Global Green Chemistry Initiative: Awareness Raising Workshop in Cairo, Egypt Fosters Multi-Faceted
Cairo, Egypt, May 3, 2018 - The Egypt National Cleaner Production Center hosted a one-day Awareness Raising Workshop on Green Chemistry in Cairo, Egypt. The event is part of the Yale-UNIDO Global Green Chemistry Initiative to increase the general global awareness and capacities on deployable Green Chemistry. The initiative is funded by Global Environment Facility (GEF). The workshop was the sixth in a series of global workshops and was uniquely customized to introduce Green Chemistry to stakeholders who are interested in the design of products and processes that advance global sustainability.
The event was well-attended, with representatives from academia, non-profit organizations, industry, and government. The workshop was opened with a welcome from the director of the Egypt National Cleaner Production Center, Ali Abo Sena. This was followed with statements from a representative of the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry, from UNIDO representative Petra Schwager, and from Yale University representative Dr. Philip Coish. The workshop was led by Professor Philip Jessop of Queen’s University. The Awareness Raising Workshop consisted of four modules:
Introduction: Chemicals in the Society - In first module Dr. Jessop highlighted the importance of the chemical industry in everyday life and showed how its development is closely linked to the changes in the global society and economics.
Fundamentals of Green Chemistry - In the second module Dr. Jessop discussed the 12 Principles that define Green Chemistry as a field. The 12 Principles consist of guidelines for chemists to design chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the generation and use of hazardous substances.
Areas of Research in Green Chemistry - In the afternoon module, Dr. Jessop discussed the various areas of current research in the field of Green Chemistry and highlighted the advances in technologies related to chemical feedstock, catalysis, solvents, and waste.
Partner Content - The last module showcased the efforts of entrepreneurs from Egypt who are applying green chemistry to their new products as they move towards commercialization.
Following the main content of the workshop, Dr. Jessop, Dr. Coish, and Petra Schwager held a panel to answer questions and address comments from the attendees. The workshop was closed by Ali Abo Sena, who highlighted the importance and relevance of shifting traditional chemistry production into green chemistry, for which it is necessary to combine efforts among the academy, government, and non-government institutions, and by Dr. Philip Coish from the Yale Center for Green Chemistry & Green Engineering who highlighted the mission of the Yale-UNIDO Global Green Chemistry Initiative. This event will be followed by a 5-day workshop where the Yale team and a Green Chemistry expert will train Egyptian facilitators to further disseminate green chemistry.
