
    • Tourism
    • Wars
    • Women
    • Youth
  • Watani Special Features
    • Egypt – Arab Spring
      • 25 January Revolution
      • 25 Jan revolution, one year on
      • Egypt post-30 June
    • Watani Milestones
      • 20 years Watani International
      • 10 years Watani International
      • Watani Jubilee
    • Pope Shenouda
    • Pope Tawadros
    • Watani Forum
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Watani
ع Fr

Pope Tawadros: In praise of innovation and invention

25 September, 2019 - (11:36 AM)
0 0

Donia Wagdy -  Marina Barsoum

Pope Tawadros: In praise of innovation and invention
221
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

 

It is always fitting to start the New Year on a bright, hopeful note. The Coptic New Year is no exception, neither would Pope Tawadros II have had it otherwise. So when, on the eve of 12 September 2019 he marked the 1736 AM, Anno Martyrus, New Year Eve—AM is the Coptic calendar of the martyrs—with Vespers service and went on to honour seven Coptic young innovators and inventors, the congregation was thrilled.

 

David and Goliath

A week earlier, the Pope had honoured a young woman for outstanding achievement; she was a pharmacy student who, against all odds and adverse circumstances, won an International prize in clinical skills. Merna Hosny Fakhri, a fifth year student of Pharmacy at the British University in Egypt (BUE), described herself as David facing Goliath in the Clinical Skills International Competition held this year in Rwanda where she singlehandedly faced teams from 45 countries and won first prize. Ms Fakhri had headed to Rwanda to represent Egypt in the competition only to find out that, owing to some terrible misunderstanding, she was disqualified because no individual was allowed to participate, only teams of five. Her passion about participating, however, persuaded the panel of supervisors to allow her to do so as an exceptional measure. But she had only six hours to examine her patient and deliver her report, whereas the other teams had had four days to do so. When the winner was announced, it was Merna Fakhri from Egypt.

Pope Tawadros: In praise of innovation and invention

Pope Tawadros, himself a pharmacist, questioned Ms Fakhri about the details of the test case. It concerned a 72-year-old female patient with severe cardiac problems, Ms Fakhri said. She explained how she went about examining and analysing the case, the medication prescribed and the patient’s diet, the interaction among them, and what changes she finally recommended for better treatment. She won first prize. “So you formed a team with David,” the Pope remarked with a broad smile.

 

Treating Egypt’s hepatitis C
On Coptic New Year Eve, the Pope started off by announcing the names of the seven honourees who, he said, “have made us proud and happy”. Each, he said, would introduce himself or herself, and give a brief presentation of the innovation they were being honoured for.

It was heartwarming to see seven young, bright, bubbling persons go up to present their innovations or inventions, the fruit of their hard work.

First came Olivia Adel who introduced herself as a student of Pharmacy at the British University in Egypt. She said she had been honoured for her innovation by President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi at the National Youth Conference in July 2019. She had also won international prizes.

Pope Tawadros: In praise of innovation and invention

Ms Adel had innovated a method to treat Hepatitis C (HCV) in Egypt through developing a natural ingredient to eliminate the liver proteins responsible for HCV infection. She did her research at the BUE, jointly with the State-owned Egyptian National Cancer Institute. Pope Tawadros asked Ms Adel what had led her to work on that topic, and she replied that she had been seriously interested in research ever since she was in her 9th year at school and, her father being a medical doctor, she was especially drawn to fighting disease.

Pope Tawadros: In praise of innovation and invention

The Pope asked in what way her current research would be beneficial, and whether or not it has been put into operation. Ms Adel said her research focused on the HCV4 virus which was especially prevalent in Egypt, and that it is still under experimentation, but that the cure rate was significantly high.

Extracting profit

The Pope then called on Abanoub Gamal, a graduate of the Faculty of Pharmacy at 6 October University. Mr Gamal had succeeded in designing an apparatus that would extract the active compound in medicinal and aromatic herbs in 4 – 12 hours instead of the current average week when using prevalent extraction methods. He had been assigned to that task once he graduated, by his professor Dr Tareq Saad Makram, and was backed by a team of fellow researcher scientists and engineers. Mr Gamal explained that this extraction method would be especially beneficial for Egypt since growers export aromatic and medicinal herbs as raw material because the extraction process is a long, weary one, the result being that very few extractors operate in Egypt. With the new apparatus, Mr Gamal said, the extraction process would be much easier and the time needed would be significantly reduced.

