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Ten directions, choices, and hope Written by Hossam Badrawi

Ten directions, choices, and hope
Written by Hossam Badrawi
I emphasize that the visions of the future for any nation are intertwined, and Egypt of the future cannot be viewed partially. Rather, our vision for reform must encompass all its aspects at the same time, whether political, social, economic, or cultural.
The cohesion and sustainability of reform are linked to development in all its fields, and although the voice of the call for political reform is important and essential, this should not distract us from the fact that the basic structure of the reform process begins, continues, and continues with human development, and that education and culture are its main inputs.
The human being is the foundation, and the competitiveness of any society ultimately depends on the sum of the capabilities of its individuals, the value of which is multiplied by teamwork and effective participation. Our first job is to build capabilities and provide opportunities, and our success as a society is to leave individuals the freedom to choose between multiple opportunities… with justice, integrity and equal rights.
The ability to choose is the topic of the hour and the topic of the future. We can turn every opportunity before us into a problem and a crisis, and see and discover in every crisis that faces us new opportunities through which we can invest and develop. This will depend on the way we look at things and deal with reality, which presents multiple opportunities. To move into a new era…
The ability to make the right and best choice, which takes into account the inherent values ​​that must be integrated into the conscience of the individual, the family, and society as a whole, stems from the approach of knowledge and the use of reason and the scientific method in thinking.
The reform project to achieve Egypt’s renaissance is not just numbers on paper, dumb sentences, and abstract meanings. The spirit of reform is represented in the end by the people behind the ideas, individuals, groups, and entities, whose number increases day by day, becoming in a critical moment a critical size that increases the speed of achievement and achieves success. Deeper, broader and more impactful results.
Reform becomes worthless if its goal is a victory achieved by an individual or institution in a political debate or debate, or a voice that prevails over another voice in a competition over who wins the masses, obtains power, or maintains it.
The desired reform shows its historical and future value when it becomes an effective reality, when it is implemented to show its impact on society and all its members.
Just as ideas are renewed, means must be renewed, and the spirit of reform in the new phase requires new mechanisms. Einstein, the most genius scientist in the history of science, said that the difficult problems we face cannot be solved by applying the same intellectual approach that we used when creating such problems.
The vision of the future must depend on a reality governed by rules settled in minds and souls, and we must have the ability to deal with them, change them, or stabilize them so that we can move from the point of reality to the space of the future.
My clear political vision, which I call on society to rally around, believes in freedom in its broader and more comprehensive context, in the civil state, in political pluralism, and in respect for the other opinion in word and deed.
I believe in freedom of belief, and in citizenship that protects every Egyptian regardless of his beliefs, religion, and political or social opinions. I believe that there are different means to achieve the same goals and that the people, through democratic means with sole integrity, are the ones who choose who they deem qualified to achieve these goals.
I believe in individual initiative and stimulate and develop it because the individual is the foundation of the family and society, and I believe in the freedom and importance of the transfer of power within a constitutional framework that builds and does not destroy, unites and does not divide, and political institutions that translate their claims into work and production.
I believe in my belonging first to Egypt and from it to our broader surroundings and to all of humanity. We are open to it and integrate with it, confident in ourselves, adding to human civilization in the present and future as we have added throughout history.
What guarantees sustainability and the accumulation of experience is the peaceful transfer of political power, with a fixed term, within the framework of constitutional legitimacy.
I have noticed that in every political crisis that the country goes through, the constitution is the victim, and it is abolished and a new constitution is written that expresses the strong balance of the moment, whether it is a revolution or a coup. The country’s constitution is the reference when factions differ. If it is abolished in every political crisis or amended according to the mood of the dominant power, it becomes worthless and meaningless.
There are ten main pillars that we must strive to achieve the well-being of society, individuals and families, and strive for and work towards their happiness, completely eliminating poverty, ignorance, disease, chaos, injustice, and corruption. These trends are:
The first pillar is: stability in the political system to govern the country, allowing the selection of the most efficient and effective with transparency and accountability. Provided that this is done in a gradual, planned manner that allows for building the capabilities of citizens, creating a free political climate that allows for the generation of new leaders, ensuring institutional governance and the transfer of power without chaos, and definitively not allowing a faction, group, or institution to squander freedoms or tyranny with power.
Remaining in political power without deliberation creates tyranny, no matter how sincere the intentions, and creates hypocrisy and fear, no matter how courageous the individuals.
In this context, it is necessary to define the identity of the modern civil state and consolidate its concept among the new generations without retreat. We must close the dens of reactionism, Salafism and backwardness, after their factories in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia were courageously closed.
The second pillar is: creating a cultural and behavioral change in the conscience of society through the portal of education, culture and media, and developing clear policies to deal with young people in different age groups, to build a broad base of citizens who can effectively participate in development later on.
This means placing the axis of human development, including education in all its sections, culture, media, youth, and health care, in a file that can be dealt with, and in it, within a harmonious framework to achieve what we aspire to: creating the Egyptian citizen, healthy in body and mind, educated, technologically empowered, enlightened, creative, and responsible. Proud of his country’s history and cultural identity, passionate about building its future, aware of the importance of regional and global communication, and able to compete in all fields.
The third pillar is: making a structural change in the Egyptian economy, with the aim of stimulating, sustaining and balancing growth, while creating employment opportunities and removing obstacles to foreign and national investment so that the economy can grow and prosper.
Achieving balanced and sustainable growth associated with increasing employment opportunities must be accompanied by giving some priority to disadvantaged groups of the population without affecting the balance of the state budget, in order to accelerate the achievement of an economic rate of 8% to 10% on average annually over fifteen consecutive years. This is something that can only be achieved by sustaining the policies, convincing the people of them, and respecting their philosophy, without retreating or departing from them with a short-term public political goal.
The fourth pillar is: administrative reform and changing the pattern of governance and digitalization in all institutions, with the gradual application of decentralization.
The fifth pillar is: preserving the environment for future generations while sustainably providing clean energy and water for the growing needs of the Egyptian people.
The sixth pillar is: institutional and intellectual reform of judicial institutions and law enforcement institutions (the police).
The seventh pillar is: defining the Egyptian role in shaping the future of Africa, the Middle East, and the world, and strategies for implementing it.
The eighth pillar is: increasing the capabilities of the Egyptian army, including equipment and training, protecting it from involvement in political and economic action, and changing the pattern of armament by increasing the capacity for military manufacturing.
The ninth pillar is: developing the role of effective civil society, activating and supporting it, and respecting the rights of citizens.
The tenth pillar is: controlling the growth, quality and distribution of the population.
The question is, do we have clear policies and possible applications for everything I mentioned?
The answer is that no one alone has all the solutions, but I sought and sought and communicated with experts in every field, then documented the opinions, and I am happy to share them with the youth, and to dialogue about each of these trends.
The truth is that the accumulation of experience and the peaceful transfer of power, without demolition or chaos, is the only way to sustain any policy or application.
I can be certain that Egypt has the human potential and professional competencies, and the tremendous force of its youth who are ready to learn and train, which guarantees it in one decade to assume its position among the forefront of developed countries, but the challenge lies in implementation, which requires commitment to the vision, and competent management. All levels without compromising on achieving performance measurement indicators announced with time frames for citizens, and it requires a dose of optimism and positivity made by some decisions that the people see and feel so that hope is restored.