After witnessing the transformative power of the Dialogue in the Dark exhibition firsthand, the CID Consulting team had a brazen idea – to bring the concept to Egypt, marking the first foray for the social franchise in the Middle East. CID approached Dialogue Social Enterprise (DSE) – the minds behind DID – to discuss opening a franchise in Egypt in order to promote advocacy for those with visual impairments, while empowering them through career opportunities. In order to do so, CID needed to work with partners to establish, fund, and sustain the entity.
The DID exhibition allows visually impaired guides to lead visitors through an exhibition of real-life situations in complete darkness. This ‘role reversal’ has the dual benefits of allowing guests to live the empowering experience of accessing senses other than vision, while also providing opportunities for employment and social inclusion for people with visual disabilities. In order to bring this inspiring concept to Egypt, CID Consulting established a partnership with Al Nour Wal Amal (one of Egypt’s most established non-profits working directly with people with visual disabilities) and DSE. Establishing a partnership that leveraged on ANWA's outreach and expertise, DSE's model, and CID's management expertise, we worked with the partners to secure funds through a partnership with the Drosos Foundation to establish the DID exhibition as a social enterprise in Cairo, Egypt.
To do so, we worked closely with ANWA to develop a comprehensive four-year business plan, design the organizational structure of the entity, and develop a full-fledged sales and marketing strategy that positions DID as a transformative educational experience. We are also providing support to ANWA as a technical advisor in areas related to project management, financial management, and fundraising in order to ensure the sustainability of the entity and the institutional strengthening of ANWA. We are now working closely with ANWA and to launch DID into the market and help raise awareness of this unique initiative, hopefully inspiring other similarly ambitious projects across the globe.
Dialogue in the Dark is a life-enhancing project that we pride ourselves on taking part in, and we are delighted with the tangible results we have seen to date, as we continue to provide management support and capacity building to both ANWA and the DID team. The initiative will provide employment opportunities for 22 visually impaired guides and support the employment of a further 150 partially blind individuals.
Through this extraordinary project we’ve also been able to raise public awareness among children, youth, and families on the inclusion of talented youth with disabilities in Egypt, showcasing the transformative power of innovative educational experiences.
