“The diversity that you represent can really bring the answers to major global contemporary issues,” Dr Carsten-Michael Walbiner, Director of the DAAD Regional Office Cairo, stated in his welcoming speech opening the Summer School.

Guided by these words, participants immersed themselves in the programme in a spirit of cooperation, openness, and curiosity. Starting from the first general lecture on “Stereotypes and Cross-Cultural Communication” by Prof. Dr Carola Richter (Professor at the Institute for Media and Communication Studies, FU-Berlin, and the German expert for the COSIMENA Summer School 2023) and Prof. Dr Inas Abou Youssef (ACU) and throughout all successive activities, including a tour of ACU, participants could start connecting with each other at deep levels. “The group just clicked from the very beginning: we did not only naturally cooperate but also cared for each other,”  Ms Tracy Baaklini, a participant from Lebanon, stated, expressing her enthusiasm for sharing this experience with such a diverse as much as a united group. Thanks to this special synergy, the programme could quickly advance to the next phase, involving the division of participants into five working groups, which would elaborate different media and communication products on the topic on the agenda in the course of the week. In one room, under the guidance of the trainer Dr Ahmed Taha, the group in charge of creating a short documentary started brainstorming ideas on a storyline presenting a vision of Egypt from the perspective of a member of the group, who is a Sudanese refugee in Egypt. Simultaneously, the Data Visualization group started learning how to use the fundamental tools to create engaging data visualization products under the mentorship of the trainer, Dr Asmaa Kandil. Another group focusing on visual storytelling set their creativity free, exchanging intense reflections on the chosen theme for their final video with the support of trainer Mr Abdelmonem Ali. Similarly, the podcast group lost no time, with the trainer Assoc. Prof. Amany Reda coordinating the work to produce five different episodes tackling the topic of cross-cultural communication from each member’s specific perspective. In the meantime, the animation group led by Dr Mostafa Elbana got absorbed into an introductory session to the techniques to create engaging animation products. Hence, this welcoming day, involving an introduction to the topic and the division into working groups, laid the basis for a fruitful, engaging, and stimulating eight-day programme, which would fill participants with knowledge, experiences, and connections.

“I have had several defining moments during the week, particularly in the day discussing migration: I could then gain a totally different perspective on the topic from how it is presented in Europe,” Mr. Anwar Haneefa, a participant from India residing in Germany, stated at the end of the programme.

As academic exchange stands at the core of DAAD’s mission and of both partner universities’ exchange programmes, insightful lectures discussing specific aspects of cross-cultural communication were organised. Namely, the rich series of lectures, including “Understanding Cultural Differences in Visual and Entertainment Media” by Ms Sarah el-Maghrabi, “Coverage of Religions” by Ms Fatma Elzahraa Mohammad, “Cross-Cultural Communication and Media Systems” by Ms Sarah El Richani (AUC), allowed participants to examine in depth the selected topics of migration, religion, cosmopolitanism and cross-cultural communication in the media. Finally, the last lecture by Dr Tarek Sayed Tawfik (Cairo University) presented new visions on cultural heritage and museology, with insights on the accessibility of cultural heritage and cross-cultural communication in this specific field. Starting from a detailed presentation of the soon-to-be-opened Grand Egyptian Museum, Dr Tawfik shed the light on the relevance of cross-cultural communication in museology, explaining the decision of not exposing the mummies entirely naked as an example of the need to take into consideration the socio-cultural and religious traditions of each specific context.  Lectures were integrated with engaging panel discussions, such as “Cultural Stereotypes, Migration and Prejudice” with representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). “I am very grateful for being finally able to participate in a Summer School and, above all, for having the chance to share knowledge on the topic of forced migration, which I both live and work on,” Mr Wasim Dia, a Syrian participant living in Egypt as a refugee, explained. Together with his colleague Mr. Khalid Mohammed, from Sudan, Mr. Dia highlighted the numerous difficulties that refugees face in Egypt, especially in terms of mobility and employability. In this way, the general discussion of the topic of migration, integrated later in the day with the screening of the film at the Goethe-Institut “Alemanya: Welcome to Germany” by director Yasemin Şamdereli, included real-life stories, stimulating new reflections on a major global issue of our time, while provoking contrasting feelings. “I cried at the end of the day, as I was extremely touched by the story of the film and overwhelmed by the emotional intensity of the panel discussion,” a participant shared in a personal conversation during dinner. Therefore, the time dedicated to theoretical sessions offered much food for thought, introducing new insights, while generating powerful emotions related to crucial global contemporary issues that the new generation is and will inevitably be confronted with.

“When we went to the Religious Complex in Old Cairo, it was the first time for me to visit religious places that are not for Muslims. I could reflect on the beauty of the dialogue across religions, as religion should not be the reason to fight between people, but rather the force bringing them closer,” Ms Anwaar Basheer, a participant coming from Gaza active in the defence of human rights, affirmed during the tour.

