Tarek Tawfik

The beginning of the Arab Spring in Tunisia and Egypt encouraged me to pursue cooperation, not only with Germany, but also with other Arab countries to boost scientifically and cultural relations. I see in the AGYA a genuine chance to make creative minds from the Arab world meet with their highly qualified young German counterparts to explore how science can accelerate development. At the same time strong ties of friendship should be made to lay foundations for future cooperation with mutual benefits.

Being an Archaeologist my main interest is to protect endangered antiquities and sites in the Arab world which have suffered in the last years during the unrest in the region. Joint efforts are badly needed to stop antiquities trade across the borders of Arab countries and beyond. A new generation of young Arab Archaeologists needs to be educated and trained with the help of our German colleagues to provide better protection and care for the human heritage they will be responsible for.