Posts by: Mohamed ElGohary

An Egyptian veteran blogger.Global VoicesLingua manager.

Support This Unique Teen Approach Towards Alternative Education

Vuk
My friend and Global Voices colleague, Danica Radisic, has an amazing son. His name is Vuk Višnjić, You can know more about him here. He has been interested and active in pushing for alternative education and educational reform for a couple of years now. Since his 11th birthday in 2010, he has been working to open a non-government organization that would not only promote alternative education and educational reform, but that would provide alternative education for kids, teens and youth  in Belgrade.
He turned 14 in December and is now legally able to be the founder of this NGO himself. He and his mom just filed the papers for it and expect to be registered next week.
Vuk seems to understand the magnitude of the undertaking he has just imposed to himself. Oddly enough, the fact that he will have a full-time job with this every day after school only seems to amp him up more.
To make a long story short, they have started a crowdfunding campaign with Vuk and his friends to try to raise the hefty amount necessary just to open a youth center of this type. I am writing now to ask you to please spread the information as far and widely as the Internet and your personal connections will allow you. The more shares the campaign gets, the more likely it is to be featured globally by Indiegogo, which will certainly help in raising funds.
I'm exceptionally enthusiastic for this project as it coincides with The Workshops mission. So here's the link, please share and RT and do let them know what you think: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-thirteen-youth-center/x/6364673

A letter to Global Voices

This is the second and last post for GV Board Elections posts.

As I became elected to be the staff representative in Global Voices Board elections. Global Voices staff are heads of Global Voices’ departments (i.e. Global Voices, Rising Voices, Advox, and Lingua) as well as heads of editorial and translation team (i.e. regional editors, language editors and Lingua editors). I send the following letter to Global Voices:

Dear GV,

I can't express how thrilled I am to have your votes, which express your trust and emphasize the responsibility I now hold, for achieving better communication, better representation, and more robust contributing-flow among Global Voices staff; GV sectors heads as well as GV regional, language, topics and Lingua editors.
Thanks again everyone!

Lots of love,
Gohary

Why I'm running for the GV Board Elections

This post will be a first in the series for GV Board Elections posts.

WHY I'M RUNNING FOR THE GV BOARD ELECTIONS?

I would like to be on the board to help in pushing Global Voices position forward in:

  1. Social Media expression by helping editors and authors cover more under-represented areas and people on the Internet, while at the same time making it less time and effort consuming and more fun.
  2. I also want to assure GV's position as innovation platform through more utilization of Rising Voices, helping it to be a more important player in the field of training individuals and communities in need.
  3. I would help in making Lingua be a language enriching and preservation platform, and
  4. support Advox to be an umbrella for online advocacy communities around the world.

After contributing for Global Voices for 5 years, as a volunteer and as staff, I know that Global Voices has a great potential to be a leader in these fields.

You can know more about me here, and you can also submit any questions in the comments or in this form.

WHAT’S THIS GLOBAL VOICES BOARD THING ALL ABOUT?
Like all nonprofit foundations, Global Voices is governed by a board of directors. You can see the members of the current board at https://globalvoices.org/about/board-of-directors/
WHAT’S THE STRUCTURE OF THE GV BOARD?
The current Global Voices board of directors comprises nine seats. Two of these seats are reserved for the founders of GV (Ethan and Rebecca), three for members of the GV community and four for other individuals of the board’s choosing.
HOW OFTEN DOES THE GV BOARD MEET?
The GV board meets once each quarter, i.e. four times a year. Most meetings take place by conference call.
HOW DO PEOPLE GET ON THE BOARD OF GV?
The four external board members are nominated and selected by the current board. The GV community board representatives are elected by the GV community.
WHO ARE THE CURRENT GV COMMUNITY BOARD MEMBERS?
The GV community seats are currently occupied by Claire Ulrich (staff representative), Jillian York and Marta Cooper (volunteer representatives). They were elected to the GV board in March 2011.
FOR HOW LONG DO GV BOARD MEMBERS SERVE?
With the exception of the co-founders, the term of office for all GV board members is three years.
WHAT ARE THE OBLIGATIONS OF GV COMMUNITY BOARD MEMBERS?
The GV community board representatives exist to ensure that the interests of GV community members are served by the organisation. They’re basically the community’s spokespeople at board level. As such, they should be in regular touch with the GV community to listen to and familiarise themselves with your opinions and concerns.
CAN GV COMMUNITY BOARD MEMBERS BE RE-ELECTED FOR A SECOND TERM?
Yes.

