May al-Ibrashy
May al-Ibrashy
May al-Ibrashy is a licensed architectural engineer with more than 30 years of field experience in conservation and heritage management in Historic Cairo. She is a 2022 recipient of the Prince Claus Fund Impact Award, a runner-up for the Divia Award 2023. She holds a BSc in Architectural Engineering from Ain Shams University, an MA in Art, Architecture and Archaeology and a PhD in Archaeology from the University of London. She is currently founder and chair of Megawra-Built Environment Collective, a twin institution consisting of Egyptian NGO and consultancy working on issues of the built environment, and editor of its occasional publication, Megawra Papers. She coordinates Athar Lina, an initiative run by Megawra-BEC in partnership with the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and Cairo Governorate that conserves the heritage of al-Khalifa in Historic Cairo and conceives of it as a driver for community development. So far, through Athar Lina, she has conserved seven monuments from the Islamic period, the most significant being the conservation of the Mausoleum of al-Imam al-Shafi’i and the design and implementation of its visitors’ centre. Other projects include Heritage Works, Athar Lina’s heritage education and industries program, ERTH, a program focusing on heritage and climate change, and Khalifa Heritage Greens, a program for greening and urban farming using harvested groundwater.
