At the end of September, 17 students of the Johannes-Althusius-High-School from Emden, Germany, came to the DSH. This was the second time that the student exchange between our partner school in Germany and our school took place. Like last year, the guest students were accommodated for eleven days with families of our students of grades 9 and 10 and participated in the lessons of the DSH.

The theme of the exchange was “sustainability and environmental protection”, as both Hurghada and Emden are located on seas whose unique habitats are particularly worthy of protection. The students therefore first participated in a beach cleanup together with the environmental protection organization HEPCA. They also visited the recycling plant in El Guna to understand how the collected trash is recycled.

A highlight of the exchange was the several-day trip to Cairo. In addition to visiting the pyramids and the Egyptian museum, the children visited the so-called garbage city. With guides from the organization A.P.E., which promotes the community of garbage collectors as well as recycling, the students learned how much garbage is recycled in Cairo and how the garbage collectors process the garbage. Furthermore the students were able to visit the German Embassy in Cairo to learn about the different job and career opportunities and to discuss political, economic and social tensions.