
Only through sharing our experiences, insights and knowledge about how to improve our communities can we learn how to more effectively promote change.
Birds of a feather flock together, they say. On Twitter, young revolutionaries in Egypt lived together on #Tahrir hashtag during the revolution's 18 days that ended with the toppling of the 30 years-old Mubarak's regime.
Social media has played a massive role in mobilizing the people, no question. Yet Egypt's revolution was never about Twitter , Facebook or even Wikileaks as Julian Assange lately claimed. These were just tools that served the common cause: Tahrir (Liberation).
Mubarak's regime realized the important role social media and internet generally could play in mobilizing for the revolution, and decided on the night of January 28th to cut off internet and disconnect a whole country from the online map.
Now, as Egypt lives a tough transition, many tweeps are using this huge network to raise awareness and spread the word of Tahrir around through different initiatives.
Alaa Abd el-Fattah, for example, recently launched #tweetnadwa for public debates and discussions that gather tweeps in some place. Volunteers take on the mission of setting the place, tweeting the event and summarizing the discussions, placing video cameras that transmit live stream to their Twitter community and other logistics.
"Birds Discussions", as @alaa calls it, have huge turnouts. Equivalent to the Twitter limit's 140 characters, Twitter podium leaves only 140 seconds for each speaker to express his opinion in the topic discussed.
Economy and social justice, revolution roots through a whole decade are just examples of some topics discussed in Tweet-up Nadwas.
Organizers may belong to the socialist or communist school, but their political trend doesn't mean they exclude people who have different views. Talk of Islamists? You'll find them there.
It's the Tahrir spirit that gathers pure passionate youngsters who dream of a better future for their re-born Egypt and tweet about it.
Another group of tweeps are creating a space for bloggers, artists and activists. Hussein el-Said writes "Autumn 1995, Berlin, 17 people founded "C-base" a creative space which started as a technology hub. It grew into the biggest creative space/hacker space in the world".
Hussein wants to have Egypt's own "C-base" in downtown Cairo. The post January 25th Egypt, for Hussein, needs a social movement and a change that can only come from organized action through social networking.
Fifty people at least are needed to complete the monthly rent of a place in the not very cheap downtown area in Cairo.
The base will serve as an open source and self sustainable hub that is open 24/7 for the creative passion filled people who are trying to improve their community through "open source" ideas.
So, who's in for Egypt's C-base?
hananzaz..
Comments
jschmidt
Permalink
July 14, 2011 - 11:35am
love the idea of C-spaces and
love the idea of C-spaces and Bird Discussions, already thinking of the potential of these spaces!
Ehab 83
Permalink
July 15, 2011 - 5:04am
Good read :)
Good read :)
Muslimah
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July 15, 2011 - 5:12am
C-base, AIWA BA2A :))
C-base, AIWA BA2A :))
Mndra
Permalink
July 15, 2011 - 6:19am
Nice article. I went to
Nice article. I went to couple of tweet nadwas & they were amazing. Tweet-ups are mobilizing Egyptians.
Hanan Solayman
Permalink
July 15, 2011 - 5:52pm
Thank you all!
Thank you all!
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