Under the patronage of the Minister of Social Solidarity, Cairo hosts the Regional Conference on Alternative Care to strengthen the role of sustainable development in protecting and empowering children and young people without parental care

Under the patronage of Her Excellency Dr. Maya Morsy, Minister of Social Solidarity, and His Excellency Dr. Ashraf Sobhy, Minister of Youth and Sports, Sanad Association for Alternative Parental Care is organizing the Regional Conference on Alternative Care, titled “The Role of the Sustainable Development Goals in Protecting and Empowering Children and Young People Without Parental Care”, on 29 and 30 January 2025. Drosos Foundation is the main partner of the conference; Kemet, UNICEF and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation are bronze partners; La Maison Treize sponsors the PhotoVoice exhibition; and the Regional Network for Social Responsibility is the regional partner.

The conference comes at a time when Arab countries are seeking to improve the quality of care and services provided to children and young people without parental care. The organizers aim to strengthen the role of social responsibility and to develop the system of care and protection for children and young people in residential institutions and in the fostering system (kafala within families) in the Arab world.

The conference discusses four main themes. The first covers social protection for children and young people in alternative care and aftercare; the second focuses on the social and economic empowerment of care leavers; the third addresses sustaining the quality of alternative care through innovative partnerships; and the fourth discusses how to build strong, modern institutions in the field of alternative care.

Ayman Abdel Mawgoud, Permanent Undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Solidarity for Civil Society Institutions, stressed that the Ministry attaches importance to the file of alternative parental care and works in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and human rights principles, the National Human Rights Strategy, and the Sustainable Development Strategy 2030. He explained that during Egypt’s Universal Periodic Review before the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Ministry highlighted Egypt’s role in the orphans file and the transition from care homes to alternative families.

For her part, Azza Abdel Hamid, Founder and Chairperson of Sanad, said: “The importance of holding this conference stems from the growing number of children without parental care in the Arab world and globally. More than 220 million children, one in every ten children in the world, live without parental care or are at risk of losing it and entering the alternative care system. Hence the importance of governments, civil society organizations and the private sector joining forces to provide a supportive environment that strengthens the social and economic empowerment of these children and young people and their integration into society.”

She continued: “Despite the link between the Sustainable Development Goals and the cause of children and young people without parental care, there are many challenges that prevent integrating this cause into the Sustainable Development Goals.”

She stressed the need to link the cause of people without parental care directly to the sustainable development indicators in order to attract attention and funding, pointing to the need to create incentives for the private sector and encourage it to support social responsibility programs.

Since its establishment, Sanad has sought to provide innovative solutions to strengthen the alternative care system in Egypt and ensure a better future for children and young people without parental care, and to empower these young care leavers socially and economically. It has also achieved a tangible impact on a wide scale.

Yasmin El-Hagary, Executive Director of Sanad, explained that the conference is a good opportunity to unite efforts and exchange experience among governments, civil society organizations and the private sector in support of children and young people without parental care.

She added that strengthening regional cooperation in alternative care for these children aims to develop sustainable solutions that ensure their healthy and social growth, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.

For his part, Dr. Ali Abdullah Al Ibrahim, Managing Director of the Regional Network for Social Responsibility, said that there are many challenges that prevent the economic and social empowerment of our children without parental care. They include the scarcity of social responsibility initiatives that focus on this important cause, and weak coordination between civil society organizations and the private sector to raise awareness of the importance of linking the cause of people without parental care to the sustainable development indicators.

He pointed out that the “Network” works to raise awareness of the social responsibility of companies and institutions, and aims to strengthen the social responsibility of companies, institutions, and the government, civil and private sectors.

He added that the Regional Network for Social Responsibility has had successes in helping companies and institutions make their practices, work and activities responsible and compliant with sustainable development standards. It also seeks to establish a professional observatory of effective social responsibility practices in the Arab region, and to publicize the responsible initiatives and practices of companies, institutions, the government and civil sectors, and civil society organizations.

About 250 people from various Arab countries (Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates) are taking part in the conference, representing stakeholders in sustainable development and in the field of alternative care. Participants seek to put forward practical proposals to achieve the desired results, to exchange experience, and to explore future partnerships to combine efforts. The conference also features active participation by young people without parental care, who present innovative solutions to develop alternative care and aftercare systems by sharing their experiences and inspiring success stories.

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