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ELITE Vol.1, Issue 42, April 2022
Vol.1, Issue 42, April 2022

Intervie w with Dr.Amany Kandil,, Pioneer of Arab Civil Society Studies

Ramy Magdy, Jomana Khaled, Maram Mofreh, Mariam Younes and Malak Ashraf

Civil society... the story of the year, how did it start? Who plants Dr. Amani excelled as she gained her General Secondary
its seed and who reaps its harvest? How has it coped with Certificate and ranked first in her governorate. At that time, those
changing events and coalesced with conflict? What is its current ranking first across the country scored, at most, 85 percent, and
position? What about its future? All this and more we tackle and our faculty only accepted the country's top 50. As one of them,
analyze in this issue's report. Dr. Amani's hope of joining the faculty was fulfilled and within
its walls, she spent unforgettable times to which many wish to
Let us first warmly welcome our honorable guest, Dr. Amani return!
Kandil, Dean of Civil Society Studies and founder of the Arab
Network for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's). You were often known for your special interest in the issues
of volunteer work and the civil sector, which was later named
With Dr. Kandil as our guide, we will embark on a fun, the civil society. How did this interest start and how did it
interesting, and equally informative tour, throughout which she develop?
will recount for us the most important stations of her journey
alongside the stories that touch the heart and begs you to Dr. Amani lead us up the ladder up which she climbed,
reconsider things you thought you knew. specifying the first step back to the time of her doctoral thesis
preparations. The thesis, whose topic was on economic
How did your relationship with the Faculty of Economics and policymaking during the 1970s and 80s, coincided with the
Political Science Start? Why did you choose to join it? state's reorientation towards economic openness at that time.
Consequently, the thesis' contributions can be considered a
In a spontaneous talk, Dr. Amani Kandil displayed before us a turning point of change in the school of political science in
wide spectrum of her memories. She spoke of her academic Egypt. Not to mention that Dr. Amani was also the first student
excellence and diligence with regard to her studies in her pre- to focus on policymaking, which paved the way for the launch of
university years, her family's optimistic foresight of her good the School of Public Policy, as documented. Her thesis was also
future, and her passion and eagerness when it came to reading -- the first to be supervised by our great professor, Dr. Aley El Din
particularly on topics related to her homeland and the world Helal.
amidst an era where news of internal and external conflict was This was followed by some important details; Dr. Amani
frequent. Naturally, she was insistent on following up on daily mentioned that she was the first student to base her main sources
newspapers, which had an immense impact on forming her inner on conducting personal interviews with senior leaders, as she
core and shaping her interests. At that point, she decided, in her conducted an interview with the then Prime Minister Abdel Aziz
heart, to enroll in the Faculty of Economics and Political Science Hegazy alongside other ministers and members of the Economic
which had only been established a few years prior. With a goal in Group, and she expressed her keenness to conduct such
mind, interviews.

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