Artists, mental health professionals, legal experts, and cultural practitioners gathered on Tuesday at the Czech Embassy in Cairo for the (Safe) Spaces Symposium, a cross-cultural initiative exploring how physical, emotional, and social spaces can foster mental well-being, care, and inclusive participation in contemporary Egyptian society.
Organized by Embassy of the Czech Republic in Cairo, the Embassy of Austria in Cairo, the Austrian Cultural Forum Cairo, and the Czech Centres, the symposium forms part of a long-term cultural collaboration between the two countries in Egypt.
The event is also embedded within the Safe Spaces initiative of the Czech Centres network and the SPACES thematic program of the Austrian Cultural Forum Cairo.
Held at the Czech Embassy’s Headquarter in Dokki, the symposium brought together voices from art, healthcare, human rights, and community practice, emphasizing that “safe spaces” are not abstract concepts, but lived conditions shaped by responsibility, agency, and participation.
Opening the symposium, Ivan Jukl, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Egypt, highlighted the symbolic importance of hosting the event at the embassy itself.
“We are talking about safe spaces, and we are already in one,” he said, noting that embassies should serve as open platforms where people come together to exchange ideas and experiences. He underlined the importance of addressing mental health openly and praised the strong turnout as proof of the topic’s urgency.
Sharing a personal reflection, the Czech ambassador recounted his recent experience attending a Czech theatre production addressing memory loss and aphasia. He emphasized how artistic expression, combined with open discussion, can help break taboos around mental health and create meaningful dialogue beyond the stage.
On his side, the Austrian Ambassador to Egypt, Georg Pöstinger, echoed these sentiments, stressing that safe spaces are fundamental to trust, creativity, and well-being.
He described the symposium as both timely and necessary, particularly at a moment when mental health remains insufficiently addressed in public discourse. “Culture plays a crucial role because it allows us to approach sensitive topics in human, accessible, and inclusive ways,” Pöstinger said.
He highlighted Austria’s long-standing engagement with mental health, from Sigmund Freud’s foundational work in psychoanalysis to contemporary practices that integrate art, music, and theatre into therapeutic approaches.
According to Pöstinger, healing and resilience are not solely medical processes, but also creative and social ones. “Safe spaces are not created by one discipline alone,” he noted. “They emerge where different perspectives meet.”
Therefore, the symposium’s program reflected this interdisciplinary approach. Panel discussions and workshops addressed questions such as who defines safety, how it is maintained, and whose voices are allowed to be heard.
“Safe spaces are shaped by responsibility and agency,” said Anouk El-Schahawi, who moderated the main panel discussion.
“This symposium creates room for dialogue across disciplines that rarely meet in one place.”
Panel contributors included Dr. Wafaa Benjamin Basta, consultant obstetrician-gynaecologist and member of Egypt’s National Council for Human Rights; Mohamed Farouk, artist and founder of Mortagal; and Suhaib Ahmed, lawyer and human rights researcher at MAAT for Peace, Development and Human Rights.
Together, they explored how mental health, human rights, and creative practice intersect in everyday life.
Workshops led by Mai El-Gabry and Rojda Tuğrul focused on body-based and arts-based practices, offering participants practical tools for care, awareness, and emotional regulation, while emphasizing trust, inclusion, and community-centred facilitation.
A key highlight of the symposium was the presentation of outcomes from a pre-symposium workshop in Aswan, led by interdisciplinary artist Rojda Tuğrul, which engaged the Nile as a living social and environmental space.
The project reflected the initiative’s broader vision of safe spaces as dynamic, relational environments rather than fixed locations.
Addressing the audience, Daniela Herta, Head of the Austrian Cultural Forum Cairo, stressed that mental health should not be seen as a private issue, but a shared social concern.
“We all need space, to breathe, to grow, to think,” she said, explaining that “space” is the overarching theme of the Forum’s cultural program this year, encompassing urban, digital, environmental, and mental dimensions.
Herta praised the collaboration with the Czech partners and emphasized the role of culture in challenging stigma and opening conversations around mental health in Egypt and beyond.
Concluding with a shared reflection session, the symposium aimed to exchange experiences and good practices across disciplines, reinforcing the idea that safe spaces are built through continuous dialogue, care, and cooperation.
By bringing together cultural diplomacy, artistic practice, and mental health advocacy, the (Safe) Spaces Symposium positioned itself as a platform not only for reflection, but also for practical, cross-sector engagement in response to growing social pressures and mental health challenges in the region.
Follow the latest news on Google News
