Born and raised in Egypt, Loay Radwan has always been a rigorous reader and a devout believer that people should be there for each other. That is why he has built himself up to be a pillar of support for everyone around him.
At a young age, Loay has started noticing the various environmental issues present in his community. Therefore, as a huge believer in the butterfly effect, Loay decided to dedicate his life and future to take action and change this world into a better place. For this purpose, he chose to follow a career in Environmental Engineering, which allowed him to have an active role and start a journey of activism at such a young age.
He led several winning projects on different occasions and competitions. This nominated him to represent the Egyptian and African youth at the Youth Climate Action Summit last year and gave him the chance to speak to the world leaders about the climate crisis.
Currently, Loay is co-founding a startup which aims to help farmers adapt with the aftermath of climate change and save water. His main motive is to provide people with a better quality of life and help make a change towards a prospering Earth. Loay aspires to become a renowned entrepreneur and dedicate his career towards solving environmental challenges.
WHAT WOULD MAKE YOUR SOUL SING? WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY?
Following my passion and achieving my goals.
A CHILDHOOD STORY THAT ANNOUNCED THE CREATIVE PERSON YOU ARE TODAY
I’ve always been intrigued by how things work. I remember I always tagged along with my father whenever he went to the mechanic and even hang out with my grandfather whenever he tried to fix a radio or any other broken device he could find. By the time I was 9, I was able to fix stuff on my own. I remember the first thing I ever completely fixed was my Nintendo Gameboy. Now, I rarely encounter anything can’t fix.
BEST CONTEXT EVER FOR INSPIRATION WAS
A book called The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History. It’s amazing, it made me capture the essence of what it means to be truly immortal. These unique individuals impacted humanity in a way that people living centuries apart still recall their name and their achievements. The idea of people living forever through their hard work, dedication really inspired me to follow my passion.
THE PROJECT YOU LOVED MOST
From Waste to Taste. In this project, we recycled the junk from Sahl Hashish City into an artistic landmark. The goal was to create something from the waste that reflected the spectacular Bedouin culture and raised awareness about recycling. We recycled broken lamp posts, old pipes, furniture and wires into artistic pieces inspired by the old Bedouin musical band and instruments.
THE PROJECT OTHERS LOVED MOST
That would be Jazz VS Orchestra. We built different scenarios for the world in 2050 based on the driving forces, trends and disruptive technologies in our lives nowadays. The cool thing about this was that we formulated scenarios in all aspects of life, whether environmental, economic, political or social. The jazz scenario represented a random world of free market and globalization while the orchestra scenario represented an ordered one of monopoly and nationalism.
THE BEST THING ABOUT EGYPTIAN CREATIVITY IS
Simplicity, I always found the best thing about Egyptian Creativity is that it is quite simple and innovative at the same time. Since, in Egypt, not all people have access to resources and high-tech devices, we tend to think about the simplest and most cost-efficient way to solve the problems at hand.
BEST STATEMENT OF EGYPTIAN HUMOR
Always there, in good times and hard times. The Egyptian spirit always has the capacity to laugh the troubles off to pass the hard times, move on and support each other.
ADVICE FOR INTERNATIONAL HEADHUNTERS, RELATED TO EGYPTIAN
CREATIVES
For anyone looking for the simplest, cheapest and sometimes even funniest way to solve a particular problem, look for Egyptians. They can always find unpredictable solutions to any problem you can imagine, from leaking pipes to electronics. They have been honest and faithful hard workers since the dawn of history.
BEST PLACE IN CAIRO
Zamalek, Cairo. I really enjoy the quiet streets and the view of the Nile.
BEST PLACE IN EGYPT
Nuweiba, South Sinai. Where the sea meets the mountains.
MOST DISTURBING CLICHÉ ABOUT EGYPT, IN THE MEDIA OUTLETS OF THE WORLD IS
That Egypt is a big desert and Egyptians still ride camels, live in tents and get buried in pyramids.
EGYPT SHOULD BE KNOWN FOR
Hospitality, wherever you go in Egypt, you’ll find people who would welcome you with a smile. There is also the fantastic food, the ancient civilization and many great talents.
YOUR VIEWS ON SPIRITUALITY
A way to connect with yourself, find your inner peace and live in harmony with others.
YOUR VIEWS ON MONEY
A side reward for hard work, the real reward is the happiness and excitement of fulfilling your passion.
AN INSPIRATION SOURCE YOU RECOMMEND FOR A YOUNG CREATIVE
Greta Thunberg, an environmental activist who moved the whole world for the climate cause. She is an inspiration and proof that young people have the potential to save the world.
If you want to know more about Loay’s innovative work or you feel you have a project idea that he would love, hit him up here.