Without a doubt, the decision to introduce various field visits in the programme considerably enriched the overall experience of participants, who could complement the theoretical knowledge acquired during academic activities with intriguing outdoor experiences. In addition to tours of main landmarks in Cairo and Alexandria, such as the Pyramids, Old Cairo, Khan el Khalili, the Religious Complex, the National Museum of Egyptian Civilizations (NMEC), al-Azhar Park, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the Citadel and the Alexandrian Opera House, the programme involved visits to specific places of interest connected to the underlying topic under discussion. Particularly, the tour to the Ahram Foundation thrilled participants, who had also the chance to meet journalists of the Al-Ahram newspaper, one of the most prominent and oldest Arabic newspaper in the Arab region. “Learning the history of such a prominent newspaper, while visiting different sections of the huge building of the Ahram-Foundation was exhilarating and a very special opportunity, which will not easily present itself again,” Ms Martina George, a participant from Egypt specialised in Egyptology and Coptology, interested in the divulgation of scientific knowledge through media, commented in a personal interview.

Evidently, each participant highly benefited from these field visits in different ways.  For the Egyptian participants, these tours gave them the chance to experience their own country from a fresh perspective, and also to discover new places. “I used to study in Alexandria, but I have never taken the time to visit Sayed Darwish Theatre,” Mr Elmetwally Ryad Abdelkhalek, a participant from Egypt interested in the study of the similarities across Mediterranean countries, affirmed. “I enjoyed so much being in Alexandria with this international group, reviving the hope for positive cross-cultural interaction, which once distinguished the general atmosphere of cosmopolitan Alexandria,” he added. For the two participants who live in Egypt as refugees, the field visits offered them the unique opportunity to enjoy the country. “Being able to go for an enjoyable trip to Alexandria, forgetting the many sources of pressure that I face in my busy everyday life reality here, was so special,” Mr Khalid Mohammed, a Sudanese refugee in Egypt, stated, expressing gratefulness for being part of the programme. For those participants from countries across the Arab region, it was an enlightening experience, arising reflections on the commonalities and differences across the Arab region. “I was expecting to find a very lively atmosphere in Cairo, as I am aware of its rich cultural, artistic and historic heritage since I was a child,” Mr Ahmad Alfaqih, a participant from Jordan working in the field of migration, commented during one of those numerous night conversations, where participants from different Arab countries would share their views of Egypt and learn about each other’s country.  Finally, for those participants coming from outside the Arab region, it was an overwhelming experience. “Being able to visit the Pyramids, carrying the history of about five thousand years, just blew my mind, together with all other exceptional visits filling me with knowledge in terms of culture, language, history, music and, arts among others,” Ms Alina Schlagwein, a participant from Germany, stated. “As a Muslim, it is very special to be in Cairo, where I want to visit Al-Azhar, the most prominent centre for Sunni Muslims all around the world,” Ms Azhar Ablayeva, another participant residing in Germany originally from Kazakhstan, expressed. In this way, the hot weather and the fatigue from the dense programme did not represent an obstacle for participants to fully enjoy the exceptional chance of attending the Summer School in Egypt, the country commonly referred to as “The Mother of the World”.

“It was a new experience to lead a group with different nationalities and such diverse backgrounds, but this turned out to be so enriching and deep; we could find a common ground to create a beautiful final communication product,” Dr Ahmed Taha (Ahram Canadian University), the trainer of the short documentary working group, stated in an interview at the end of the programme.

Manifestly, the activities in working groups represented the crucial part of the Summer School, when cross-cultural communication came into action. In this context, not only did participants reflect on the topic from a theoretical perspective, but they also lived the deeper meaning of this concept on a daily basis, particularly while working together. Thanks to the natural cooperation established among all participants, each working group generated creative ideas and produced high-quality final products, which left all attendees speechless when they were presented during the closing ceremony. The animation group created a gripping video expressing the diversity of the group gathering in Cairo, presenting the different countries’ symbolic monuments together with final greetings in different languages. Differently, the data visualization group showed the comparison between participants’ expectations before the programme and their actual experience in a gripping format. Furthermore, the visual storytelling group gathered insights on the concept of time in a fascinating video combining scenes from defining moments of the Summer School with the narrator’s voice sharing the flow of the group’s philosophical reflections on time. As for the podcast group, they were able to record five different episodes and a final summary with profound insights on the topics of acculturation, migration, stereotypes, tourism marketing rhetoric, cosmopolitanism, and privilege. Thus, the activities in working groups offered the opportunity for participants to engage in fruitful exchange, as well as allowing them to acquire new technical and soft skills, which will be useful for their future professional careers. “I have never liked to work in a group, but this time was different, and I can now understand the benefits of teamwork, which adds depth, value, and richness to the process and to the final result,” Ms Basheer shared.