Your Excellency Dr. Maya Morsy, Minister of Social Solidarity

Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a pleasure to be with you today at the First Annual Conference for the Civil Society Support Fund.

Allow me to begin by thanking Her Excellency Dr. Maya Morsy, Minister of Social Solidarity, for bringing us together on this important occasion, and for her leadership in advancing the role of civil society in Egypt’s development.

This first conference, supported by our valuable partner the EU, marks an important step in recognisingthe central role that civil society plays in shaping inclusive and sustainable development. On behalf of UNDP, I would like to congratulate the Government of Egypt on this achievement and on its commitment to strengthening the support to and collaboration with civil society actors.

As UNDP, we consider civil society as a critical partner and a vital contributor to development. Civil society draws on local knowledge to find solutions, promotes accountability, and helps to ensure that development efforts directly respond to community’s needs. Our experience globally shows that when combined with social innovation, partnerships with civil society unlock new ways of financing, piloting and scaling solutions.  

For example, UNDP’s Social Innovation Platform in Asia and the Pacific has been developing and implementing innovative approaches to help countries strengthen and scale up grassroot innovative solutions. It uses methodologies like Systems Mapping, Deep Listening, and Sensemaking to understand complex local challenges and co-design interconnected solutions. The platform is facilitating new civic spaces for collaboration across communities, government, and private sector and shifting towards a portfolio approach for financing integrated solutions rather than traditional, standalone projects. 

Here in Egypt, the Social Innovation Hub can be catalytic by providing a space where civil society organisations and partners can come together to test ideas, share experiences, and scale solutions. It can also facilitate innovative ways of financing these solutions.  

The presence of so many partners here today including the government, civil society, academia, international organizations, and the private sector, reflects the spirit of cooperation that this hub seeks to foster.

At UNDP, we are committed to supporting this effort with our global expertise and convening role. We will continue to work with the Government of Egypt and with civil society to ensure that this Social Innovation Hub becomes a practical and sustainable platform for advancing inclusive development.  

Thank you