The Cairo Institute of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CILAS) is known for its alternative education program, making creativity and innovation an important part of the educational dialogue for Egyptians. Now the institute is launching their own crowdfunding campaign to support their arts, culture, social sciences and natural sciences thematic courses. Located in the heart of Cairo’s Wekalet El Ghouri, CILAS operates under a pedagogy of discovery through discussion based learning.
“CILAS is trying to reinvent our education and to provide alternative spaces for learning, especially to people who wouldn’t usually have access to such liberal arts learning environments, in cities away from the capital,” one of the CILAS fellows explains. The Institute also offers a number of scholarships to students with disadvantaged backgrounds such as refugees. Over the course of time, the Institute has grown out to be a place of encounters. Regular talks and film screenings create an atmosphere for CILASians to meet and exchange knowledge, while sipping a cup of tea. This academic year, CILAS is also looking into the possibility of collaborating with other institutions in the region. In addition, the CILAS team is hoping to export their model to Alexandria through the use of co-working spaces.
CILAS’ goal is to sustain themselves independently. We believe that by investing in education, you invest in the future. If you’d like to support CILAS’s mission, visit their Zoomaal campaign here.
