EGYPT: YOUTH AND SOCIAL MEDIA

Transcription

1 UN IN ACTION Release Date: September 2011 Programme No Length: 4 54 Languages: English, French, Spanish, Russian EGYPT: YOUTH AND SOCIAL MEDIA VIDEO TAHRIR SQUARE CELEBRATION REVOLUTION STILLS AUDIO : Tahrir Square, in Egypt s capital, Cairo. This is one of the largest gatherings since an uprising toppled the country s ruling regime a few months before, in late January, (15.5) GEMY: (In Arabic) In my whole life, I never imagined seeing what I saw then. To be able to see the huge number of people protesting in one place was a great shock to me. People were finally awake. (10) GEMY B-ROLL PEOPLE RALLY AT TAHRIR SQUARE : Mohammad Gamal - better known by his web nickname Gemy Hood - is a blogger cartoonist musician and political activist. He is one of thousands of young Egyptians who use the influential power of new technology and social media. (21)

2 We can now use the internet as a tool for change, and not a tool to dream about change. We were all unified to fight the system. We all wanted a real democracy. (13) EGYPT STREETS CAIRO FROM ABOVE PYRAMIDS W STREET & PEDESTRIANS : Egypt is a key player in the stability and future of its region. The metropolitan area of its capital, Cairo, encompasses the only remaining wonder of the ancient world the great pyramid of Giza. (14.5) OLD TOWN / MOSQUES WITH PEDESTRIANS / CHURCHES ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE OF FORMER PRESIDENT HOSNI MUBARAK But the grandeur of this nations history has been at odds with its political reality, where stability came at the expense of political and social freedom. Under former president Hosni Mubarak s regime, it wasn t possible to hold an open political discussion. (18.5) GEMY ON COMPUTER / BLOGGING, TYPING GEMY S CARTOONS GEMY FELLOWSHIP STILLS But with the advent of social media, Gemy began blogging and posting his cartoons online to bypass censorship and demand change. (9) And in 2010, Gemy had the opportunity to experience firsthand the media and political practices of Western countries through a Young Leaders Fellowship program that promotes cross-cultural dialogue. (15.5) We got to visit places that I never dreamt of visiting. I visited the BBC, France 24,

3 CNN. It was my first experience participating in political forums and interacting with important politicians. (13) CAIRO MEDIA FORUM The program is organized by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, which recently co-hosted a Forum in Cairo on Media and Arab-West relations. Jorge Sampaio is the High Representative of the Alliance. (17.5) SAMPAIO ON CAMERA SAMPAIO: (English) M Media can play a leading role in helping create democratic institutions because facebook and twitter are very, very important as we have seen recently. (8.5) ETHAR KAMAL TWEETS DURING FORUM Also at the Forum was Ethar Kamal, an award-winning journalist and author. She uses social media to discuss the revolution and its aftermath with her thousands of followers. (12.5) ETHAR KAMAL ON CAMERA It s a very good time to be a journalist right now because so much is happening. You have so much responsibility and so much opportunity to actually not just create awareness, but provoke thought, provoke debate. (9)

4 ETHAR ON BLOGS AND TWEETS Ethar took part in a training for journalists in Alexandria, Egypt, also organized by the Alliance. The training brings together journalists from Europe, the US and Muslim countries to share experiences and learn from each other. (12.5) ETHAR KAMAL ON CAMERA Training of this kind really helps It's very interesting and challenging to work w people who are different, very different, from you. So to meet other people from all around the region, other journalists, to hear them talk, this is always the number one benefit for me. (12) GEMY TWEETS AMONG CROWD As new media tools continue to empower the Egyptian people, they realize - more than ever - the obstacles in the path towards an enduring democracy. (10) CROWD AT TAHRIR SQUARE The real test is whether the people will use democracy in the right way. Only then we will know the outcome of what we began with our revolution. (9.5) YOUNG DEMONSTRATORS But for most of the young people who took part in the uprising, the process in itself has already proven to be an extraordinary experience. (9.5)

5 CROWD AT TAHRIR SQUARE GEMY AT TAHRIR SQUARE UN LOGO We re so much more powerful, // Once you've broken that barrier of fear, you'll just - you'll do incredible things. (5.5) This report was produced by Camilo Freire for the United Nations.