Wael Ghonim is an extraordinary individual, an activist who has been dramatically transforming one of the most influential countries in the Arab region. Ghonim is redesigning Egypt’s place in the world—and the world’s relationship to it.
Ghonim, a 31 year-old Egyptian, came onto the global scene during the 2011 revolution in Egypt. Coined the “keyboard freedom fighter,” he used the power of the internet and social media to fight for social justice. Ghonim was the anonymous founder of a Facebook page called “Kullena Khaled Said” (We are all Khaled Said) which initiated the first call for the January 25th Revolution that resulted in the toppling of the 30-year Mubarak regime.
Wael is considered one of the region’s digital pioneers - launching many firsts in the tech industry including some of the region’s most important websites until he landed at Google. He served as the Regional Marketing Manager for Google in the Middle East and North Africa overseeing 18 countries when the revolution unfolded.
VIDEO SPOTLIGHT : Watch Wael's captivating interview on 60 Minutes.
The Power of Social Media...The Power of the People
Wael Ghonim is a catalyst in every sense of the word that has proven to the world that passion can mobilize an array of unexpected and desirable outcomes. He has proven, and continues to believe that with the proper use of technology we can have a better and more just world, not only in the "less developed" nations but everywhere. In this presentation, he gives a detailed account of his experience in Egypt, which is one of the most inspiring and moving stories of our age. And the lessons he draws from it--how to harness crowds by empowering them, how to put the crowd above any one leader or group of leaders, how to give people the confidence to overcome fear of backlash by showing them they are not alone--are lessons that everyone can apply, to prove that "the power of people is greater than the people in power."
Wael is considered one of the region’s digital pioneers - launching many firsts in the tech industry including some of the region’s most important websites until he landed at Google. He served as the Regional Marketing Manager for Google in the Middle East and North Africa overseeing 18 countries when the revolution unfolded.
During the revolution, Wael was kidnapped and held in captivity for 11 days by the Egyptian State Security, which held him blindfolded and handcuffed. Following a global campaign urging for his release, Ghonim was freed days before Mubarak stepped down. His emotional TV interview following his release touched millions of Egyptians and inspired more people to take to the streets. He shared his full story as author of Revolution 2.0: The Power of the People is Greater Than the People in Power which is sold globally and has been translated into ten languages.
Immediately after the revolution Wael took a sabbatical from Google and became active in Egypt’s civil society working on two main initiatives. He founded an NGO called Nabadat (Pulses in Arabic), which aims at fostering education opportunities for Egyptians through technology. Its first project, TahrirAcademy, which offers online educational videos, reached more than half a million Arabs. He also co-founded Masrena (meaning Our Egypt in Arabic), which is a political lobbying group with more than 30k members working towards realizing the goals of the January 25th revolution.
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