Join May al-Ibrashy for a conversation about her heritage conservation work in historic Cairo, revealing how the projects she works on put the community first. Find out more about the challenges and opportunities presented by complex urban environments like Cairo, the ways in which significant buildings, like the Shrine of Imam Shafi’i mean different things to different people, and how she balances the various needs of different stakeholders.
May al-Ibrashy is an architectural engineer with close to 30 years of field experience in conservation and heritage management. She holds a BSc in Architectural Engineering from Ain Shams University, an MA in Art, Architecture and Archaeology and a PhD in Archaeology from the School of Oriental and African Studies, (SOAS) the University of London. She is founder and chair of Megawra Built Environment Collective, a twin institution consisting of Egyptian NGO and consultancy working on issues of the built environment. She also coordinates Athar Lina (Heritage is Ours!) in partnership with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. Athar Lina conceives of the heritage as a driver for community development and as such works on heritage conservation and rehabilitation, heritage industries and education and urban revitalization in the al-Khalifa neighbourhood of Cairo.
May al-Ibrashy is also adjunct lecturer of architecture at the American University in Cairo and at Cairo University and an honorary professor of practice in Islamic architecture at SOAS.
The Barakat Trust has supported many of May’s projects over the past 25 years.
This podcast is part of Converging Paths, an initiative organised by The Barakat Trust in partnership with the Asia House exploring the arts and cultures of the Islamic World. Converging Paths is generously supported by the Altajir Trust and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture’s Education Programme.
