GENEINA Meet and Play in Masaken Othman Cairo

Description

Meet and Play Area’ is a participatory urban development project which was initiated and funded by UNHCR’s Community Support Projects and implemented by ‘Takween Integrated Community Development’. “Takween Integrated Community Development” have established a “Meet and Play Area” in the area of Al Awla Bil Ria’ya (popularly known as Masaken Othman) which was planned, designed and built in full participation with the area residents. The project aims to provide the residents of a needy and marginalized area with access to a shared recreational, safe space, on a public land allocated for public use by the City Administration of 6 October. The design of the garden has been developed through consultation sessions with children and with local community members (Syrians, Sudanese and Egyptians). These processes have created a sense of ownership among participants and area residents. The project has managed through its processes to build partnerships with many actors. Public entities have played an important role in supporting it as the City Administration of 6th October and the New Urban Communities Authority in the Ministry of Housing in Egypt have provided the land for its establishment and facilitated its activities. Masaken Othman is a housing project which hosts vulnerable Syrian and Sudanese refugees and host Egyptian community. The area is marginalized, remote and many of its residents maintain feelings of temporariness and uncertainty. Facilitating the construction of a ‘Meet and Play Area’, responds to one of the important needs identified by UNHCR in providing access to safe open spaces; creating channels of interaction between area residents and, promoting social cohesion to bring about a better image of this area by supporting a group of developmental activities. During the course of implementation, two workshops were held to support and complement the construction model. During the first workshop “Genina in Action: Tires Upcycling workshop”, children and young professionals learned Do It Yourself (DIY) techniques for constructing outdoor playing elements using tires. The second workshop “Genina in Action: Low-Tech construction workshop” aimed to promote alternative and sustainable techniques for construction among professionals and local communities through the use of low-tech and durable materials. The workshops were funded by the German Embassy.

Metadata

Published to Youtube on: 02/03/2015

Archived on: 08/10/2025

Original URL (may no longer be available): https://youtube.com/watch?v=C72i_zbC8Jk