Danish Egyptian Dialogue Initiative

Relive moments and reflections with DEDI Green Incubator's first cohort. DEDI Green Incubator supports early-stage startup companies on the road to becoming a successful, scalable, and growing venture. Through mentorship, workshops, and field visits in Denmark and Egypt, the program helps entrepreneurs in the sustainable fashion and furniture fields to gain valuable skills and knowledge and identify potential partners and investors as well as connections to get their sustainable products into markets.

Overconsumption, globalization, shows of wealth, and quick-shifting trends; all of these aspects were discussed as instigators of the fast fashion epidemic, and the environmental impact that comes with that, all over the world. Is it different in Egypt and the region? This is what was discussed at our panel discussion Green Threads: Navigating the market as sustainable fashion brands with designer & content creator & founder of The Washed Out Label?Bassant Maximus, content creator and environmental activist?Mostafa Magdy, Tunisian textile and sustainable materials engineer & founder of?AGARUW Mejdouline khaled and Founder of?AlManakh?in Kuwait Mariam AlSaad.

“DEDI introduced us to how powerful & impactful collaborations and working in clusters can be,” fashion designer Menna Remah said at the closing of DEDI Green Incubator program’s first round. The program, with its first cohort consisting exclusively of DEDI’s program alumni, brought together fourteen young fashion and furniture designers with sustainable practices. Between April and June, the cohort took part in trainings on business development, pitching, as well as an international workshop in Denmark where they were exposed to Copenhagen’s startup scene and received trainings and workshops from industry experts. We’d like to thank the first cohort for their enthusiasm and active participation as well as our program partners Cocoon Cultural Centre for bringing the most inspiring minds in the field for our program’s modules. Hazem Elzeky Heba Mahfouz Ahmed Essam Mohamed Mamdouh El Haddad Bassem Ashraf Mazen Moussa Omar AL-Tawansy RNKL Zhraa Alshafeei Bassant Maximus Youssef Anwar MAFDET FORMS Haidy Elgendy Norhan El Sakkout saqhoute Mariam Fayyad Menna Remah Ahmed Salah Khedr K44 Rana Khamis Youssra Fouda Doaa Fayyad

DEDI is pleased to invite you to join a panel discussion on “Navigating the market as sustainable fashion brands” and the launch of “Green Threads” at?DEDI’s office in Zamalek, on Thursday the 13th of June at 7:00 pm. Green Threads is a collaboration between three MENA environmentally conscious initiatives that met through the Change Makers for the Planet Summit 2024. It aims at creating a conversation on fashion sustainability and consumption habits. The panel will be moderated by designer and content creator Bassant Maximus. She founded?The Washed Out Label?in 2020, hoping to create awareness around fashion waste as well as make fun timeless statement pieces. The panel will include: Mejdouline Khaled, a textile and sustainable materials engineer with a master’s degree in environmental and social entrepreneurship.?She is the?CEO and cofounder of?AGARUW?, a brand and marketplace that transforms textile and solid waste into eco-friendly, customizable products while empowering & matchmaking designers artisans thus pioneering sustainable innovation in Tunisia. Mariam AlSaad, an MSC holder in Sustainable Cities from the University of Leeds. She is the Founder of?AlManakh?a?non-profit organization that aims to raise awareness regarding climate change impacts and sustainability in Kuwait. Please register through the registration link: https://lnkd.in/dxQ-ttqC

As part of DEDI Green Incubator, fast-tracking sustainable furniture anf fashion businesses by young entrepreneurs in Egypt, Editorial and Creative Services Director Aya Hesham ran a two day module on Proposal Creation: During the module, the fourteen entrepreneurs were engrossed in how to pitch their businesses and establish partnerships through simulations and exercises, pushing them to articulate their business ventured and how to take them to the next level. Next week, the participants will take part in the final module of the incubator on Branding & Market Positioning thus concluding the activities of the first DEDI Green Incubator for 2024. Stay tuned for updates!

How can designers think and create in a circular manner? What are the natural local materials that we can use in furniture production? What policies need to be in place for consumers to make more sustainable choices when it comes to furniture? These are some of the questions that were discussed in our panel 'Building a Greener Future: Sustainable Furniture Design'. With more than forty designers, design students and interested members of the public present, our expert panel moderated by Amr Orensa, Partner and R&D manager and Pinocchio Furniture and Founder of Designdustry, included Daniela Amandolese, Italian Product designer and Lecturer at the German University in Cairo along with Omar Hossama, Manager and Creative Director at Hossama Oriental Woodwork.

DEDI Green Incubator’s fourteen furniture and fashion entrepreneurs participated in DTU Skylab's ‘Mini Sprint’ at the Danmarks Tekniske Universitet - DTU. The intensive one-day program teaches participants to learn about Sky Lab’s design tools and shows participants how to come up with a design idea in only one day. The day was part of DEDI Green Incubator's six-day visit to Copenhagen, where they participated in events, attended lectures and trainings on creativity, technology, and sustainable leadership along with a chance to participate in the public event Startup Day featuring more than 60 startups.

If you're a furniture designer interested in sustainable practices, don't miss our panel discussion on "Building a Greener Future: Sustainable Furniture Design" on Wednesday, May 29th at our office in Zamalek. The panel will include professionals, and lecturers in the field of furniture in general and sustainable furniture in particular. Register here: https://lnkd.in/dHdFGsHp

Scenes and reflections from the reopening of our furniture exhibition in Copenhagen 'Danish Design Meets Ancient Egypt' featuring work by master's degree students at the Royal Danish Academy and young Egyptian designers who are all alumni of our Design for Circularity Program. The pieces were all designed with circularity in mind, inspired by Danish and Ancient Egyptian design, and produced at the Pinocchio Furniture Factory in a five-day workshop in Egypt's furniture manufacturing hub Damietta in 2023. If you're in Copenhagen, make sure to catch the exhibition before it closes on June 12th. Address: Danneskiold-Sams?es Allé 50 DK 1434 K?benhavn K Opening hours: Monday - Friday 09:00 - 19:00 Check out the pieces and learn about how they are designed with circular design principles in mind here: https://lnkd.in/dcnVvfgH

DEDI is pleased to invite you to join a panel discussion on "Building a Greener Future: The Sustainability of Furniture Design" on Wednesday, May 29th at our office in Zamalek. The panel will include professionals, and lecturers in the field of furniture in general and sustainable furniture in particular. The panel will be moderated by?Amr Orensa?partner and R&D manager in a family furniture business?Pinocchio?He founded?Designdustry?in 2016 to be Egypt’s hub for furniture knowledge sharing. Also, he cofounded Cairo Designathon and DeForum. Amr is guest lecturer at GUC, GIU, BUE, Applied Arts Damietta and Helwan Universities, New Giza University, King Salman University, The Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. The panel will include: Daniela Amandolese: Italian product designer, researcher, and lecturer at the German University in Cairo, dedicated to the complex, multidisciplinary and constantly evolving role of the designer. Her research focuses on how emerging and sustainable materials (bio-based and growing) and technologies can become important elements of the design practice, triggering innovative processes and reshaping the way we think about the future. Omar Hossama?: Architect and designer. The event is free of charge but registration is required. More info: https://lnkd.in/dzmb-mfP