In Egypt, Applaud the People...Not Facebook or Twitter.

I've been glued to my laptop and television for the past few days just watching the events unfold in Egypt, devouring all the photos, articles, videos, and tweets that come my way. It's absolutely riveting to witness the bravery and spirit of the Egyptian people as they take to the streets to fight for their rights. And I'm so deeply moved to know that a people can come together, irrespective of class, age, and religion, to push for change that is so desperately needed.

Why yes, those are people praying. (Scott Nelson, NYTimes).

It's funny though because as I listen to the news and hang out on Twitter, one of the most prevalent themes about the recent uprisings in the Middle East is the role of social media in mobilizing the people. Pundits left, right, and centre have been quick to assess the role of Twitter and Facebook in igniting these revolutions. And overly enthusiastic social media evangelists are in a frenzy to call the uprisings a "Twitter revolution". I think it's rather silly though to frame the situation in this way, completely disregarding the political, social, and economic issues that are essentially at the crux of this revolution. And I think it's sheer naiveté to believe that Facebook and Twitter are the only means by which people on the ground are organizing, as if their only point of contact were in cyberspace and not physical space. The buzz surrounding social media has truly been overwhelming and as Malcolm Gladwell wrote in his infamous New Yorker article, "where activists were once defined by their causes, they are now defined by their tools". 

Of course this is not to say that the role of social media should go unnoticed or downplayed. I do believe that it has played a critical role in the developments in the region, not only by helping to organize internally within the country, but also by getting information out into the world with such ferocious speed, energy, and urgency. Jared Cohen of Google Ideas captured my sentiments best when he described social media as "an accelerant". These tools have undoubtedly changed the media landscape and the implications are significant. After all, the mere fact that the government of Egypt felt it necessary to shut down the Internet and mobile communications is testament enough to its importance. There's no dispute there.

But let's not let the allure of these new technologies overshadow the bravery of the people. Yes, digital media and communication technologies have made it profoundly easier for ordinary citizens to mobilize, organize, and coordinate their efforts and that's certainly nothing to scoff at. But at the end of the day, it is the people who are the driving force of this (and any) revolution. And Facebook, Twitter, cellphones, telephones, fax machines, telegrams, or whatever the current technology of the day is, are only tools that people have at their disposal to use. In the end, it is still the people who must take to the streets and risk their lives for a better future. And as we grapple to understand these new technologies, I hope we don't lose sight of this very basic truth.

(Emilio Morenatti, Associated Press)

Conceptualizing Community

I'm taking a course right now called "Foundations for Community Engagement" and though we're only two weeks into the semester, I've already fallen in love with the class. The basic theme that we've been uncovering is (you guessed it!) the ever popular conception of community . I (we) hear it all the time, whether it's on the civic level, national level, or global level. Heck, there's now even a burgeoning profession dedicated to building and growing online communities. Community is everywhere. It's a term that has become so naturalized within our daily discourse, seemingly universal in its application and understanding and yet, once thoroughly deconstructed, proves to be a conception that is highly contested in its meaning. There are community conceptions based on shared identity, interest, location, and/or experience. It's a terribly elusive idea and as I read through various theories and texts on the subject, I can't help but develop and reflect on my own interpretation of community.

My educational and professional experiences have fundamentally shaped my thinking of community as one that aligns most fittingly with that of Benedict Anderson's Imagined Communities. Whereas his work focuses on the nation state as an imagined community, my time working with and studying international NGOs has led me to look and think beyond national boundaries and see community as a global phenomenon. In my mind, the global village that Marshall McLuhan first conceived of really does exist, as the dual forces of globalization and technology has shrunk the world to such a point where every individual is at reach. Technology and its affordances, of course, play a crucial role in facilitating this imagined community. As someone who works at the intersection of international development and social media, I often interact and connect with individuals whom I have never met and may never meet. Yet, there is that common bond that runs through us all as globally aware and socially conscious citizens.

But alas, grasping community as imagined, as with all other understandings of the term, comes with both its advantages and disadvantages. This notion of a global village connotes a community of openness and inclusiveness, one that emphasizes humanity s similarities as opposed to geographic, ethnic, class, and religious fault lines that dominates other conceptions of community. Problems that were once viewed in the lens of national and/or geographical boundaries become problems that affect the entire world. In turn, everyone in this global village becomes a part of the solution and conceiving community in this way is powerful and empowering, resulting in a collective effervescence that transcends any sporting event, religious ceremony, or national celebration.

But maybe I'm being overly optimistic and maybe I'm wrong. Maybe this very global scope will turn individuals away, as the proposed imagined community may simply be too large for any one person to ever imagine. Maybe trying to connect with someone who lives across an ocean, under a different political system, with different skin and dress, and with different religious beliefs may just be too much. Thinking of community in a global sense may not elicit the same intense emotions or mobilize people in the same way that a community of, for instance, neighbours can, where people at least pass each other every day.