Pope Tawadros: In praise of innovation and invention

Medicinal and aromatic herbs grow in sandy soil as well as on agricultural land, meaning desert  growers could invest in cultivating herbs, isolating their extract, and selling it at guaranteed profit, and at the same time using the residue as fodder for their livestock. Mr Gamal made a comparison between planting a feddan of agricultural land with sugar cane, as typical in Upper Egypt, and planting it with jasmine. In the first case, he said, the revenue would amount to an average EGP8,000 whereas in the second, it would amount to EGP70,000. If, using Mr Gamal’s apparatus, the active compound in the jasmine is isolated as a paste that is later used to extract its essential oil, the feddan would yield 7kg of paste that could be sold on the International market for USD21,000, at today’s exchange rate some EGP350,000. A feddan of camomile could yield an extract worth some EGP50,000, and a feddan of marjoram EGP150,000. Herbs grow well in desert land, Mr Gamal said, and Egypt has an ambitious plan to plant 1.5 million feddans in the desert. “Why battle the desert by cultivating traditional crops that may give poor yield, when we could collaborate with it by growing herbs and extracting their active components at a lucrative profit?” he said.

Mr Gamal listed numerous gold and silver prizes he had won for his invention in international and local competitions.

 

Artificial intelligence

The third innovator was Ihab Adel, a post-graduate student of computer electronics at Ain Shams University, who said his innovation involved two projects. The first was a fire control system that uses artificial intelligence to detect a fire in a building, using a network of cameras and sensors. As soon as a fire is detected, the system gives orders to specially equipped drones to fight the fire and release a gaseous material that surrounds it and limits it in one location so it does not spread. It also sends an alarm signal to the nearest fire station, using GPS.

Pope Tawadros: In praise of innovation and invention

If the fire was caused by individuals in the building, Mr Adel said, the security system orders drones equipped with an anaesthetic spray to move. The spray acts in a few seconds to render the culprits unconscious, and signals the police to catch them. Pope Tawadros asked whether these systems worked in closed or open spaces, and Mr Adel replied that they work only in closed spaces, “but we are working on developing them to operate in open places. He said the fire fighting system had won him an honour by President Sisi, as well as international and local awards in innovation fairs.

 

Fighting back pain

It was then the turn of Michael Sobhy to come up and talk of his innovation. Mr Sobhy introduced himself as a physician and researcher at Misr International University (MIU).

Pope Tawadros: In praise of innovation and invention

Mr Sobhy said his innovation aimed at preventing back pain and trouble that comes of carrying heavy loads, especially school backpacks for children and students in general. He invented a small-size ‘shelf’ carrier to be attached at the lower back through a belt tied at the waist. The backpack would be slipped across the back and made to rest on the carrier shelf which would then practically carry the load of the pack, supported by the muscles in the waist, which are much more sturdy than the shoulder muscles. The back  and shoulders would thus be relieved of the burden. Mr Sobhy said his innovation, which won international and local awards, has already gone into production in small quantities, but is selling well on the market.

Pope Tawadros: In praise of innovation and invention

 

Miracle fertiliser

Next came Bishoy Kamal, an Agriculture student who made up a plant-based organic fertiliser which he named Kimetal. Kemet is ancient Egyptian for “Egypt”. Mr Kamal’s fertiliser helps rid the soil of excessive salinity, and accordingly increases and enhances crop yield and quality. It also helps, Mr Kamal said, to coagulate the particles in sandy soil, raising thus its ability to retain water and nutrients. The fertiliser, according to Mr Kamal, has been used with several crops including corn, potatoes, and beetroot; in all cases, he said, it yielded fantastic results. It has been endorsed by a number of international and local agriculture institutes and organisations, and has been listed with the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture.

Pope Tawadros: In praise of innovation and invention

“What made you pick that field of research?” Pope Tawadros asked Mr Kamal. “I come from a family of farmers in the village of Deir Abu-Hinnis in Minya [some 250km south of Cairo],” Mr Kamal said. “I always had a passion for plants. I started innovating in that field since I was in my 8th and 9th years in school. My parents encouraged and supported my work so that now, in my second year in university, I continue innovating in that field. We are already producing the fertiliser, but on a small scale.” In reply to a question by the Pope, Mr Kamal said his fertiliser was sold in packages of 400 litres. Three such packages, he said, would be sufficient to fertilise one feddan of land by adding water and spraying the field. This means that a feddan may be fertilised for one season at the cost of EGP700 compared to EGP35,000 in case of using an ordinary organic fertiliser.

