Qudwa.Tech Participates in the Paris Peace Forum as a Best Practice in the Socioeconomic Development of Women and Girls Artisans

Project : Qodwa .Tech

Place de Chayot – Paris | October 29-30, 2025, As part of the eighth edition of the Paris Peace Forum, held this year under the theme "New Alliances for Peace, People, and Planet" at the Palais de Chayot in Paris, the Qudwa.Tech initiative, affiliated with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, participated as a best practice in the socioeconomic development of women and girls artisans.

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology delegation to the forum included Dr. Hala El-Sadek, Head of the Central Department for Digital Community Development, and Ms. Marwa El-Naqrashi, Director General of Development and Knowledge Programs.

The initiative's participation in this international event underscores the leading role of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology through its integrated strategy for women's empowerment via digital transformation, reflecting an ambitious national vision for comprehensive and sustainable development based on digital innovation and knowledge. In this regard, nearly 400 projects worldwide applied to participate in the forum, from which 30 were selected internationally. Qudwa.Tech was chosen to represent Egypt and the Arab region, showcasing its inspiring experience in sustainable development and women's digital empowerment.

The forum featured several dialogue sessions and panel discussions. During the open dialogue session, titled "Combating Gender-Based Violence: Data, Narratives, and Leadership," experiences were shared with speakers and other international projects to foster future collaboration in women's digital empowerment. The session highlighted Qudwa.Tech's objective of empowering women socially and economically through digital innovation. This is achieved by equipping women and girls, particularly craftswomen in remote, marginalized, and disadvantaged areas, with a comprehensive set of modern digital skills. These skills include building digital capacities enhanced by artificial intelligence technologies, providing specialized programs in digital marketing, e-commerce, and financial technology, and equipping them with the latest skills in creating interactive digital content across digital platforms.

Within the same framework, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology's efforts to integrate non-traditional data into national planning strategies and evidence-based decision-making were reviewed. This approach aligns with Egypt's Vision 2030 and its commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Key efforts in this area included: adopting an open data policy, the first national open data policy to enhance transparency, encourage digital innovation, and support evidence-based planning.

The Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) No. 151 of 2020 was also issued, regulating the processing of personal data and requiring explicit consent before its use to ensure compliance with privacy standards.

Additionally, the development of digital public infrastructure (DPI) systems was discussed, which includes digital community development initiatives such as Qudwa.Tech. Data collected from these initiatives is used to ensure equitable digital economic and social experiences for women. In a related context, the cultural and technological challenges facing digital empowerment efforts for women in remote areas were discussed, along with the initiative's role in overcoming them through the launch of the "Knowledge Leaders/Info-Lady" model. This model is a system of local ambassadors comprised of educated women within rural and remote communities who act as trusted intermediaries to connect community norms with modern digital practices. Peer mentoring networks were also strengthened, enabling each trained woman to train others, thus ensuring knowledge dissemination and the sustainability of the impact.

During the session, Dr. Hala El-Sadek, Head of the Central Department for Digital Community Development, emphasized that the most motivating and sustainable partnership is capacity building. She noted that the real impact is achieved through building institutional capacities and enabling frameworks that ensure the continuity of initiatives after funding ends.

She also commended the close cooperation between the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and other development partners, which achieves an ideal blend of policy support and skills development, creating an integrated national system for women's digital empowerment. In closing, she emphasized that the next step is to expand this initiative across the Middle East and North Africa region, transforming each craft into a pathway to a sustainable economy that contributes to peace, equity, and shared prosperity.

The Qudwa.tk initiative represents a pioneering Egyptian model in supporting Egyptian and Arab women by transforming traditional crafts and heritage into sustainable digital economic opportunities, thereby enhancing women's ability to effectively integrate into the local and global digital economy.

It is worth noting that the Paris Peace Forum is a global platform that aims to launch, shape, and share multilateral responses to global challenges, including supporting global peace and sustainable prosperity.

The Forum annually brings together international decision-makers, governmental and non-governmental organizations, businesses, and civil society. This year, it was attended by 15 heads of state, as well as ministers and government officials from 21 countries around the world, with the goal of strengthening international cooperation and reinventing diplomacy to meet the demands of a rapidly changing world