The outbreak of the worldly spreading COVID-19 was not merely a health issue, as to the misfortune of millions around the globe; the virus was a shattering event for economies, public policies, international politics, and world trade. In addition, the pandemic’s complex consequences targeted individuals and vulnerable communities in unexpected ways, which require a better understanding through rigorous research and analysis.
Thus the British university in Egypt, the Center of Egypt and Middle East Studies headed by Ambassador Dr. Mahmoud Karem, Special Advisor for the University for Foreign Relations, together with The Egypt / Africa Center headed by Ambassador Aly El-Hefny, co organized a Webinar on Wednesday, September 16, 2020, entitled “post COVID -19 Era: aspects, global, challenges and multidisciplinary opportunities”, with the purpose to discuss the impacts of the pandemic on different sectors.
Prof Dr Ahmed Hamad, the president of the British university in Egypt inaugurated the Webinar and stressed upon the important of the topics that the Webinar dealt with , in particular in view of the wide participation of eminent politicians, diplomats , representatives of regional organizations , academicians and researchers , but also because the Webinar highlights a number of study cases relating to the EU, the NATO, France , India , and Africa , thus covering issues pertaining to the Three contents , Europe, Asia and Africa. The BUE president indicated that E-learning practices were adopted at the university long before the Covid 19 outbreak, a matter that made the BUE a leading university, among Egyptian universities, in coping with Covid 19 challenges in the field of higher education.
The following have participated at the Webinar:
Sir Paul Grice, Principal of Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh whose topic was” The Changing Face of Universities in a Post-COVID world.”
H.E Ambassador Alessandro Minuto Rizzo; Former NATO Deputy Secretary General and Chairman of NATO Defense College Foundation Rome, Italy, the topic of whom was “Multilateralism: The Case of the EU and NATO.”
Dr Bruno Tetrais; Deputy Director of the Foundation for Strategic Researches who spoke about “COVID 19 impact on French Foreign Policy.”
H.E Ambassador Anil Wadhwa; Former Ambassador of India to Italy, Poland, Oman and Thailand, Former Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi and currently a Senior Fellow and Cluster Leader at the Vivekananda International Foundation in New Delhi, whose topic was entitled “COVID 19 and the Indian Response.”
H.E. Mrs. Amira El Fadil Commissioner for Social Affairs, the African Union Commission. Her speech was about “Impact of Covid 19 in Africa: Social Aspects.”
Dr Stuart Bannerman; Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor, London South Bank, whose speech was about “The impact of COVID on Transnational Education.”