With increasing inequalities and urban issues across the globe, two promising change-makers decided to make a difference by promoting a sustainable innovative approach and eventually, rebuilding cities as sustainable urban places. Stemming from this ambitious approach, in 2019, Lobna Anous and Salma Osman established U for Urban Impact, Egypt’s first urban platform that impacts cities development through art, design, entrepreneurship, recycling, and traveling. This Friday, they’re organising their first on-ground festival at The Greek Campus, with activities such as the urban exhibition, all networking booths, the stage, the urban market, the urban cinema and more.
Now, U for Urban impact is launching its first cycle by organizing the first edition of “U meet: The Urban Week.” This global event includes virtual talks, workshops, city tours, an on-ground activation event, and so much more. Attendees can expand their networks and explore a week of activities that are both informative and entertaining. The Urban Week will consist of virtual sessions from the 2nd to the 5th of April, with discussions between experts in the field, workshops on the 7th of April with practical experimentation, and a city tour on the 9th of April to discover Downtown, and enjoy the on-ground festival at The Greek Campus.
Join this event to become part of the community of change makers and urban entrepreneurs. Grab your ticket from here for the first urban week in Egypt!
Based in Cairo, U for Urban Impact is a global urban platform empowering individuals to take responsibility in changing the way their cities are shaped, believing that this is the only way to make radical changes in todays’ global challenges. It calls for volunteers and urban entrepreneurs from different backgrounds by offering several ways of urban impact that suit everyone. These types fall under four main global goals set by U for Urban Impact: Rebuild, Recycle, Reconnect, Rebrand. Each of these goals is translated into topics of discussions, and choices offered to people for impacting cities.
And that’s not it! The platform also offers its services through a cycle that starts with an annual urban event called “U meet,” which aims to create a network of urban stakeholders to make effective decisions on potential projects that can be implemented within its cycle. This event gives people the opportunity to experiment with different ways to impact cities before participating in real projects. Following that, the second step of the cycle, “U compete” creates competitions for urban entrepreneurs to find innovative solutions for the selected projects from “U meet.” The winner then gets the chance to travel and implement the project on the ground. To complete the cycle, a chance is given to other urban volunteers to travel and be part of the projects through “U travel” which is the ultimate goal finally.
According to Anous and Osman, “Cities are shaped by the small choices you make every day. We believe in the power of the individual to change the built environment. That’s why our story is yours. It starts with U!”