AUC launches summer youth program
The American University in Cairo launched its first summer youth program on its New Cairo Campus. The program, Discover and Explore, is designed for youth from 11 to 15 years old and allows young learners to explore their interests through a variety of hands-on educational, recreational and cultural activities. The activities are designed to equip the students with competencies and skills that help them in both their academic and social lives. The students also benefit from the university’s new campus facilities, which include smart classrooms, the sports complex and the art, music and theater studios.
According to Noha Khafagi, senior instructor of English at AUC and program manager of the Discover and Explore program, it is unique from other programs for youth in that it gives young learners the freedom to express themselves. “It is an experiential program that doesn’t depend on lectures. Most of the activities are hands on and are done by the students themselves. We empower them to discover everything - their interests, passions and abilities, even in arts and dancing,” Khafagi said.
The three week program includes a variety of activities ranging from sports, music, dancing, painting, crafts, and theater, in addition to activities that enhance personal values, thinking skills, social skills, leadership skills and environmental awareness. “Every hour there is something different - something that delivers astonishing facts in different areas,” explained Khafagi.
“Through the Young Entrepreneur class, for instance, students are introduced to the secrets of starting a business and the way to market it. The session on seven habits of highly effective teens teaches them how to write their mission statement of life; the debates sessions show them the strategies to discuss the pros and cons of a certain issue such as using cell phones in classrooms, and the critical reading activities enable them to read between the lines and then connect things to life. They are taught how to go beyond the text and think outside the box,” added Khafagi.
Khafagi pointed out that two exciting features of the program are the lectures and the volunteer work. Through the live lectures, students have the chance to interact with a guest speaker, who is well known in a particular profession. “During the first week we invited Amr Hussein, a singer, composer and song writer who exposed the students to segments of songs of Michael Jackson and Mariah Carey and analyzed their voices showing them the points of strength in each. In the second week we had Yomna Sorour, an AUC professor of fashion design who gave a presentation on the development of clothes and fashion since World War I. The third lecture was dedicated to fragrances and an expert discussed the origins of perfumes and discussed what suits girls and what suits boys.”
In addition to the lectures, the program also introduces the concept of community service to youth by dedicating one hour each week for volunteer work at AUC’s daycare center where older students help young children, ages 2 years to 4 years, with coloring, reading and playing. “This is the beginning of exploring volunteer work for such young students. We teach youth that charity is not only by giving money but it is also by offering help,” Khafagi said.
The new youth summer program in the New Cairo Campus is one of several activities offered by the university’s School of Continuing Education to serve the community. Through the school’s Youth and Special Studies Division, it operates two other junior summer programs, one on the Tahrir Square Campus and the other in Heliopolis. AUC established the summer programs nearly 25 years ago to provide Egyptian children with educational, cultural and recreational activities during the summer holiday.
The American University in Cairo (AUC) was founded 90 years ago and is a major contributor to the social, political and cultural life of the Arab Region. It is a vital bridge between the East and West, linking Egypt and the region to the world through scholarly research, partnerships with academic and research institutions, and study abroad programs. An independent, nonprofit, apolitical, non-sectarian and equal opportunity institution, AUC is fully accredited in Egypt and the United States.
