Egyptian Embassy: AUYVC Programme and Nasser Youth Fellowship

On Tuesday, 1 December 2020, Dr Alya’a Samir Borhan, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Mauritius, welcomed Mr Chelvin Ramsamy, Special Assistant Advisor (Regional Integration) for the African Union, at the Egyptian Embassy in Ebene, Mauritius.

Participation in AUYVC

Mr Chelvin Ramsamy elaborated on his recent participation at the African Youth Volunteer Corps (AUYVC) Programme in Egypt. Indeed, in December 2019, with Egypt’s presidency of the African Union, the African Youth Bureau of the Egyptian Ministry of Youth & Sports hosted the largest volunteer programme with the African Union Commission under the auspices of the Egyptian President, His Excellency Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. Mr Chelvin Ramsamy commended the Egyptian people for their hospitality and warm welcome during his 2-weeks stay.

Mr Hassan Ali Ghazaly

Mr Chelvin Ramsamy spoke to Dr Alya’a Samir Borhan about Mr Hassan Ali Ghazaly, Founder and General Coordinator of the African Youth Bureau, as a youth influencer and promoter across Africa. Mr Ghazaly was notably awarded African Young Person of the Year 2019, surpassing the likes of Ms Aya Chebbi, the African Union Youth Envoy. Mr Chelvin Ramsamy praised Mr Hassan Ali Ghazaly for his work during the AUYVC programme and dedication to promoting the cooperation and enhancing the ties between Northern-Southern Africa. Bearing the slogan “Egypt is My Village, Africa is My Country”, Mr Chelvin Ramsamy delivered his conviction that Mr Hassan Ali Ghazaly is a role model for all African youths.

First Batch: Nasser Youth Fellowship

A major focus of Mr Chelvin Ramsamy’s visit to the Embassy was on the Nasser Youth Fellowship.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports, through the African Youth Bureau and Central Administration of the Parliament and Civic Education, hosted the first batch of the Gamal Abdel Nasser Youth Fellowship in June 2019. 

Mr Chelvin Ramsamy expressed his views to Dr Alya’a Samir Borhan that the Fellowship today represents an essential mechanism for empowering African Transformation adopted by the AU’s Agenda 2063 and implementing the “1 Million by 2021” initiative, with the objective of training one million young Africans by 2021, launched by the AU Commission on Science, Technology and Human Resources. Indeed, the Fellowship aims at popularising the authentic Egyptian experience in national institution-building and to create a new generation of young African transformational leaders through integration, training and capacity building. 

Unfortunately, Mr Chelvin Ramsamy expressed his disappointment that no citizens from Mauritius participated in this first edition of the Fellowship; only a meagre 0.4% of all applications received were from Mauritius. The programme was not properly promoted locally according to Mr Chelvin Ramsamy who admitted he was himself unaware when the application process was opened.

Second Batch: Nasser Youth Fellowship 

Following his discussion with Mr Hassan Ali Ghazaly, Mr Chelvin Ramsamy shared to Dr Alya’a Samir Borhan that the second batch of the Nasser Youth Fellowship is expected to take place in 2021, depending on Covid-19 evolution. They are now targeting around 5-6 participants from Mauritius to participate in the second edition, depending on the total number of selected participants across Africa. 

Mr Hassan Ali Ghazaly and Mr Chelvin Ramsamy have agreed that the latter shall be acting as Coordinator for the Fellowship for Mauritius and promoting the programme with the criteria for selection across Mauritius especially all universities and social media platforms. In fact, Mr Chelvin Ramsamy happily shared that a Whatsapp group has already been created to promote the Fellowship locally.

Mr Chelvin Ramsamy added that the Fellowship is Fully-Funded and the Ministry of Youth and Sports in Egypt has held a meeting with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in Egypt on 25 November 2020 to facilitate joint framework cooperation for the second batch of the Nasser Youth Fellowship​.

Following Dr Alya’a Samir Borhan’s question, Mr Chelvin Ramsamy responded that selection shall be done by the Ministry of Youth and Sports in Egypt and results communicated directly to the participants. Mr Chelvin Ramsamy shared that the assistance of the Embassy Republic of Egypt in Mauritius shall be needed with visa and ensuring coordination between Mauritius and Egypt after selection.

Dr Alya’a Samir Borhan gladly shared that as guests for Egypt, the participants shall be waived of visa fees. Moreover, according to Her Excellency, the Mauritian people can always rely on the assistance of the Egyptian people.

Mr Chelvin Ramsamy thanked the Embassy for their kind collaboration and shall communicate further updates on the Fellowship.