Under the patronage of Professor Dr. Sherif Khater, President of Mansoura University, and the sponsorship of Professor Dr. Mohamed Abdel Azim, Vice President of the University for Community Service and Environmental Development Affairs, an awareness symposium was held today, Wednesday, January 31, entitled “How to protect our children from the danger of addiction. A strong family = a better future” in cooperation between Mansoura University. The Fund for Combating and Treating Addiction and Abuse, the Decent Life Foundation, and the Egyptian Tribal and Families Council in Dakahlia, at the Youth Center in the village of Mit Ali.

Present at the symposium was His Excellency Sheikh Taha Ziyada, former Undersecretary of the Ministry of Endowments and Chairman of the Religious Committee of the Egyptian Tribal and Families Council in Dakahlia, Wade Sahar Abdel Aziz Al-Dakrouri, Professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Chairman of the Community Awareness Committee of the Community Service and Environmental Development Affairs Sector at Mansoura University, Chairman of the Women’s Committee in the Egyptian Tribal and Families Council in Dakahlia and a member of the Council. The National Center for Women, Dakahlia Branch, and members of the Community Awareness Committee, Mr. Islam El-Bashlawy, former head of the Anti-Addiction Unit in Dakahlia Governorate, and Dr. Amal Younes, Director of the Planning Department, Project Management, Mansoura University, in the presence of:

Representative Hassan Al-Metwally, a former member of the House of Representatives, Hajj Muhammad Al-Ghandour, mayor of the village of Mit Ali, Sheikh Musa Abouda, an imam and preacher in the Endowments, Mr. Muhammad Taha, coordinator of a decent life in the local unit of Mit Ali and vice-chairman of the Youth Committee of the Egyptian Tribal and Families Council in Dakahlia, Ahmed Shoman, life officer. Karima in the village, Professor Rehab Al-Ashmawy, Director of the Social Solidarity Unit at Mansoura University, Vice Chairman of the Youth Committee at the Egyptian Tribal and Families Council, journalist writer, Mr. Ahmed Abu Al-Qasim, Deputy General Coordinator of the Leaders Foundation in Dakahlia, member of the Community Awareness Committee at Mansoura University, member of the Community Awareness Committee at Mansoura University, and Professor Samah Ashraf, member of the Women’s Committee. At the Egyptian Tribal and Families Council in Dakahlia, a member of the Anti-Addiction Unit in Dakahlia, university students from the village, some parents, and the administrative sector.

Sheikh Taha spoke about the danger of drugs and their prohibition from a religious standpoint, their devastating effects on the minds of young people, and the importance of religious faith in protecting young people from this imminent danger.

Prof. Dr. Sahar Al-Dakrouri spoke about the health and psychological harms of drugs, the misuse of some medications that may lead to addiction, the types of addiction and synthetic drugs, and the state’s efforts to confront the phenomenon of addiction on all preventive, therapeutic, legislative and societal axes and the various free government treatment channels. Professor Islam Al-Beshlawi spoke about the danger of smoking. And electronic cigarettes and their harms, and the hotline of the Fund for Combating and Treating Addiction and Abuse, and treatment units in all governorates. Dr. Amal Younis spoke about the importance of positive education for children, the culture of dialogue, and how to confront psychological pressures with modern methods of education, and the discussion was opened at the end of the symposium.