AHMED OSMAN

GIZA EGYPT

At the outset, I would like to thank you for making this amazing scholarship available to me. Honestly I consider it one of my most important real achievements ever.

I am thrilled to have the opportunity to share these thoughts about sustainability with you. From my point of view the effective application of sustainability will come through adopting several approaches as follows:

  • Raising individuals’ awareness about sustainability principles, and enhancing a sense of responsibility to undertake sustainable practices in daily life activities;
  • Boosting the mindset about sustainability pillars (social, human, environmental, economic) through spreading knowledge and increasing awareness.

On the other side, by reverting to data statistics about the global commitment to sustainability, you will find a substantial attention in the most prosperous regions that witness a real balance in standards of living such as Europe and America and some regions of Asia and Africa where the legislative structure prevents any deviation from the status quo. To be able to focus on issues of sustainability a society must be assured of certain basic quality of life values such as, for example, the following:

  • The meeting of basic human needs, such as for housing, clothing, and drink;
  • Substantial attention to the public health of citizens and the promotion of cultural and athletic activities,
  • Equal opportunities for education and knowledge;
  • Fair distribution of wealth;
  • A strong and compulsory legislative structure for the protection of human rights;
  • Responsible production of goods or services by all organizations;
  • Attention to clean energy sources toward reducing environmental pollutants;
  • Legislation governing the preservation of the environment and social life;
  • The organization of society under the principles of equal opportunity and social justice.

But there are many nations in Africa, Asia, and other regions of the developing world where there is a substantial lack of the practices enumerated above. The values underlying these practices must therefore be supported by global community associations such as the United Nations and others entities toward preserving human rights and the world’s natural resources, as well as to advance poor industrial regions and help developing societies achieve better lives for their people.

There is no doubt that such practices are lacking in many of these societies and need more assertion and support. I believe that the establishment of educational programs could contribute importantly toward endorsing these principles and enhancing the awareness of sustainability in such societies.

Hopefully the global society will take real steps toward supporting these kinds of scholarships for those regions, and will stand as a hub of knowledge to enhance the wellbeing of their citizens. With these goals in mind, sustainability educational programs should be offered in multiple languages and reach across more traditional boundaries. In fact, sustainable practices will not help the world if they are offered in isolation from irresponsible societies, whether these societies are already industrialized or still developing.

Awareness, knowledge, economic development, and real advancement for the people are prerequisites for attaining effective sustainability goals. Effective communication strategies to reach isolated regions and to bring their peoples into cultural, social, economic and environmental contact with others enabling the sharing of advanced scientific knowledge and of natural resources for all humans on earth.

Let’s imagine a very hygienic and responsible person who is living in a closed-border society, but has a neighbor who is a careless and reckless person who does not adhere to any legislation or regulations while discarding his waste in public and spoiling his neighborhood with all kinds of pollutants, wasting energy and natural resources. His neighbors cannot protect themselves from the consequences of his irresponsible actions. This situation parallels the current situation, in which the more developed but irresponsible parts of the world are consuming huge amounts of fossil fuels and spoiling the natural shared resources.

We all live on the one earth that we share; and we are all rich, poor, healthy, and diseased with our infinite human differences. It is not possible to be content with achieving sustainability in only one part of the world and to leave other parts of the world in chaos, with no regulation of their natural resources. We have only one atmosphere, one sun, the shared seas, oceans, and rivers. We have only one environmental heritage for all races and origins, and it is our shared responsibility to preserve it. \

It is not logical that the developed societies only care about themselves without regard to the other side of the world; it is not fair or logical that Europe sustains clean and developed societies free of pollutants while its factories with pollutant machinery and production lines are relocated to Africa and other developing regions of the world, overpowering their meager legislative structures while European countries seize the opportunity to achieve the largest revenues at the lowest cost in disrespect of the human beings living in these less developed countries and their natural resources. Silence on these issues is no longer acceptable, since the perception that these reckless steps will not harm the more developed societies is entirely wrong: the effects of this recklessness will inevitably extend to all human beings, disregarding their differences or borders. The climate change that we are already witnessing globally, and its severe impacts will affect everyone. We already see the melting of the icebergs due to 30 elevated temperatures. These changes will lead to major transformations in Europe, with life styles gravely affected.

Meanwhile, I believe that my obtaining this scholarship in the field of sustainability will give me a better chance to boost my awareness, and to polish my skills. I will subsequently transfer the knowledge to my community, especially while hosting the World Climate Conference at its 27th forum to be held in Egypt. I am counting on this conference to usher in a new era in which broader steps can be taken toward turning Egypt into a sustainable region. I also see this sustainability scholarship as a chance for me to apply my new awareness to all areas of my profession in FM services: I am in charge of this area at my workplace and I hope that any enhanced sustainability practices in Egypt will soon be followed by similar steps taken in Africa and surrounding societies.

Finally, wishing all the best to my Eric Teicholz colleagues and IFMA for their appreciable contribution toward achieving a sustainable world.