On Saturday, 17 October 2026, TrustAfrica Board Member Marwa El Daly, Founder and Chairperson of Waqfeyat Misr Foundation, attended the Helmy Shaarawy Award for African Studies on behalf of TrustAfrica.
The 2026 Helmy Shaarawy Award for African Studies was presented to Dr. Nihad Mahmoud Ahmed Ibrahim for her outstanding doctoral dissertation at Cairo University, titled “The Phenomenon of the Fragile State in West Africa Since 2012: A Case Study of Mali and Burkina Faso.”
Helmy Shaarawy was a prominent Egyptian scholar and one of the leading figures in African studies in the Arab world. Throughout his intellectual career, he contributed significantly to deepening knowledge and dialogue about Africa, its societies, political movements and cultures. The award bearing his name carries forward this legacy by encouraging a new generation of researchers committed to producing rigorous scholarship on the continent.
Ms. Tawhida Shaarawy, wife of the late Helmy Shaarawy, was also present at the ceremony. As a gesture of congratulations and appreciation, Marwa El Daly presented two beautiful plants on behalf of TrustAfrica, one to Dr. Ibrahim and another to Ms. Shaarawy.
TrustAfrica warmly congratulates Dr. Nihad Mahmoud Ahmed Ibrahim on this important recognition and celebrates the continued contribution of African scholarship to understanding the continent’s challenges and shaping its future.