A beaming Pope gave Mr Kamal a word of encouragement and admiration.

 

Flying motorcycle

It was then Mina Saad’s turn. He introduced himself as coming from Fayoum [some 100km Southwest Cairo] but, following a few attempts to talk through the microphone, got stage fright and asked the Pope if his friend Michael Sobhy would do the presentation on his behalf. The Pope affectionately agreed, after giving Mr Saad a kind “Of course, my dear boy”.

Pope Tawadros: In praise of innovation and invention

Mr Sobhy presented Mr Saad’s invention of a four-wheel motorcycle designed so that it could turn into a flying quadcopter by spreading the wheels horizontally to act as fans. The invention could be used in tourism, flying ambulances, navigating mountainous or rocky terrain, and to relieve traffic during rush hours or on bumpy roads, also by the military and police. The design, Mr Sobhy explained, has been applauded at numerous international innovation events, but awaits a sponsor to go into production.

Pope Tawadros then spoke with Mr Saad, gently drawing him to talk about his study of electronics, how he envisions that his design would see light, and what type and volume of sponsorship that would require. The pope concluded by asking the congregation to join him in a big round of applause for the young designer.

Lighting poles and grey water

Last but not least, Nessim Zakariya talked about his innovation. Mr Zakariya graduated with a degree in media, but works in the field of decoration and architecture, since this had always been his passion. He developed lighting poles in the form of decorative, pleasantly coloured date palms, powered by solar energy and equipped with WiFi for the public to access the Internet and to charge their cellphones. The poles would also carry advertisements, meaning they would generate revenue.

Pope Tawadros: In praise of innovation and invention

Mr Zakariya also developed another idea that would work to save water, a dire need as Egypt increasingly faces water poverty.

The idea is to exploit grey water, the runoff from household sinks, showers, wash machines or suchlike, by setting up a separate waste collection system for it. Grey water contains fewer pathogens than domestic wastewater, is generally safer to handle and easier to treat and reuse onsite for toilet flushing, landscape or crop irrigation, and other non-potable uses.

 

The seed that slowly grows

Once all the innovations had been presented, it was time of honour the young innovators. Pope Tawadros presented them with gifts, and had a group photograph with them, in addition to photos with each together with his or her family and friends.

“Ideas start as seeds that grow slowly until they bear fruit,” the Pope said. “We encourage and support our sons and daughters who have ideas or projects that promise to change our future for the better. This would benefit not only our beloved country, but the entire world, the whole of humanity.”

Pope Tawadros: In praise of innovation and invention

 

Watani International

25 September 2019

Comments

comments

Tags: Abanoub GamalBishoy KamalIhab AdelMerna Hosny FakhriMichael SobhyMina SaadNessim ZakariyaOlivia AdelPope TawadrosPope Tawadros honours innovators

Related Posts

Funeral for 41 church fire victims, condolences flow in, army to rebuild church
Accidents

Funeral for 41 church fire victims, condolences flow in, army to rebuild church

August 14, 2022
Fire at Imbaba church during Mass claims 41 lives, injures 14
Accidents

Fire at Imbaba church during Mass claims 41 lives, injures 14

August 14, 2022
Egypt Parliament agrees to Cabinet reshuffle of 13 ministerial portfolios
main

Egypt Parliament agrees to Cabinet reshuffle of 13 ministerial portfolios

August 13, 2022
MoU between Coptic Church and Namibian Prison Service
Coptic Affairs

MoU between Coptic Church and Namibian Prison Service

August 8, 2022
Mountain of the Birds: New site opened on Trail of Holy Family in Egypt
Coptic Affairs

Mountain of the Birds: New site opened on Trail of Holy Family in Egypt

August 8, 2022
Misraga and mishkah: lighting the dark
Culture

Misraga and mishkah: lighting the dark

August 4, 2022

Editorial

National Dialogue and political parties

More

MOST READ

For 28 years in Port Said: Holy Virgin icon still drips miraculous oil
Coptic Affairs

For 28 years in Port Said: Holy Virgin icon still drips miraculous oil

February 26, 2018
0

This February 2018 marks the 28th year in succession since miraculous oil started dripping from a large modern paper icon...

