By Ambassador Alaa Youssef
The launch of “Egypt 2026 Forum, entitled “A Glimpse at Today, A Vision for Tomorrow”, embodies Egypt’s commitment to fostering societal dialogue. It aims at listening to the opinions and concerns of the public, while fostering interaction among citizens, specialists, and policy-makers on vital questions and top national priorities in the coming years. This approach demonstrates the essential role that public awareness plays in creating an efficient state capable of conceiving present issues and envisaging the future, which embodies President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s vision for modernising Egypt, and anchors national awareness as a fundamental pillar of national security and an essential element in safeguarding the country and preserving its assets.
In this context, the State Information Service (SIS) assumes a major role in the state’s strategy, by sensitising the public in general and youth in particular on various national questions and the challenges facing our country, including misinformation and disinformation. This role is implemented by means of the SIS domestic information centres which are spread in all Egypt’s governorates, and which organise events and activities across villages and remote areas to address pivotal issues such as national projects and their developmental dividends, population and health, energy conservation, education, environmental sustainability, digital transformation, and countering rumors. The objective is to ensure that information reaches all segments of society, thereby providing citizens with a deeper understanding of the facts governing their daily lives.
Of the principal target groups of SIS are youth, being influential actors in raising public awareness, and envisioning the future. In this vein, I have recently had the opportunity to interact directly with Egyptian youth, university students and representatives of different youth-led organisations. The exchanges were focused mainly on diverse issues on national agenda, including difficulties of raising public awareness, while elaborating on SIS’s role and mandate, both nationally and internationally. In the same context, I participated in the “Heroes of the Story 2026” event, organised by the “Tahya Misr” (Long Live Egypt) Youth Union, which brought together over four hundred young men and women from various governorates, with a view to underscoring and promoting the importance of supporting youth-led societal and philanthropic initiatives, thereby enabling them to translate their innovative ideas into practical initiatives with a lasting and positive impact.
Another essential component of The State Information Service’s mandate is its role on the international arena. This mainly consists in showcasing Egypt, projecting facts and information about the state and defending its legitimate causes amongst the international community.
To that end, the SIS adopts a proactive approach that includes providing official information, and ensuring that facts are accessible in a timely manner on various topical issues, via press conferences, field visits and regular briefings that bring together government ministers and international media representatives operating in Egypt. An important initiative in this context was the field visit organised by the SIS for international media representatives to the “New Delta” project, which offered them firsthand information on one of the country’s major national development projects. This initiative reflected our commitment to providing international media with direct exposure to national undertakings and developmental efforts, fostering narratives grounded in empirical facts and accurate data to deepen international understanding of Egypt’s ongoing transformation.
Furthermore, the SIS issues specialised publications, covering national, regional and international issues. Through their profound analyses, these publications deepen the readers’ knowledge of different regional and international contexts, their multi-faceted interactions, and their diverse repercussions on Egypt. Similarly, SIS website and digital platforms provide informative and analytical content about Egypt in multiple languages – currently nine including three African languages – thus broadening its reach to various audience groups.
Raising public awareness is by no means a simple process. It is rather a transformative in nature, in the sense that it endeavors to ultimately promote responsible engagement for the sake of public good. With this in mind, the State Information Service continues to fulfill its mission: engaging with the wider public – particularly the youth – offering reliable information, while leveraging modern communication tools to reach all strata of the society.
As citizens widen the scope of their knowledge, and deepen the awareness of present challenges and opportunities, they become well poised to enhance their impactful participation in preserving their nation and shaping its future. Raising public awareness remains a collective national responsibility, requiring the concerted efforts of state institutions and the society at large. This collaboration builds trust, promotes dialogue, and consolidates our collective ability to confront challenges.
The SIS holds this as its core mission; namely to inculcate into Egyptians awareness of the present with all its intricacies, and capacitate our future generations to overcome challenges and live up to the aspirations of their people.
Ambassador Alaa Youssef
Board Chairman of the State Information Service
