SEKEM celebrated its 42nd anniversary and the school’s 30th anniversary under the theme of “Unfolding Individual Potential” by inviting all its community members, partners and friends.
Every year, the annual festival revolves around one goal of the SEKEM Vision for 2057. This year’s focus was around unfolding individual potential, which had been the main mission of SEKEM’s founder Ibrahim Abouleish who summarized it like that: “Sustainable development towards a future where every human being can unfold his or her individual potential.”
Within SEKEM Initiative, success isn’t measured by financial profit only, but by the holistic development of the individuals and the community, while respecting the environment and laying grounds for future generations. This is manifested in the numerous success stories of SEKEM’s employees and community members as well as its environmental initiatives and projects.
From the youngest worker to the highest management, all of SEKEM’s community members are encouraged and motivated to explore, develop and express their skills and talents. At this year’s festival, the various performances showcased the unity that could be developed within our differences. The SEKEM School choir collaborated for instance with an Austrian choir performing different languages, representing different cultures. Co-workers of SEKEM’s most successful company iSiS Organic presented a play that brought together the Ancient Egyptian culture and mythology with today’s values, and the school students of all ages and grades put on an athletic performance showcasing the ability of the individual and the team to challenge their fears and limitations.
At the beginning of the festival, Helmy Abouleish, SEKEM’s CEO took a moment to honor those who are no longer with us; from the smallest worker to his father, SEKEM’s founder. He also invited to the stage all those who are part of SEKEM in their seventh year now, thanking them for their loyalty and contribution. At last he gave thanks to the farmers, who are the backbone of the initiative and the Egyptian civilization, as well as to the partners and friends from all over the world, bringing to SEKEM the diversity of knowledge and culture and finally to his mother Gudrun Abouleish, who believed in her husbands vision and came to the desert land of Egypt to help Ibrahim Abouleish building up SEKEM community.
As each festival ends with a present to the audience, this year children and students have prepared colorful origami birds, which they hung on the trees for the guests to take home and to remind them to unfold their individual potential.
Nadine Greiss
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