Post by Hoda El Mahgoub

“And this is why we do what we do.” We recently celebrated 15+ years of the Cairo Liaison Office, which also coincided with the very first visit of the President of Freie Universität Berlin, Prof. Günter M. Ziegler, to Egypt and the Arab world. He was accompanied by a distinguished delegation of professors (Beatrice Gründler, Cilja Harders, Christian Ludwig, Maria Kristina Parr, Florian Zemmin) and by my dear predecessor Florian Kohstall, the one who started it all 16 years ago. Looking back, for me personally over the past 8 years in this role and for the office over the past 16 years, the reception on April 2 was a very special moment. Despite the rather unusual weather conditions during those days, it said a lot about the relationships that have grown over time. In a way, that weather felt like a fitting metaphor. The region has gone through challenging times over the past years and yet it continues to move forward with strength. The same is true for our partnerships. They have grown, deepened and proven to be resilient. What stays with me most from the visit of the delegation are the #conversations, seeing colleagues sit together, #discuss what could be done and where #collaboration could go and how quickly this turns into concrete next steps, especially during sometimes very difficult times. I am truly grateful to all our #alumni, #partners and #friends who joined us at the reception, despite the weather, and to all our long-time partners we had the chance to visit as well as all those we have been working with over the years. A lot of what we do only works because people stay engaged and keep the door open. A big #thankyou to President Ziegler and the delegation for being up for this little adventure and for engaging so openly throughout. The same goes for our colleagues in Berlin. None of what we have built over the years would be possible without colleagues there who work behind the scenes and make all of this happen, because they truly believe in why #internationalization in #highereducation matters. And this is why we do what we do. #InternationalCooperation #EgyptGermany #MENA #HigherEducation #AcademicCollaboration #ScienceDiplomacy