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By Hadia Mostafa

W ith a classic photo of King Tutankhamun on the cover, the National Geographic Society arrived in Egypt last month for the launch of its first Arabic-language magazine, National Geographic Youth (NGY). The much-anticipated project caps a century-old relationship between National Geographic and Egypt as the society teams up with Nahdet Misr Publishing.

“Our first major feature on your 5,000-year-old cultural civilization was published in National Geographic magazine in 1901. Since then, countless magazine articles, books, school products, maps, documentary television programs, exhibits, scientific grants and public-awareness campaigns to save cultural treasures have involved Egypt,” National Geographic Executive Vice President Terrence Adamson told an audience of intellectuals and journalists at the launch of NGY.

It took years of planning to find the right partner and obtain the permits necessary to publish the magazine in Egypt.

Terry Garcia, National Geographic’s executive vice president for mission programs, told Business Today Egypt that he considers the Arabic launch of the youth magazine — already being published in 26 languages worldwide — to be the start of something big for both his company and Nahdet Misr.

He expects an Arabic-language National Geographic for adults to follow in the near future.

“I think there is a rich opportunity here to tell many different stories, not just about Pharaonic Egypt, but also about natural sciences and the diversity of cultures.”

“Publishing in Arabic is very important for us,” says Garcia. “It’s a significant milestone for the organization. This particular magazine is intended to reach a very wide audience. It is by no means intended as an elitist publication. We think that by engaging young people and getting them interested in subjects that they may not have otherwise been exposed to, we can get them to take action and address some of the global problems that we are currently facing. They need to begin to care about issues before they can act.” Under its deal with National Geographic, Nahdet Misr will provide up to 15% of the magazine with local content or topics that are culturally relevant to Egypt. “Each of our editors in the non-English editions is given the flexibility to incorporate editorial content that would be of interest to their region. This magazine really draws on stories and ideas from editors across the world, so it’s not just an American product. By doing so, I think we end up with the very rich content that National Geographic is known for,” says Garcia.

In addition to the cover story on the mysterious death of King Tutankhamun, the first issue of NGY includes stories on subjects as diverse as the Hubble space telescope, crocodiles and the origin of superstitions.

“This is a science-driven publication that targets the 8–16 age group with interesting articles and National Geographic’s trademark visuals,” says Mohammed Ibrahim, chairman and managing director of Nahdet Misr. Ibrahim believes the magazine may even appeal to older teens, saying scientific information of the type NGY presents is severely lacking in Egypt.

“Most of the topics will come from National Geographic Kids and National Geographic Explorer, two separate National Geographic publications,” he explains.

At LE 8 an issue, the 40-page monthly is not affordable to the vast majority of the population, but according to Ibrahim, there’s no way he can afford to go lower on the price.

“It costs much more than LE 8 to produce the magazine. I have to pay 30% of the price to the distributor, then there are the copyright fees and the cost of paper and printing. Because we use very high-quality materials, I am actually printing at a loss for now, but I accept this because we desperately needed this kind of magazine in Egypt,” Ibrahim says. “If we accept losing some money on this now, I am sure that within three or four years we will win. We are not looking for short-term profits. Because we are a large company with many diverse branches, we can afford to look at the big picture rather than focus on the profitability of a single project.”

Ibrahim plans to print and distribute 10,000 copies of NGY each month, gradually working up to 15,000–20,000 copies. “Ideally we would like to have at least one copy of the magazine in each and every public school in Egypt,” says Ibrahim.

That may be easier said than done. “We are currently speaking with the Minister of Education about the feasibility of reaching public schools, but budgetary constraints are an obstacle. We will most likely be sending free copies to 1,000–2,000 public schools for the first few months to get them interested. Then, hopefully, the people upstairs will see that it is a useful educational tool and thus make room for it in their annual budgets,” says Ibrahim.

A firm believer in education and the power of the written word, Ibrahim has focused much of his company’s recent efforts on publishing educational books. In addition to its work with National Geographic, Nahdet Misr has partnerships with Scholastic, Dorling Kindersley, Beltz and the Walt Disney Company. The group has already translated 20 National Geographic books over the past year on topics including geography, the environment, astronomy, zoology and technology.

“We chose to partner with Nahdet Misr because our organizations have similar cultures in terms of the way we do business,” says Garcia. “Mr. Ibrahim has a mission that is very much in line with ours — which is first and foremost to educate and help people. So it’s a perfect marriage. You don’t often find that, so we are very fortunate and honored to have forged this alliance,” he adds.

To augment their new Arabic-language publication, National Geographic is building an Egyptian scientific website. The website will be set up by Nahdet Misr Multimedia, a subsidiary of NMP established in 1998 to produce educational software and websites.

“We have 100-plus projects in Egypt, with more under development. I think there is a rich opportunity here to tell many different stories, not just about Pharaonic Egypt but also about natural sciences and the diversity of cultures,” says Garcia.

“One of the things that we are focusing on right now at National Geographic is this whole issue of cultural diversity. The loss of diversity is a very serious threat. Half of the languages that were once spoken are now either dead or dying. Since language is the embodiment of a culture, it means that half the cultures on this planet are about to disappear. People should celebrate diversity and the knowledge that comes from understanding different cultures. That’s also part of what this magazine is designed to do. It’s not just science — it’s about inspiring people to care about the planet,” he adds.

Both Ibrahim and Garcia hope to one day see National Geographic reach Arabic-speaking readers outside Egypt’s borders.

“Expanding distribution is definitely part of the long-term plan, but there are still some challenges that stand in the way of a pan-Arab edition. So for now we are focused on Egypt. Egypt is clearly the most populous and important country in the region, but this is just the beginning,” says Garcia. bt