Read more
Fire at Imbaba church during Mass claims 41 lives, injures 14

Fire at Imbaba church during Mass claims 41 lives, injures 14

August 14, 2022
Funeral for 41 church fire victims, condolences flow in, army to rebuild church

Funeral for 41 church fire victims, condolences flow in, army to rebuild church

August 14, 2022
Egypt Parliament agrees to Cabinet reshuffle of 13 ministerial portfolios

Egypt Parliament agrees to Cabinet reshuffle of 13 ministerial portfolios

August 13, 2022
Youssef Sidhom

National Dialogue and political parties

August 12, 2022

Features

ID cards for underprivileged women
E Choise

ID cards for underprivileged women

August 8, 2022
0

An initiative has been launched in the northern Delta town of Kafr al-Sheikh, some 143km north of Cairo, to facilitate...

Read more
Watani started as an Egyptian weekly Sunday newspaper published in Cairo. The word Watani is Arabic for “My Homeland”. The paper was founded in 1958 by the prominent Copt Antoun Sidhom (1915 – 1995), who strove for the establishment of a civil, democratic society in Egypt, where all Egyptians would enjoy full citizenship rights regardless of their religious denomination. To this day when Watani is published as a weekly paper and an online news site, the objective remains the same. Those in charge of Watani view this role as a patriotic all-Egyptian vocation. Special attention is given to shedding light on Coptic culture and tradition as authentically Egyptian, this being a topic largely disregarded or little-understood by Egypt’s media. Watani is deeply dedicated to offer its readers high quality, extensive, objective, credible and well-researched media coverage, with special focus on Coptic issues, culture, heritage, and contribution to Egyptian society.
-----------------------------------------------------------

27 Abdel Khalek Tharwat st, Downtown, Abdeen,Cairo

00202-23927201

00202-23935946

 [email protected]

      

categories

  • News
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Culture
  • Egypt – Arab Spring
  • Coptic Affairs
  • Features
  • Watani Special Features

Recent Posts

  • Funeral for 41 church fire victims, condolences flow in, army to rebuild church
  • Fire at Imbaba church during Mass claims 41 lives, injures 14
  • Egypt Parliament agrees to Cabinet reshuffle of 13 ministerial portfolios
  • National Dialogue and political parties
  • MoU between Coptic Church and Namibian Prison Service
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Culture
  • Egypt – Arab Spring
  • Coptic Affairs
  • Features
  • Watani Special Features

Powered BY 3A Digital.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Accidents
    • Crime
    • Diplomatic briefcase
    • NewsLine
    • Outside Cairo
    • Special Occasions
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • International media
    • Reader`s Corner
    • Opinion
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • International Politics
    • Islamisation Politics
    • National Affairs
    • Parliament
    • Politics
    • Protests
    • Rights
    • Terrorism
  • Culture
    • Antiquity
    • Art
    • Books
    • Culture
    • Drama
    • Egyptology
    • Festivals
    • Films
    • Heritage
    • Islamisation Culture
    • Media
    • Museums
    • Music
    • TV
  • Coptic
    • Church Affairs
    • Coptic Affairs
    • Coptic Culture
    • Copts in the Media
    • Coptology
    • Copts Abroad
    • Religious
      • P. Shenouda: Bible Study
    • Sectarian
    • Inter-religious
    • Holy Family
  • Features
    • Counselling Corner
    • features
    • Economy
      • Business
    • Education
    • Social Issues
      • Behaviour
      • Mothers Day
    • Health
    • Environment
    • Humour
    • In memorial
    • Interviews
    • Nile
    • Profile
    • Special needs
    • Sports
    • Technology
    • Tourism
    • Wars
    • Women
    • Youth
  • Watani Special Features
    • Egypt – Arab Spring
      • 25 January Revolution
      • 25 Jan revolution, one year on
      • Egypt post-30 June
    • Watani Milestones
      • 20 years Watani International
      • 10 years Watani International
      • Watani Jubilee
    • Pope Shenouda
    • Pope Tawadros
    • Watani Forum

Powered BY 3A Digital.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Posting....