Cairo witnessed on Wednesday, 22 July 2026, the closing ceremony of the first research competition organized by the Fund for Assisting Victims of Trafficking in Persons (FAVOT), under the slogan “From Research to Impact,” to honor the winners of the Research Excellence Award in Combating Trafficking in Persons. The event reflects the Egyptian State’s belief in the importance of utilizing scientific research to support policies for the protection, care, and prevention of trafficking in persons.
The ceremony was held at the Sofitel Nile Hotel in Cairo, in the presence of H.E. Ambassador Dina El Sehy, Executive Director of the Fund; Ms. Cristina Albertin, Regional Representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for the Middle East and North Africa; members of the Fund’s Board of Directors; and representatives of national and international entities concerned with combating trafficking in persons, as well as representatives of a number of embassies and a group of experts, academics, and media professionals.
The ceremony featured brief presentations by the winning researchers, highlighting the main findings and recommendations of their research. The presentations reflected the diversity of disciplines and the richness of the research content, which covered legal, social, and psychological aspects, mechanisms for rehabilitation and social reintegration, and the role of technology in preventing and detecting crimes at an early stage.
The discussion session, entitled “From Research to Practice: Shared Visions for Building a Safer Future for Victims,” provided a platform for open dialogue among experts, researchers, and attendees. The session was moderated by Dr. Ismail Abdel Rahman and Dr. Ayman Zohry.
The session addressed three main areas for discussion among the experts and members of the judging panel. The first focused on legal and law enforcement aspects, discussing the role of law enforcement agencies in improving the handling of victims and ways to develop institutional performance to ensure effective justice, while emphasizing the need to adopt a rights-based approach in dealing with victims as persons entitled to protection, rather than merely as witnesses in criminal cases.
The second area focused on social, cultural, and educational aspects. Participants discussed the pivotal role of educational institutions in preventing trafficking in persons, ways to integrate awareness concepts into school curricula, mechanisms to strengthen social and psychological reintegration programmes for victims and reduce the social stigma they face, as well as the most successful models of economic empowerment that the Fund could adopt, with an emphasis on the importance of measuring impact to ensure the sustainability of interventions.
The third area was a prominent part of the session, as experts discussed ways to utilize artificial intelligence and data analysis technologies for the early detection of trafficking in persons, as well as combating the misuse of technology, which has become a key tool for luring and exploiting victims. The discussion also addressed the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology’s initiative to issue the “Child SIM Card” to protect children from digital luring and exploitation, and reviewed mechanisms for strengthening cooperation between the Fund and the Ministry to develop modern preventive tools.
At the conclusion of the session, the floor was opened for discussion, and participants presented substantive contributions and questions that added an interactive dimension and depth to the discussions. The session resulted in a set of practical and actionable recommendations, including identifying proposed strategic priorities for the Fund’s work in the coming period; developing proposed cooperation mechanisms with national and international partners to enhance the exchange of expertise and integrate efforts; and utilizing technological and digital tools to strengthen protection and prevention efforts, while establishing ethical and legal safeguards to ensure the rights of victims.
In the most anticipated moment of the ceremony, H.E. Ambassador Dina El Sehy presented the winners with certificates and financial prizes. H.E. Ambassador Dina El Sehy, Executive Director of the Fund, concluded the ceremony with remarks in which Her Excellency expressed thanks to the attendees, participants, judging committee, and technical team responsible for the competition, in appreciation of their efforts in evaluating the research according to rigorous academic criteria and their commitment to ensuring the highest levels of integrity and transparency in the judging process.
H.E. Ambassador Dina El Sehy emphasized that the competition is not merely a one-time event, but rather the beginning of a continuous journey to support scientific research as an effective tool for developing national policies and programmes to protect victims and combat trafficking in persons. Her Excellency also announced the Fund’s intention to organize the competition annually, ensuring the sustainability of scientific contributions and strengthening the knowledge base in this vital field.
