President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi issued Republican Decree No. 247 of 2025 establishing Sohag Private University and accrediting eight faculties: Medicine, Pharmacy, Engineering, Computer Science, Information and Artificial Intelligence, Health Sciences Technology, Science, Media, Languages and Humanities.
Dr. Hassan El-Nomani said: “I would like to thank President Sisi, the primary supporter of the establishment of Sohag Private University, who has directed all possible support to accommodate the increasing numbers of students from Upper Egypt governorates. Its existence was a dream that has become a reality on the grounds of the university’s new headquarters.” El-Nomani said: “I would also like to thank Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister, and Dr. Ayman Ashour, Minister of Higher Education, for their efforts in this regard, as Sohag Private University will be a pioneering experience and a prominent starting point in the path of higher education in the governorate.”
Awareness campaign to save the hopeless
On May 1, Sohag University launched a bold and influential student initiative. Third-year students in the Department of Mass Communication at Sohag University launched a comprehensive media campaign titled "Your Life is More Precious" to combat the growing phenomenon of suicide in Egyptian society, particularly among young people. The campaign is supervised by Dr. Saber Haris, Professor of Mass Communication and Public Opinion at the university, and seeks to raise awareness about the causes and risks of suicide, and to provide psychological and moral support to individuals who may be experiencing such thoughts.
The campaign comes at a time of growing concerns about rising suicide rates, especially among those aged 15 to 30, who are considered the most vulnerable to these risks, according to statistics from civil society organizations. The students who implemented the campaign, led by Sama Mohamed Abu Deif, were keen to provide comprehensive and diverse media content, including 16 powerful messages across 6 attractive infographic designs, 5 impactful video clips, 4 in-depth press reports, an introductory campaign banner, and awareness posters bearing inspiring slogans and ideas such as "We encourage you to continue" - a message of support and hope.
Haris explained that the campaign's main slogan, "We encourage you to continue, " carries within it an explicit call for hope and perseverance, and a refusal to surrender to despair, while the sub-slogans focused on the social and cultural causes of suicide, the weakness of religious restraint, all forms of addiction and mental illness, in addition to the "social media contagion." Haris warned of the danger of circulating scenes of suicide on social media, noting that they contribute significantly to increasing the spread of this phenomenon. He called for the need to stop negative practices, stressing the importance of planned media campaigns as a powerful tool to confront the spread of suicide until radical social and economic reforms are implemented that may contribute to improving the psychological conditions of youth and families.
Haris explained that the campaign stems from social, religious, media, health and psychological dimensions, due to its significant impact on the lives of individuals and societies. For her part, Dr. Fatima Al-Zahraa Saleh, Head of the Media Department, praised this student initiative, stressing that these campaigns represent real practical training for students, and aim to raise awareness and correct the behavior of young people regarding the challenges and crises facing society. She pointed out that the Media Department pays special attention to the practical aspect of the study, as these campaigns are considered the first experience for students to apply what they have learned in real life, praising Dr. Saber Haris’s method of teaching the media campaigns course, and his role in motivating students to undertake such important initiatives.
