Across the Middle East and North Africa, conflict threatens decades of progress for children.

On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women 25 November, UNHCR Egypt celebrated the day with a Marathon and a scooters parade of around 600 people along 6 km of the Cornish in Alexandria. The event also marked the first day of the “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Campaign” that runs annually from 25 November to 10 December. Syrian Sports Academy, which is a sports initiative supported by UNHCR, participated with 40 Syrians living in Alexandria while Alex Free Riders Club has participated with 45 riders parading side by side with the runners. Alexandria Marathon sports group supports UNHCR in raising awareness about refugee issues in Alexandria.

An extension of the grace period until April 4th, 2017 to request free work permits for Syrian workers was announced by the GoJ in late December

'The Brotherhood Tournament for Peace in the Green Pitch' which was organized in cooperation with UNHCR, IMPR and Youth and Sports Ministry has ended in Ankara.

The “Heya” Campaign was launched on March 19, 2017 at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina by UNHCR Alexandria Field Office in collaboration with the General Collections and Services Department at the Depository Library Section. The event opened with speeches by the organizers and partners of the Heya Campaign. Aseer Al Madaien, Head of UNHCR Alexandria Office spoke about this year's UN theme “Women in a Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030” and UNHCR’s theme for 2017 "UNHCR supports women's right to decent work." "Women’s rights are human rights," Al Madaien said. "UNHCR believes that empowerment of women and girls economically and socially is the only means by which to protect their rights and guarantees that they achieve their potential.

On the January 22, 2017 UNHCR in collaboration with Caritas Alexandria celebrated the successful livelihood projects in Alexandria at the Jesuit Cultural Center as part of UNHCR Egypt’s livelihood program.

On the eve of World Refugee Day 2017, UNHCR Egypt hosted a major film event at the Zamalek Cinema, under the theme "Refugee Voices in Film. Guests showedtheir support to the refugee cause by signing the #WithRefugees and sharing messages about #RefugeeDay on social media. UNHCR Egypt was supported by Arab Cinema Center

On 18 June UNHCR Egypt in cooperation with the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and the Egyptian Association of Friends of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, launched the "BigRead" program The three months program aims at bringing together local cultural institutions and citizens and forging partnerships among several stakeholders (e.g. Alexandria University, young artists, social clubs, cultural centers, etc.) to enrich cultural dialogue. It includes a series of writing competitions and theatre workshops, during which famous novels will be turned into scripts, and participants get to act the plays at the final event in September. The program allows talented refugees and asylum seekers to participate in the various activities, perform and be part of the cultural life in Alexandria. A "Think and Express" workshop for people with hearing and speaking difficulties will also be part of the program.

Turkish version of the “Searching for Syria” website was launched in cooperation with Google.

UNHCR supported Istanbul Culture and Art Foundation in organizing a workshop entitled “Your Voice to Mine” as part of the 15th Istanbul Biennial.