Hanns Seidel Foundation – Egypt Office and Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights conducted the fourth youth simulation model on the work of the 50-members committee to amend the constitution on Friday and Saturday, November 15-16 2013 at Port Said.
23 youngsters from Port Said representing civil and community work activists, journalists, media figures and political parties between 21-35 years old.
The simulation model comes in the framework of "Responsive Decentralization for Citizen's Rights" program implemented by Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights in cooperation with Hanns Seidel Foundation – Egypt Office, it seeks to improve the local administration system in Egypt.
The simulation model activities aim at increasing youth awareness on the constitution, the local administration position in the constitution and the work of the 50-member committee along with enabling them to discuss the governing political and legislative framework for the committee work, and enabling youth to discuss and develop proposals for constitutional articles governing local administration.
The model reached several proposals approved by the youth including; the state commitment to support decentralization, increasing the authorities of elected local councils to include approving the public policy and annual budget for the local unit, as well as the appointment of young assistants for the governors and heads of local units.
The simulation model also approved the allocation of a percentage of the entities economic revenues (such as the Suez Canal Authority and the main ports) for the governorate where the entity is located.
The participants approved a constitutional article to oblige the country to provide the local unit with the needed technical and administrative support, as well as increasing and bringing closer the development rates between local units, not just bringing them closer as stated in the amendment draft by the experts committee.