Ismail Serageldin kept the rapt attention of his audience for an hour as he delivered the keynote address at an event to promote a stronger civil society for Egypts future. His speech, accompanied by his trademark slides, mapped out the importance of human capital in playing a key role towards social, economic, and political development. In his usual insightful style, Serageldin stressed on the impact of the civic spirit and civil society networks in empowering both the corporate sector and the government. Serageldin also called upon the civil society to build on the strength of social solidarity, which he deemed critical for societies to advance. The audience, which gathered NGO representatives from Egypt as well as from the United Sates, were most inspired by Serageldins profound commitment to promote the role of the civil society in Egypt.