The Faculty of Arts at Ain Shams University, represented by the Department of Sociology, organized the first activity of the department’s cultural season, which is a symposium entitled: “October Victory and Egyptian Family Values” under the patronage of Prof. Hanan Kamel, Dean of the Faculty, under the supervision of Prof. Muhammad Ibrahim, Vice Dean of the Faculty for Education and Student Affairs, in the presence of Prof. Hatem Rabie, Vice Dean of the Faculty for Graduate Studies and Research, where, Prof. Ijlal Helmy, Professor of Sociology, gave a lecture at the symposium, and presented Prof. Shadia Qenawy, professor of sociology and former Egyptian ambassador to UNESCO. The symposium was opened by Prof. Hanan Muhammad Salem, Professor of Sociology and Vice Dean of the Faculty for Community Service and Environmental Development Affairs, observed a minute of silence for the souls of the martyrs of the Israeli bombing of the National Baptist Hospital in the Gaza Strip, and for all the martyrs of the brotherly Palestinian people.

She pointed to the department's long history and its great history of academic, humanitarian, scientific and educational giving for years and years, and it is one of the most important basic pillars of the faculty.

She also welcomed the attendees from the faculty staff of the department and sociology departments at the university level in Egypt, and explained that the symposium benefits, supports and motivates society, stressing that as long as faith exists, victory exists.

For her part, Prof. Shadia Qenawy, professor of sociology and former Egyptian ambassador to UNESCO, attended the symposium and expressed her pride in the presence of the intellectual stature Prof. Ejalal Helmy, let us draw from her experiences and abundant knowledge, and in the context of current events, she called for not being carried away by what is being raised on social media in terms of misunderstanding and misinterpretation of official statements, and the necessity of standing together, no matter how different our affiliations are, and giving precious confidence to the political leadership because it handles the matter with great wisdom.

For his part, Prof. Muhammad Ibrahim, Vice Dean of the Faculty for Education and Student Affairs, praised the topic of the symposium, which discusses the social dimension, the role of the family and authentic Egyptian values in the glorious October victory, and the importance of informing the new generations that the stability that we seek and enjoy now came as a result of the sacrifices made by the generation of victory. The Egyptian character has a cultural reserve that makes us reassured that we are standing on stable ground and will not be affected by any modern or intrusive changes. Therefore, the Egyptian family must pay attention to its children because there is a hidden enemy behind some social media channels that wants to spread negative values, frustration and rumors. There is no doubt that the changes in the value system of society as a result of the social and economic transformations that Egyptian society has undergone have led to the extinction of authentic values in Egyptian society. Therefore, there must be social awakening through the combined efforts of basic education, the family, teachers, and university professors to provide a good example and positive values for this generation to arm themselves with, along with the power of knowledge, science, and adherence to religion, morals, and good behavior.

And Prof. Ijlal Helmy, Professor of Sociology, started her speech, saying: “Fifty years have passed since the glorious October victory. We are trying not to make it just an anniversary, especially as we live through bloody events in beloved Palestine, whose people invoked the spirit of October on the seventh day of it in 2023.”

It has become certain that our children need to invoke the spirit of October, which restored pride and dignity to Egypt and its people and established the values of national unity, loyalty, discipline, hard work, and other authentic Egyptian values.

It was a day destined to remain immortal not only in the conscience of Egypt and its people, but also in the conscience of the entire Arab nation and the peace-loving peoples of the world. She took the opportunity to extend heartfelt congratulations to the Egyptian armed forces and the people of Egypt on the golden jubilee of the October 6 victories, and salute the souls of the martyrs of this glorious victory who gave us their lives so that the country can live free, dignified, and independent.

Prof. Ijlal explained the importance of restoring the role of the family, civil society, schools, universities and the media to introduce children to their history and spread the spirit of October, as there is no Egyptian family without one of its children participating in the victory so that children learn from the new generations that difficulties can be overcome and how it is possible with perseverance, diligence, patience and mastery of work and transforming failure and feelings of despair into success, confidence, and self-esteem provided that we adhere to unity and preserve the homeland.”

As we live in a time of rapid global and local changes and transformations, the family has also witnessed a major change in its structure, functions, and roles as a social institution, especially from the setback of 1967 until the victory of October 1973, passing through the War of Attrition in which the Egyptian family played a prominent role, as it founded its children on love of the homeland and belonging, It stood behind the armed forces and enabled them to withstand the aggression, as the war of attrition continued for a thousand days, in which it restored confidence in the armed forces and the Egyptian fighter, as it was able to reorganize itself at a record speed a few days after the defeat. Egypt also resorted to work and education and recruited those who obtained university degrees, everyone joined together to implement one idea, which is the necessity of liberating the land, regardless of the burdens, consequences, and challenges. What about our family values? Women now had to participate in a kind of jihad and support in bearing full responsibility towards their family, and thus the fighter on the front could focus all his efforts on his homeland.

On the home front, Egyptian women were warriors, guerrillas, and volunteers in the ranks of the Red Crescent and in hospitals. They also worked in many state institutions and replaced men in the ministries’ offices until the October victory was achieved, and everyone returned to their work side by side with women.

But in recent years, there has been a marked shift in family values, eroding traditional family structures.

High divorce rates, acceptance of non-traditional family structures, and prioritization of career over family responsibilities have played an important role. Traditional gender roles have been challenged, leading to a redefinition of family expectations and roles within families. The excessive use of technology has led to a decline in family values and led to Social media and other digital distractions leading to alienation and distance between family members. At the end of the symposium, all attendees were keen to take souvenir photos.