Description of organisation

MI-HI (Make It Happen Infinity) is a social enterprise that aims to empower youth and facilitate personal development. We support youth exchanges, educational events, cultural and language training, volunteering opportunities, environmental activism, and youth mobility. Our vision is to create positive changes by broadening perspectives and inspiring others to find their path in life. But we don’t just stop there. We seek to make a long-lasting impact by supporting our project participants in positively influencing their own communities. Our mission is to create waves of sustainable development and growth.
We believe in youth empowerment and community development, Since 2014 and to date, MI-HI has helped more than 500 youths engage in a diverse range of development projects. These project themes are covered through general training workshops and conferences. They include but are not limited to: art and culture, entrepreneurship, intercultural communication, heritage protection, volunteering, environmental protection, equal opportunities, anti-racism, healthy lifestyles, human rights, youth initiatives, youth exchanges, youth employment, youth sports, youth migration, social media, social work, and youth leadership.

Based on our collaboration and participation in international projects, we have found innovative ways to address socio-political problems and to inspire creative forces for social change in Alexandria. Moreover, using informal educational methods, we developed our learning modules and workshops for kids, youngsters, and adults on the topic of upcycling, DIY, Zero Waste, climate and environmental protection, and community engagement. Through our regular swap shops and cultural events in different parts of Alexandria, we have attracted institutions to collaborate with us and provide Zero Waste and upcycling, gardening, Language exchange, and craft workshops.
Since 2012, the team has been part of different youth program seminars, training courses for youth workers, local university and school programs, community engagement workshops, and environmental-awareness activities. Since 2014, MIHI has been part of the biggest global civic movement, which is known as ''Let's Do It World (LDIW) ''. This movement mobilizes people to participate in local clean-up events. As a key representative and facilitator of LDIW events in Egypt, MI-HI was further inspired to participate in SDG'S projects to date.

Our variety of social development projects provided unique opportunities to work with different target groups. Although MI-HI is currently a youth empowerment group, we started off with projects that involved participants from a wide range of age groups. In 2013, we began facilitating recycling projects and clean-up events for participants that ranged from 10-30 years old. Eventually, we began expanding to cultural and international exchange programs. Due to the current pandemic, there emerged an opportunity to conduct Two virtual youth exchange programs for those aged between 14-30. This past year has given MI-HI the chance to improve its digital competencies and capacity. We are capable of running efficient, effective, and exciting online projects that can reach those who are unable to be part of the international and local activities due to their age limit, geographical location, and other embedded disadvantages.
Our main target group is the neighborhood/local community. Our aim is to connect different generations, and bridge the gap between people from different economic, social, and ethnic backgrounds to create a community around the hub of open-source knowledge and sharing economy. Volunteers play an important role in facilitating this process. They are essential to the operations of MIHI and help spread ideas to reach more people in the community. Likewise, members of the community are encouraged to share their own experiences and play a key role in the integration of volunteers within the community.

Our recent projects, in collaboration with educational units and co-working spaces, include upcycling workshops, clean-up actions, and wellness programs, and local eco-initiatives. Our activities have helped uncover how climate change influences everyday life, what can be done to improve the local climate, and what each person from local neighborhoods can do him/herself in order to contribute to the transition to climate-neutral living spaces.
MI-HI has a strong network of international partners. We participate regularly in other Erasmus+ programs to improve our own knowledge level and skills, foster intercultural exchange, and strengthen international relationships. Through this process, we have learned extensively from other European NGOs and their experience in facilitating Erasmus+ projects.
The MIHI team combines a different range of experience and skillsets to create an inclusive, creative working environment. It is run by a group of 10 people, 5 of whom are the board members of the organization.

Inclusion topics

This organisation is willing to involve volunteers who face situations which make their participation in activities more difficult, from the following categories for different types of project:

• Economic obstacles
• Geographical obstacles
• Social obstacles