Creating Digital Rights Blogs and NGOs Database & Blog Aggregator

Arabic version here.

During the fourth Arab Bloggers Meeting that I attended recently in Amman, Jordan, an idea of an independent project struck me. The project should be aimed to build a database of all NGOs, websites and blogs specialized, or have a specialized section, in digital rights. This database will be in the form of a blog aggregator using a WordPress blog, for the purpose of republishing rather than publishing in itself.

The target of this aggregator is NGOs and bloggers interested in republishing content. The final goal is making the circle of bloggers and trainers bigger than it is right now, as well as establishing a more networked community than it is right now. What inspired me to this idea is the lack of knowledge and organization among the digital Egyptian society in specific, and in the Arab Digital Society in general. As we, digital activists, do not know each other, and in case we knew each other, we do not follow what we do. This eventually leads to many lost opportunities for cooperation.

Another reason for this project is the extreme centralization of activism. So, for example, many activists know what is happening in Cairo (Not even the rest of the Egypt), and to a lesser extent what is happening in Syria. Nobody knows what is happening in the Gulf, like Bahrain, UAE, and Saudi, or in North Africa, like Mauritania or Morocco or Algeria, or even Tunisia, the Bouazizi country. I also wonder a lot, what should be the motive for non-Egyptian activists to be in solidarity with an Egyptian suffering human rights violations in their countries, while we, as Egyptian activists, do not know or do no care what is happening to non-Egyptians in Egypt and beyond?

I'm not saying this is the fault of non-Egyptians, I understand the exhaustion we are suffering since the end of 2011 till now, but I'm aiming through this simple project to be a step towards making the circle of bloggers and trainers bigger. To increase their networking as well as the opportunities to know the real needs. How to use the Internet to deal with real needs. I think this issue gets really challenging when there is no "real" networking between activists from across the region.

I put here a form for all NGOs and bloggers who are interested in being in the blog aggregator:

 

On a serious note on #AblaFahita

If you were not following Egyptian affairs last few days you should read this piece, as according to AP: "Prosecutors have questioned officials in one of Egypt's largest telecommunications companies (@VodafoneEgypt) over an online advertisement featuring a puppet (called Abla Fahita), which a controversial (pro-government activist, not a blogger, so much for AP reporting) blogger has accused of delivering a coded message linked to the Muslim Brotherhood group, the company said Wednesday." More is available on the WP.

Tortured #AblaFahita doll

Tortured #AblaFahita doll

On a more a serious note, earlier in November Bloomberg published that "Telecom Egypt May Buy Vodafone Local Division When 4G Is Offered". Personally I don't want for this acquiring to happen, since it will decrease/eliminate competition in mobile/4G emerging market. Egypt is a very hungry market for Internet and with current cap in DSL lines as well as failing infrastructure in sub-urban Cairo (filled with wireless telephone lines, which are not ready for even DSL, only same-old-Dial-up), 4G will be a damn big market.

The million dollar question here, as Vodafone actually wants to buy the government stakes, is this BS accusation a dirty step for blackmailing/forcing Vodafone Egypt to comply to what the government wants?

URGENT Call of Action: Solidarity needed with Mahinour ElMasry and her fellow detainees

From Fatma Emam's blog.

