They are not concerned with opposing or supporting any kind of policies. Rather, they are primarily concerned with objectivity, because the Council aims to provide advice in a most scientific and objective form. It was formed to widen the scope of democracy and the participation of public representatives and intellectuals in shaping the nation's future. The Council begins its sessions every year in November after an address by President Mubarak. General sessions are held for three days every other week, in addition to more specialized committee sessions covering nine fields of expertise, from financial and economic affairs, industry and energy, to culture, mass communication and tourism.
All sessions are public.
Our main role is to find solutions for national problems and to approve bills passed through council. We write research papers and go on field trips to have a sense of what is really happening in Egypt. Last September, for example, we were researching the role of scientific research in waste management in Egypt, so we went to Daqahliya in Mansoura because we heard that a huge factory for processing garbage had been established there. Three months before that, we were in Fayoum meeting with representatives of youth from 25 municipalities in Egypt to hear what they had to say. Being on the Council keeps us in touch with what is happening all over the country.