Sept 2024: CRI Announces the Full-time Dedication of Its Founding President Dr. Ahmed Rashed

The Civilization Rights Institute (CRI) proudly announces that its Founding President, Dr. Ahmed Rashed, has fully dedicated himself to leading the institute. After resigning from his position as a Professor of Architecture at the British University in Egypt on September 30, 2024, he is now focused exclusively on advancing CRI's mission. Additionally, the CRI Board has extended his presidency until December 2026.

 The forthcoming book "Health and Climate Change: Unraveling the Connections," published by Elsevier, features groundbreaking research. Authored by Ahmed Rashed, Tarek Rashed, Mohamed El-Belqassy, and Heba Rashed, it delves into how civilization resilience can tackle climate and health challenges, underscoring the indispensable contributions of indigenous communities to global mitigation efforts.

Dr. Ahmed Rashed, President of the Civilization Rights Institute (CRI), published a seminal article in ICME Magazine. The piece introduces the concept of Civilization Rights, advocating for a global framework to protect and benefit the origins of ancient civilizations. Rashed's call for a Universal Declaration of Civilization Rights aims to safeguard cultural heritage and ensure fair recognition and financial returns for nations. This initiative marks a significant step towards global cultural preservation. 

Dr. Ahmed Shalaby, a distinguished Professor in the field of urban development, and Co-Founder, President, and CEO of Tatweer Misr has been appointed to the Board of Directors at the Civilization Rights Institute. This move is expected to greatly enhance the leadership of the institute, as CRI can now tap into his extensive knowledge and experience, enabling it to further its mission and objectives. 

The Civilization Rights Institute (CRI) and the Protect Our Planet (POP) Movement have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate and strengthen efforts for climate action and justice and to provide joint advocacy and support for youth engagement and civilization rights in heritage communities impacted by climate change.   

CRI has participated in the inception meeting of the C20's Working Group on Sustainable & Resilient Communities (SRC) - Climate, Environment, and  Net Zero Targets, one of the 14 Working Groups under Civil 20 India 2023. C20 is one of the official engagement groups of the Group of Twenty (G20), which comprises the EU and 19 other countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Türkiye, United Kingdom, and the United States).

See a short video summarizing the offer from the Rosetta Stone Return Consortium at COP 27

النسخة العربية من العرض المقدم من تحالف حجر رشيد للدورة ال 27 من قمة التغير المناخي  في هذا الرابط https://youtu.be/ou6TwqohaKw

CRI's proposal, "The Rosetta Return Consortium," has been shortlisted from among 6000 entries to be featured at COP27. The Consortium is a partnership of over 22  local and international partners to monitor and confront climate change challenges in the Burj Rashid area as a model that can be applied to all archaeological and heritage environments threatened by the effects of climate change, as well as those communities claiming civilization rights and returning their looted treasures to their original environment.  

 CRI has launched an international initiative for the Return of Looted Antiquities (RLA) to their original discovery sites. The RLA initiative rests on the Universal Declaration of Civilization Rights principles. It aims to open a dialogue log and provide an outlet for a new way to tackle the return of the antiquities, arts, cultural artifacts, and materials looted or stolen from many countries during the colonial era.  

Proposed by Professor Ahmed Rashed, Founding President of CRI, the Universal Declaration of Civilization Rights (UDCR), through its eight articles, recognizes and reaffirms that countries and nations possess collective rights to safeguard heritage structures, monuments, statues, and artifacts of all types and sizes derive their significance and distinctive character from their perceived historical and cultural values and their meaningful relationships with the sites, environments, nations, and civilizations that originated them.