Apparently, this country decided to show us more and more of its ugly faces. I am writing this post in solidarity with the fierce fighter Mahinour ElMasry. Mahinour is sentenced to jail for 2 years for peaceful protesting. Mahinour is one of the first victims of the notorious protesting law, with hinders the right of assembly and many other rights. The regime understood that the masses in the streets are the makers of change. They are trying to cartel them again, to imprison them with a wicked notion of "persevering the stability and peace of the society". Those in power forget that the main reason for unrest is INJUSTICE, DESPOTISM, TYRANNY, and POVERTY.

Mahinour was protesting peacefully, in front the court, defending Egyptians' rights to be safe from torture and the right to bodily integrity. She was protesting on the day of the trial of our revolution icon, Khaled Said.
Khalid died by savages from the so called police. His death was the fuel of #Jan25 and ironically enough his murderers are getting exempts over and over again, and Mahinour is the one to be in jail. What kind of tragedy are we living in?
I call upon all the believers of justice in the world to show their support to Mahinour and her fellow detainees.
Mahinour struggled on many fronts, for the prosperity and peace of this country.
I have been once privileged to be near this heroine when she hosted us in her project in her hometown, Alexandria, to talk about Nubian affairs in Egypt.
DETAINING PROTESTERS IS SHAME ON EGYPT 
FREE MAHINOUR AND HER FELLOWS 
FREEDOM FOR ALL DETAINEES 
FIGHT TO PASS A RESOLUTION TO DEFEND WOMEN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS .…. DEFEND MAHINOUR AS A CASE 

2013 Year in Review

Post by Mohamed ElGohary.

Where Is My Boy…

I have, or had, a friend, whom I knew for several years.

I'm so picky in choosing friends, ever since I began choosing them. I usually, almost always, realized wrong choices after a very short time of beginning the friendship, except that particular one. When someone comes close to me, I not only give them support, I give them part of my soul. Whenever I see them better, or see them succeed, or see them recover from a mischief, I see part of my soul in them. I don't usually have good relations with far family members. Instead, I tend to choose those I like to be close to.

That friend, whom I knew for several years, had all my support throughout our friendship, hoping they will be an important person in some part of their life. Part of this importance, is to succeed to holding their integrity intact, to believe in justice, to observe before following one of the cattles scattered right now in this volatile time. To not defend people with blood on their hands under any justification. But that dream just died immaturely, leaving a big hole in me. That hole is increasing with the struggle to keep or lose this friendship which had big hopes. It is like a beholden boy gone rouge against everything you believed in, everything that you fought for. When that moment comes, when I should end this friendship, and the moment is near, it will be like betraying your own boy after nurturing him for so long. I never felt that intense internal struggle before, and I don't want anyone to feel it.

Where is my boy..

Pursue your passion at The Workshops

If you have a passion for arts, and you are looking for a place to nurture this passion, then The Workshops in Maadi is perhaps the best place to go. Learning in an interactive and amusing environment is what The Workshops offers. Indeed, the management of The Workshops believes that education has to be fun, and that for education to be productive and enjoyable, instructors must actively engage students in a two-way, dynamic educational process.
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Revolution vs Coup – Mubarak vs Morsi

I've been seeing this argument, if it is a military coup or not, in the western media after ousting Morsi. I'm really, REALLY, pissed off at the western media coverage, which gives no tiny credit to the power of the people. Turning the whole process from a democratic process to a ballotocracy process (from ballots). The western media think that democracy is a rigid contract between the elected person and the people through the ballots boxes, a contract that can not be retracted by the people when they realize how the country is going to a catastrophe.
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Call for applications Yalla Yalla Intiaitive Berlin Viadrina School of Governance

Call for applications Yalla Yalla Intiaitive Berlin Viadrina School of Governance – Politics and Culture on the Development of Potential of Young Politicians in Egypt and Germany

The Governance Center Middle East and North Africa at the Viadrina University in Berlin is organising a joint Egyptian- German workshop on political communication

The workshop will be translated simultaneously in German and Arabic. English knowledge is therefore not necessary but would be preferred.
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