One of the primary texts we're currently reading in this class is Dave Meslin's Local Motion: The Art of Civic Engagement in Toronto. This municipal and local level thinking of community was a shocking shift in focus for me. I've been so caught up in thinking on an international level and addressing global issues, that I have forgotten the importance and saliency of local civic engagement. Reading chapters from Local Motion has been a refreshing look into the many communities within Toronto. It's been a powerful reminder of the importance of people taking part in seemingly small acts but with profound effects. Reading this has also brought to the forefront the debate over community in terms of proximity and purpose, moving me to rethink my vision of community. It may seem that looking at community at the local level is at odds with what I said earlier about my global vision of a community. But I don't think so. In my mind it's but one dimension of this multiplex conception. One of my favourite quotes from another book, Contesting Community, really captures my thoughts on the whole local vs. global thinking:

"Without a conscious wider vision, community organizations will remain focused on the local. The challenge is to build an agenda that transcends local work and to find ways to connect with broader organizations, and build alliances to work for fundamental social change."

It's here that the increasingly popular phrase "think globally, act locally" really rings true.

Anyway, that's my piece. What does community mean for you? Where is your community? And who is your community? It's intellectually stimulating and rewarding to take an idea or conception that's been so taken for granted and really take it apart and deconstruct its meaning(s). You'll find things you never knew were there, or had forgotten were there. Let's not forget to do this every now and again...

Half the Sky

I just recently finished reading Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wu Dunn’s brilliantly written ‘Half the Sky’ and let me tell you right now that that was probably the single most agonizing book I have read to date. You don’t know how many times I had to put it down, weep a little, cuss a lot, and pick it up again just to repeat the process. Called ‘Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide”, the book covers the often underreported issues of the sex slave trade, the crippling poverty that the world’s women share a disproportionate amount of (around 70% to be exact), maternal mortality (which takes a woman’s life every minute), and the misogynistic customs and traditions that so terribly degrade women to beneath human status.

To say that the stories presented in the book are horrific would be the greatest understatement ever made, but at the same time, this should not be overshadowed by the fact that the stories also offer a profound, albeit distant, glimmer of hope. Yes, the stories are, at times, excruciatingly graphic, but to see how these women pull themselves out of what may just be the worst conditions known to the human race, is beyond inspiring. Kristof and WuDunn take us on such a raw and real journey connecting us with equally raw and real women from all continents of the world (you can read a few of their stories here). While reading the book, I was taken to the two extremes of the emotional and mental spectrum...from being repulsed by the despicable savagery our world's women must endure to being so moved and inspired by their sheer bravery, determination, and resilience.

Honestly, it’s a travesty that women around the world have to suffer these incredible injustices, but what’s even more tragic is that a lot of the people in our priveleged Western world don't really know about it. Okay sure, they (we) may have a vague idea, but it’s this abstract and distant fact that we come to simply accept and forget. I keep urging (pleading, begging) my family and friends to please read this book. But it’s hard because it deals with seriously tough issues and sometimes, it’s easier to just ignore it or sweep these realities under the rug because well, it doesn’t directly affect us...or at least not visibly so. And I totally understand that. The topics discussed in the book aren’t sexy and it’s not exactly the kind of book you want to curl up to at the end of a long day and fall asleep to. But it’s all too important not to read and I just can't stress that enough. If I could shout it out on the rooftops, believe me I would!! Melinda Gates put it best when she described the book as "...both a brutal awakening and an unmistakable call to action".

So please, if you consider yourself even remotely human (which I sincerely hope you do), please, please, read Half the Sky. And once you do, believe me, it will change you...

On Gaining New Perspectives

This weekend I took a trip to Washington D.C. for a change of scenery. I have family living over there so I've visited a number of times when I was younger. It's funny though because even though I've been there before, even though I know what to expect, and even though I've seen the monuments, the museums, and the political offices there before...this time was different somehow. I looked at the city with new eyes. Suddenly it was so much more interesting and relevant. Sure, I've seen Capitol Hill, the White House, Lincoln Memorial, and the Washington Monument before but being so young, these places were devoid of any meaning.

But I'm older now and (thankfully) more knowledgeable too. And if I must admit it...the Poli Sci nerd in me rejoiced this weekend! I revelled in seeing all the offices and landmarks that I read and learn about every day come to life. Having an understanding of what these buildings and places stand for put everything about the city in a whole different perspective and I was able to appreciate it in a way I never was able to before.

Looking up to Honest Abe

We visit Honest Abe every time we're in the city but this time around, I know more about the history and just how important his accomplishments are. I read the writings on the wall of his Second Inaugural Address with so much awe..."With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations." Such poetry, such eloquence, such gravitas! And to think that there too was where MLK once stood to deliver that famous 'I Have A Dream' speech...a truly defining moment in the Civil Rights Movement. The history, the grand significance of it all! That's something that a younger me was so unable to comprehend.

This time I also walked the halls of the Willard Hotel, where many of the American presidents have stayed and where the likes of Emily Dickenson, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, Charles Dickens have slept...the place where MLK wrote the aforementioned speech...where the plans for the League of Nations first began to take shape...where the term "lobbyist" originated (apparently Pres. Grant often stayed there and people huAt Capitol Hillng out in the hotel lobby waiting to speak to him, hence the term). Yeah, I'm geeky, I know. But these things matter to me and I am simply encapsulated by the history of any and every place, especially when it is as significant as this.

So this weekend was a pleasant surprise. It turned out to be so much more than I had expected! To be at the hub of American history and government, to see the place where issues of health, world economies, social reform, and various others are debated and legislated (whether effectively or not is a different discussion) was thrilling for me.

I always feel so lucky when I get to visit a new country or city and learn about their culture, lifestyle, and history. And this time, although not entirely new to me, was no exception. It's so refreshing to be able to see the same place I've already been to with a new pair of eyes...