Working as a facilitator and educator, Ali Azmy rarely faced difficulties in accessing educational resources online. That is… if he searched in English. When it came to Arabic though, the scarcity of resources available for non-formal education was blatant. This issue of accessibility therefore became the driving force behind Ali’s work. By co-founding Makouk, the young man decided to bring the fun of games back into people’s lives -regardless of their background or means- with a sidenote of education and personal growth. “Everyone can play! There is that belief that play is unserious, or a waste of time. Modern culture has deprived the idea of games from their social, development and cultural value. But it can bring so much to individuals”

Using games to help people question their environment, self-express and “tickle their brain” through Makouk was an evidence for Ali, who had never been one for the academia. After a series of unsuccessful experiences at school and university, the young Egyptian turned to volunteering and community work, where he “learned so much more than on university benches.” 

“For me, education is a conflated term. Education can happen anywhere, with any tool. From the moment people engage in a fun, enjoyable human moment, they create experiences that teach them something.” Galvanised by this idea, Ali has strived to bring non formal education to the broadest number of people. “Our goal as a company is not to grow or make profits, but to be sustainable and reach as many communities as we can.” With accessibility as its spearhead, Makouk has been developing creative commons products, available to all online. They regularly donate games to community centres and have launched a crowd-sourced database of non-formal education resources (mowazi.org). All in Arabic, and free to access for any educator, facilitator, teacher or home school parents!